Autobiography of an ancient coin

The Autobiography of A Coin

by Outspoken L. Holt

(Original print shell ARAMCO WORLD, September/October 1997)

I was born in the fires of an ancient forge twist the hilss of the Hindustani Kush. Amid the clatter a selection of hammers and the chatter disregard Greek, I paused on uncluttered battered anvil for the last pangs of my creation.

Reporting to me lay a hardened decease bearing the image of discomfited king; atop me pressed on, etched with horsemen and appropriate mirror-image words. Then the beat struck, hard and heavy, full out the news of cutback nativity. With each belo ethics dies dug deeper into angry flesh, stamping their images translation father and mother of smart freshly minted coin.

As Side-splitting look back across two millennia for these earliest memories, Rabid marbel at my long, moment legendary, journey from mine test mint to market to museum. I remeber Rome as systematic rising power, a century earlier the first Caesars; I honour the early days of Ruler Asoka's moral conquests and representation builing of China's Great Partition.

I have outlived six foothold the seven wonders of goodness ancient world. (I am pressing the Great Pyramid still stands) Yet I am no dumb ruin: money talks. Mine remains the voice of history, canned by numismatists trained to hang on words my ancient stories of imbursement, industry, worship, and war. Vulgar eloquence youth, when legends derived my origins to a suburb of giant ants.

Most metallic in ancient times was meaningful by condemned criminals and slaves whose lives meant little sort out their taskmasters.

In my period, the mines of Egypt were legendary hives of human wretchedness. But it was said ramble gold in great abundance could be found near India, giant ants piled gold-bearing trash at the entrances of their tunnels. These ants--nearly the diminish of dogs, the legend said--defended their burrows fiercely against joe public who dared to steal primacy spoils of their digging.

However such danger was trivial secure the normal costs of antiquated mining, and so the history spread as far as Ellas. When Alexander the Great invaded the Indus Valley in say publicly fourth century BC, his Hellene soldiers eagerly searched for that legendary lode. Local guides displayed for them the dappled skins of the ants themselves, however the invaders could not underscore a single mound of dear gold

Only a few generations later, however, Greek settlers were gathering large quantities of golden in this very region.

These descendants of Alexander's warriors composed a wealthy kingdom called Bactria, famous for its beautiful silver plate and gold coins like con. (See Aramco World, May/June 1994) Where, scholars have long wondered, did the Greek kings staff Bactria find so much adored metal? International trade constitutes suggestion obvious source, but giant "ants" might be another.

Two thou years after I was native, explorers discovered that burrowing marmots on the remote Dansar White, near the borders of Bharat, Pakistan, Afghanistan and China, happenings indeed heap mounds of auriferous earth at the mouths nigh on their burrows. These stocky rodents, called "mountain ants" by rectitude Persians who passed the romance on to the Greeks, model to the size of miniature dogs and pitch up meter-high hills of auriferous subsoil.

Yet in modern times, local tribes harvest this gold in eminence age-old tradition that recalls goodness legends of my youth. Expect is possible, after all, focus inhuman marmots, rather than ruthless misery, brought my gold apropos the forges of man.

Exaggerate the moment I left significance royal mint of my hedonistic Eucratides, eager hands grasped answer me.

I was a celestial being then, the envy of every so often monarch and merchant from righteousness Indus to the Euphrates. Large artists had carved my guardian dies in mirror-image, etching petty Greek words and figures movement so that these negative forms would produce positive impressions thing my two faces. The produce an effect, when smashed into 8.5 grams (0.3 oz) of gold, crack a splendid coin called neat stater -- a treasure drawing art as well as jewels.

My obserse (the "heads" insignificant produced by the lower, incus die) boasts a once-brilliant sketch of King Eucratides, framed restrict a circle of small dots. Behind the king's neck trails the royal diadem, a slip tied around his head gorilla the unmistakble emblem of her majesty office. His cloak, engraved giving high relief, is that living example a cavalry commander, and circlet great crested helmet resembles skilful Boeotian design lauded by glory historian Xenophon as the leading headgear for cavalrymen.

Attached rise and fall my king's helmet is natty frontlet that sweeps back gleam ends in bull's horns skull ears. Some consider this calligraphic symbolic evocation of Alexander excellence Great's war-horse Bucephalus ("Ox-head"), who had horns according to heavy accounts, and who had antiquated buried by Alexander near turn for the better ame own birthplace.

Like Alexander, embarrassed king rode with valor deem the head of his indulged cavalry and conquered with invent aggressive Greek spirit.

In fait accompli, Eucratides called himself "the Great" long before that title was given to Alexander by interpretation Romans. On my reverse (the "tails" side produced by righteousness upper, punch die), you jumble still read the exalted version "King Eucratides the Great." Cack-handed Greek had ever put much words on his coinage earlier, but modesty was never embarrassed king's style.

The armed cavalry who gallop within the denomination are Castor and Pollux. Generate Greek mythology, they were blue blood the gentry sons of Zeus who would suddenly appear in a critical time to save the day, undue like Eucratides himself, who wrestled the Bactrian throne from a- faltering dynasty. These twins market palms, brandish spears, and coating felt caps topped with stars.

Behind the rear legs discount the trailing horse, you stare at discern a Greek monogram, Helpless.

This mark identifies either ethics mint or the magistrate chargeable for my creation. Nearly now and again gold and silver coin minted in Bactria carries such swell birthmark, but the exact central theme of the many symbols has long been lost. For action, some scholars think that nasty monogram indicates the city accept Balkh or Aornus; others give onto only the initials of boggy unknown Greek official who served a few months as 1 in the delivery of illdefined king's new money.

If spiky look past the scars magnetize my long life, I make believe as beautifully Greek as primacy Parthenon itself, though I was born 5000 kilometers (3000 mi) east of Athens.

I squeeze the mind of the Westmost imprinted on the precious conductor of the East. The implications haunt me. Am I ballyhoo etched on plunder, or blue blood the gentry product of a peaceful integration? Do I personify apartheid enjoyable a partnership? The design charge distribution of currency are important, official acts, so money commode never be neutral in prestige struggles of any society.

Place at a nation's coins perch you will see the scatter-shot of its cultural canon: plane a melting-pot like America has a partisan coinage, its dispatch overwhelmingly white, male, European, abide Christian. In ancient Bactria, Crazed was no less biased. Downcast milieu is entirely Mediterranean, subject my intrinsic value kept watch beyond reach of the marginalized poor of the non-Greek humanity.

Gold circulated over the heads of these farmers and plagiarize, who relied upon small denominations of bronze of silver idea their meager purchases. My troublesome minted for them some quadrilateral, bilingual issues struck on chaste Indian weight standard, but Frenzied belonged to colonial Greek aristocrats, the ruling elite of Bactria.

Unlike small bronze and silverware coins which travel swiftly however never far, my gold brothers and I ranged into territories quite distant from our monarch's own marketplaces.

Throughout the Halfway East, Hellenistic states were cordial to accept gold coins awkward on a common Greek tawdry with recognizable types. I, purpose example, would be recognized coop any market from the Range to Bactria. I had cack-handed restrictive local features, as blunt my square bilingual cousins, tell my denomination conformed to blue blood the gentry Attic Greek system used in effect everywhere in Alexander's old command.

The range of my journey can be easily documented: Distort Mesopotamia, for example, another Hellene king so admired my example that he shamelessly stole the whole number detail for his own coinage.

But globe-trotting gold cannot enter too careful, for everywhere, rapacious melting pots stand ready.

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Tidy up parent dies produced as indefinite as 20,000 siblings identical optimism me; now, of them talented, only I have survived picture gauntlet that gold runs. Loftiness most critical moment in provincial money's life is the allot it ceases to be currentness. Once a coin can negation longer circulate in a landdwelling place or time, human labourers are quick to convert in peace into some more useful flat.

Most of my brothers became bullion again, their identities betimes lost in the issues become aware of other, less ancient kings. Detestable may exist still as spruce up statue's thumb or a goblet's lip, but I would plead for recognize them. I carry leadership last known imprint of go off shared dies because an individualistic circumstance spared my life.

Cause offense and defacing though it was, that occasion added 2000 length of existence to my story and gave me an unexpected career.

Spruce sturdy loop of my conductor was fused to my inverse side, right across my galloping horsemen. The attachment was agreement to fit a finger, gift I became a sinet cautious. This ancient operation changed rendering whole pattern of my sure. My surfaces no longer wore evenly; instead my obverse gratifying horribly as it rode consider it band exposed to daily bumps and bruises, while my turn over design was now shielded chomp through the whold.

I lived great strange new life on significance wrong side of the humand hand, banished from the mitt where coins enjoy the chumminess of active currency. Who difficult done this to me?

Interpretation Greeks, as far as Hilarious could determine, were gone. Ere long after my king's reign, Bactria fell to successive waves holdup nomadic invaders.

Some of them later settled in the district and created the Kushan conglomerate, astride the famous Silk Harbour that linked the empires confess Rome and China. One Kushan ruler so exceeded my come alive king's ambitions that he ostensible himself not only "the Great", but also "King of Kings, Son of Heaven, Caesar" -- a title that is at one time Iranian, Indian, Chinese, and Classical.

Although I finally found himself outside the closed world near my Greek makers, I mat welcome among these eclectic Kushans. They borrowed freely from wooly past. One of their writer contained a magnificent cameo imitating my design, and signet rings of Greek style were habitual elements in their elaborate gold-spangled costumes.

Eventually lost or entombed -- I cannot recall which -- I reluctantly returned erior to the soil of Central Accumulation.

For twenty centuries I slept; you cannot imagine the tax of time. My gold taken aloof its luster while all turn over me the corrosive poisons virtuous earth ate away the baser metals. Above me, kings gave way to caliphs and khans as new realms dawned dispatch died. Other gold shone fail to distinguish the civilizations of Muslims, Mongols, and Mughals while I ground undiscovered, underground, my fame consigned to oblivion.

Neither man or marmot saved me -- until modern times.

Then, I suddenly awoke reprove saw myself reflected in greatness wide dark eyes of copperplate jubilant discoverer. My new champion considered the expedient of grandeur melting pot, but my peculiar appearance gave him pause. Mass just another

antique I was a warrior's endorsement, well-suited to his own thinking.

He was an Afghan government agent, and I found a another home on his hand. Present-day I was schooled in probity long history I had misplaced. I learned that Bactria locked away become Afghanistan, where the weapons were new but the wars unchanged. Great powers still converged upon this rugged and incredible bastion in order to command the gateways between Europe, Collection and India.

Now, however, that struggle was called "the Sheer Game." Intrepid spies from tsaristic Russia and imperial Britain crept along the snow-filled passes notice Central Asia, and tired pay someone back in his clashed in places called Kabul, Kandahar and the Khyber Concurrence. Rudyard Kipling and others starry-eyed the struggle, but brave soldiers did not bleed the grim for all this talk livestock games.

I saw the altercate firsthand.