Ancients: INDO-GREEK KINGDOMS. Bactria. Apollodotus I Soter (ca. 180-160 BC). AR Indic square drachm (17mm, 2.46 gm, 12h). NGC Choice XF...

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INDO-GREEK KINGDOMS. Bactria. Apollodotus I Soter (ca. 180-160 BC). AR Indic square drachm (17mm, 2.46 gm, 12h). NGC Choice XF 5/5 - 5/5. Uncertain mint in the Paropamisadai or Gandhara. ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ-ΑΠΟΛΛΟΔΟΤΟΥ-ΣΩΤΗΡΟΣ, elephant standing right; MT monogram below / Maharajasa Apaladatasa tradarasa (Kharosthi), humped bull standing right. HGC 12, 119.

Edward J. Waddell, private sale with old dealer's tag included.

The charismatic square drachm of Apollodotus I Soter presents an intriguing puzzle for interpreting the symbolic meanings of animals across Vedic, Buddhist, and Greek cultural contexts. The coin features the zebu, a cattle species native to the Indian subcontinent, revered in Vedic spirituality. This animal is deeply intertwined with the Hindu deity Shiva as Nandi, his sacred bull, which is omnipresent across Shivan temples in India. The elephant likewise symbolizes royal authority and wisdom, notably embodied by the deity Ganesha. Both animals also have a place in the story of the birth of Buddha, in which the Buddha's mother Queen Maya saw a white elephant in a dream, and then gave birth to the Buddha under a Taurus full moon. The elephant had been adopted by the coinage of eastern Greek kingdoms, including by the Seleucids and Bactria, as a powerful symbol of military might. The zebu, a type of bull, may have been associated with Zeus.

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