Post-Mauryan coinage of Gandhara

When Mauryan central power disappeared, several small independent entities were formed, which started to strike their own coins, defining a period of Post-Mauryan coinage that ends with the rise of the Gupta Empire in the 4th century CE.

[5] Each individual coins was first cast by pouring a molten metal, usually copper or silver, into a cavity formed by two molds.

This date marks an evolution in the design of single-die cast coins, as deities and realistic animals were introduced.

[7] At the same time coinage technology also evolved, as double-die coins (engraved on both sides, obverse and reverse) started to appear.

[7] According to Osmund Bopearachchi these coins, and particularly those depicting the goddess Lakshmi, were probably minted by Demetrius I following his invasion of Gandhara.

[9][7] Indo-Greek influence in the portrayal of the animal has been claimed, especially regarding the horses and lions of the Gandharan coins, which are said to be "distinctly Greek in style".

This design can be found in Greek coinage, such as that of Ophellas, a former officer of Alexander, as governor in Cyrene, North Africa.

Hirañasame would mean "The Golden Hermitage", an area of Taxila (preferred interpretation), or if read 'Hitajasame would mean "Good-fame possessing", a direct translation of "Agathokles"[10][13][14] Later on, from the second half of the reign of Apollodotus I (ruled 180-160 BCE), legends would become standardized, with simply the King's name and attribute in Greek on the obverse and Kharoshthi Prakrit on the reverse.