page_title: Tillya Tepe Buddhist coin
section_title: Background
hierarchical_section_title: Tillya Tepe Buddhist coin / Background
caption_attribution_description: English: Greek Gods and Dharmachakra
context_page_description: The Tillya Tepe Buddhist coin is a gold coin that was discovered at the archaeological site of Tillya Tepe in modern Afghanistan.
  The gold coin from India was found in tomb IV. The archaeological site, as the coin, are dated to the beginning of the first century AD, that is late 1st century BC to early 1st century AD.
context_section_description: The coin was found in Afghanistan's Jowzjan Province, possibly the site of an early Indo-Iranian settlement. It was used as a necropolis for a wealthy family during the early Kushan period.
  Since the time of the Buddha, Buddhist representations had been aniconic. This raises the possibility that this coin is one of the earliest, if not the earliest, representation of the Buddha. 
  Earlier connections between Greek deities and Buddhist symbolism appears on the coins of Indo-Greek kings such as Menander II (90–85 BC), in which Zeus, through Nike, can be seen handing a wreath of victory to a Wheel of the Law. Like other pieces found at Tilya Tepe, there is a mix of Western Hellenistic style with  Gangetic and northwest Indian elements.
  The coin is assumed to be destroyed or melted down by the Taliban in March 2001.
caption: A coin of Indo-Greek king Menander II (left, circa 90–85 BC), in which Zeus, through Nike, hands a wreath of victory to a Wheel of the Law.[citation needed]
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