A concerning fake from Baktria

[velarfricative]

There's been an unpublished coin floating around for a while now that had gotten me curious; I was suspicious of its authenticity but it can often be difficult to determine when unpublished coins surface. They have been attributed to Eukratides, on account of the monogram also being present on many of his staters. All examples shared the same dies, and many seemed to have odd dots and marks at the edge of the flan. Attached are a couple examples:

Recently, however, an example showed up that gave a little bit more info, at a German auction house.

Astute observers will see the problem; below the monogram on the reverse is actually a Kharosthi letter, 𐨯 (sa), which is found often on Indo-greek coins, but never on a Eukratides stater! So, what's going on? In fact, there is one coin many of you are familiar with that also has this monogram: Menander!

 

The reverse is actually a small portion of a transfer die, taken from a Menander drachm; above are a couple examples of the portion of the coin that was used for the reverse here. Visible on the German specimen are also a portion of Athena's dress and another Kharosthi sa, confirming the source. I haven't found the host coin yet, but with the distinctive damage marks on the monogram it would be easy to spot if it turns up. I haven't identified the horse yet, but I would love to know where he comes from; it looks like there's traces of a legend there, too, so perhaps someone more observant than me can find it. Watch out, bidders! There are some very creative forgers out there.

 

Edited October 19, 2022 by velarfricative

[Kiaora]

That’s some excellent detective work!

[zadie]

Great work indeed! There appears to be at least to two different reverse dies used. Unsure if that has any implications on the issue as a whole but probably safest to disregard them entirely at this point