|
Lot 27. Euthydemos II NI Double Unit
Bactrian Nickel Double Unit
Time left: |
Bidding closed
(Sunday, January 17th, 19:13:30 CET)
Current time: Friday, November 22nd, 17:26:26 CET
|
Price realised: |
CHF 750.00 (8 bids)
Approx. EUR 809.64 / USD 845.65 / GBP 673.59
Bid history
Amount
|
Bidder
|
Date
|
CHF 750.00
|
Bidder 3 *
|
2016-01-17, 19:13:20
|
CHF 700.00
|
Bidder 5 *
|
2016-01-17, 19:13:29
|
CHF 600.00
|
Bidder 4 *
|
2016-01-17, 19:11:54
|
CHF 550.00
|
Bidder 3 *
|
2016-01-17, 19:11:35
|
CHF 500.00
|
Bidder 2 *
|
2016-01-17, 16:19:59
|
CHF 480.00
|
Bidder 1 *
|
2016-01-17, 14:00:11
|
CHF 468.00
|
Bidder 2 *
|
2016-01-17, 16:19:54
|
CHF 400.00
|
Bidder 1 *
|
2016-01-13, 15:00:07
|
* User names of other bidders are replaced by Bidder 1, 2, and so on.
|
High bidder: |
Bidder 3
|
|
|
|
eAuction #44, Lot 27. Estimate: CHF 500.00
Kings of Bactria. Euthydemos II (c. 185-180 BC). Cupro-Nickel Double Unit (Didrachm?) (24 mm, 7.92 g). Obv. Laureate head of Apollo right. Rev. BAΣIΛEΩΣ - EΥΘΥΔHMOΥ, tripod; to left, monogram. Mitchiner 63, Type 118b, Bop. 170, série 6C.
Rare and interesting. Minor roughness on reverse, otherwise, good very fine.
Euthydemos II might have been the son of Euthydemos I, but Bactrian genealogy is notoriously difficult and his connection to the famous 3rd Century name twin is unknown, as is the king's relationship to his contemporary rulers named Pantaleon and Agathokles - were they brothers and co-rulers, or rather enemies? In any case, under their rule, the Bactrian Kingdom introduced the only nickel coinage of antiquity by issuing these so-called Double Units that might have been intended to serve as Didrachms. However, the Greek furnaces could not handle the hard metal with its high melting point very well and this experiment soon came to an end. These coins notoriously show strong metal corrosion and wear, which makes our specimen with just light porosity stand out quite favorably.
|
|