★ Very Rare & Well Provenanced ★

BACTRIAN KINGS. Antimachos (c. 199–170 BC).
Tetradrachm (AR, 33 mm, 16.97 g), early second century BC.
Bust of Antimachos I, diademed, draped and cuirassed right, wearing kausia / ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΘΕΟΥ ΑΝΤΙΜΑΧΟΥ Poseidon standing facing, holding trident in right hand and palm with ribbons in left hand; monogram consisting of K and Ρ in inner right field.
Cf. Bactrian and Indo-Greek Coinage Antimachus I 4; Bopearachchi Antimaque I 1C.
Attractive portrait. Very rare monogram! Graffito on the obverse above head. Nice old cabinet toning. Extremely fine.
For the type and style of this extraordinary coin confer CNG, Triton XXIV (19.01.2021), lot 852 (sold for 6,500 USD), with further references.

Ex Graeculus Collection. Ex Dr. Busso Peus Nachfolger, Auction 368 (25.04.2001), lot 409. Ex Dr. Busso Peus Nachfolger, Auction 428 (28.04.2021), lot 498. Ex Naumann Numismatik, Auction 106 (01.08.2021), lot 287.

Antimachos is one of only very few Bactrian kings whose name is known through written sources, specifically a receipt now held in Oxford. Besides a handful of kings, all other Bactrian rulers are known only through their coins. Often, it is difficult to determine whether there is only one king or multiple kings with the same titulature.