Eucratides, 171-145 BC, drachm

Eucratides I, drachm, AR, reign 171–145 BC, Paropamisadai or Gandhara mint, 4.34 g, 17 mm. Obverse with diademed and draped bust of Eucratides I right. Reverse with Greek legend BAΣIΛEΩΣ EYKPATIΔOY. Well-preserved for the reduced eastern module, with clear portrait detail and fully legible royal titulature; minor softness confined to the periphery consistent with the flan size. Reference: Bopearachchi 2D. Eucratides I was a principal ruler of the Greco-Bactrian kingdom, whose issues document the continuation of Hellenistic royal institutions and Greek language coinage in Central and South Asia during the mid-2nd century BC. Silver tetradrachms of reduced module from the Paropamisadai/Gandhara region are evidence for the extension of Greco-Bactrian monetary production into the Hindu Kush and adjacent areas, reflecting both military-political control and the need for standardized currency in long-distance trade networks linking Bactria with the Indian subcontinent.