Chandragupta Maurya and His Times c15.167

c15.167

Nor is the Indian provenance established for the Greek coins found in India, whether *tetradrachms* or *didrachms* or *drachms*. The proper Greek *drachm* minted on the Attic standard weighs 67.5 grains, whereas the *drachm* found in India weighs not more than 58 grains. Further, in these smaller denominations of coins, whether *drachms* or *diobols*, the Athenian owl is replaced by eagle. A find of a series of silver *drachms* of Attic weight made in the Panjab by Cunningham perhaps proves that the smaller Athenian imitations were known in the north of India. Their obverse shows the head of a warrior, wearing a close-fitting helmet, wreathed with olive, while the reverse shows a cock and a caduceus symbol. These coins give an impression that they were designed after an Athenian prototype. These are supposed to have been the issues of king Sophytes or Saubhūti, and, if so, these coins form a memorial of Alexander's invasion of India.