Punch-marked coins
Punch-marked coins are a type of early Coinage of India, dating to between about the 6th and 2nd centuries BC.
The first coins in India were minted around the 6th century BC by the Mahajanapadas of the Indo-Gangetic Plain, and certainly before the invasion of Alexander the Great in the 4th century BC. The coins of this period were punch-marked coins called Puranas, Karshapanas or Pana. Several of these coins had a single symbol, for example, Saurashtra had a humped bull, and Dakshin Panchala had a Swastika, others, like Magadha, had several symbols. These coins were made of silver of a standard weight but with an irregular shape. This was gained by cutting up silver bars and then making the correct weight by cutting the edges of the coin.[citation needed] They are mentioned in the Manu, Panini, and Buddhist Jataka stories and lasted three centuries longer in the south than the north (600BCE-300CE)".[1]
Mauryan Period (322–185 BC)
During the Mauryan period, punch-marked coins continued to be issued in large quantities, these are a continuation of the Magadha Kingdom coinage as the ruling house of this empires established the Mauryan Empire. They contained on average 50–54 grains of silver in each coin depending on wear and 32 rattis in weight Manusmriti,[4] and earlier coins are flatter than later coins. Punches on these coins count to 450 with the most common the sun and six-armed symbols, and various forms of geometrical patterns, circles, wheels, human figures, various animals, bows and arrows, hills and trees etc. Many are barely discernible for what they could be.
The basic coin is called the Karshapana (pana) in numismatic terms but the Arthasastra stated there are at least 4 denominations of silver coins in pana, ardhapana (half pana), pada (quarter pana) and ashta-bhaga, or arshapadika (one-eighth pana).[citation needed] But only the Karshapana is found. There is no issues found of the other denominations even though cut coins are found.
The style of these coins is artistic, they show recognizable designs such as Buddhist Shrines and Chaitya, or animals such as the elephant, horse, lion, etc. On the reverse side of the coins is depicted the so-called Ujjain symbol, which is "a cross with four circles at the end of the two crossing lines."[5]
See also
References
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ http://coinindia.com/galleries-shurasena.html Accessed 06/03/2007
- ↑ http://coinindia.com/galleries-surashtra.html Accessed 06/03/2007
- ↑ http://www.med.unc.edu/~nupam/ancient1.html accessed 15/2/2007
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
