Greco-Bactrian Antimachus I Theos AR Drachm Poseidon 171–160 BC

Antimachus I Theos, Drachm, silver, reign 171–160 BC, struck 171–160 BC; 4.22 g; 20 mm. Greco-Bactrian Kingdom, uncertain Bactrian mint. Anepigraphic obverse with diademed, draped, and cuirassed bust of Antimachus I right, wearing the Macedonian kausia; dotted border. Reverse: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΘΕΟΥ ΑΝΤΙΜΑΧΟΥ; Poseidon standing facing, head left, holding trident in right hand and palm frond with fillet in left; monogram in right field. Struck on a broad flan, centered; die axis about 6h. Published for the type: Bopearachchi Série 2, 9; BIGR Antimachus I 5. Antimachus I ruled part of the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom in the mid-2nd century BC, and his coinage provides the principal evidence for his portrait and divine epithet Theos. The kausia underscores Macedonian royal identity, while the Poseidon reverse is the standard iconography of his silver issues. These tetradrachms formed the high-denomination currency of Bactria, facilitating military finance and long-distance trade between Central Asia and the Hellenistic and Indian spheres during his reign.