Frank Holt's Lost World of the Golden King describes the quest to discover Bactria, one of the largest civilizations in the Hellenistic Period, located in modern Afghanistan. Prior to the eighteenth century, knowledge of Bactria was limited to written accounts from other peoples. It was during the eighteenth century, however, that the collection of ancient coins by Europeans incentivized the search for further knowledge of Bactria. Recounting the struggle of searching for coins during multiple Afghan wars, Holt brings insight into the unique role of numismatics in Bactrian history, as coins were the easiest artifacts to smuggle from the region. Holt's narrative, informed by his experience as both a historian and an archaeologist, includes the historical significance of the discovery of Bactria, as well as the value of specific artifacts. Detailing all of the findings from Bactrian coins over time, Holt details the difficulty of piecing together the history of a people based primarily on coins, citing multiple cases of misinterpretation. Holt also discusses more recent archaeological discoveries related to Bactria, such as the 1960s discovery of the remains of a Bactrian city in northern Afghanistan. Holt's book is a thorough discussion of how the search for Bactrian history in a politically unstable land has progressed.