See full images — free registration
Continue with Google — it's free or register with email

1/2 Massa - Arya Chakravartis

Issuer Jaffna, Kingdom of
Year 1462-1597
Type Standard circulation coin
Value Log in to see details
Currency Log in to see details
Composition Log in to see details
Weight Log in to see details
Diameter Log in to see details
Thickness Log in to see details
Shape Log in to see details
Technique Log in to see details
Orientation Log in to see details
Engraver(s) Log in to see details
In circulation to Log in to see details
Reference(s) Log in to see details
Obverse description Log in to see details
Obverse script Log in to see details
Obverse lettering Log in to see details
Reverse description Log in to see details
Reverse script Log in to see details
Reverse lettering Log in to see details
Edge Plain
Mint Log in to see details
Mintage ND (1462-1597)
Additional information

The Arya Chakravartis ruled the Jaffna kingdom in the far north of Ceylon largely as a tributary or contested power, caught between successive South Indian pressures and, from the fifteenth century onward, Portuguese encroachment. This copper issue spans a dynasty in decline — the Portuguese sacked Jaffna in 1560 and again more decisively in 1591, and the kingdom was formally absorbed into their Ceylon administration by 1621. Coins from the terminal decades of this date range were likely struck in diminishing quantities as royal infrastructure collapsed.