Tetradrachm - Apollodotus Pushkalvati

References: 

Petitot-Bieheler, RN 1975, 50 (these dies)

Pushkalvati Coinage. 

It is unique on three counts: first, it belongs to the only issue of tetradrachms that Apollodotus struck; second, it is his only issue that bears his portrait; third, it is his only monolingual issue, as all the rest of his coins are bilingual. If not for a short-lived issue of Attic-weight hemidrachms attributed to the start of his reign (Bop. Series 2), the tetradrachms also would be unique for having been struck on planchets that were round, as the balance of Apollodotus’ coins are square. All of this shows that Apollodotus was a visionary ruler who recognized that in order for his coinage to be accepted he would have to embrace the economic preferences of the people living south of the Hindu Kush. Not only did he quickly abandon round planchets, but he adopted for his coinage the Indian weight standard, in which the silver drachm was about 2.45 grams. He also was sure to use both Greek and Kharoshti inscriptions. In doing so, Apollodotus set a few trends that would be perpetuated by the long line Greco-Bactrian and Indo-Greek kings who ruled after his death in about 165 B.C.