Speakers
Description
Although they account for only a small part of the coinage struck by the Graeco-Bactrian and Indo-Greek kings, gold coins have played an important role in historical reconstructions of the period, not least the unique 20 stater coin of Eucratides I (apparently the largest precious metal coin produced in Antiquity) and the octadrachm of Euthydemus I. Both these unique objects have recently been the subject of LA-ICP-MS analysis along with all the other gold coins of the Graeco-Bactrian and Indo-Greek kingdoms in the collection of the Bibliothèque nationale de France. The results of this analysis will be presented in this paper with a comparison of previous analyses of Hellenistic, and Kushan gold, allowing important conclusions about the stock of metal used in these kingdoms and our understanding of their history.
