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1/2 Pagoda - Devaraya I
| Issuer | Vijayanagara, Empire of |
|---|---|
| Year | 1406-1422 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Reverse description | Reverse bears a multi-line Nagari (Devanagari) inscription arranged in horizontal registers divided by ruled lines, reading the royal epithet and name 'Sri Pratapa Devaraya', identifying the issuing ruler Devaraya I of the Vijayanagara Empire. The legend is rendered in early Nagari script characters, boldly struck in the field. The inscription occupies the full face of the coin within a plain border, with individual characters clearly formed despite the irregular hammered flan. This type of epigraphic reverse is characteristic of early Vijayanagara gold pagoda coinage. |
| Reverse script | Devanagari |
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| Additional information |
Devaraya I's reign was defined almost immediately by military pressure — the Bahmani Sultanate under Firuz Shah Bahmani defeated him in 1406, extracting a humiliating treaty that included the cession of the Tungabhadra doab and a forced matrimonial alliance. Gold coinage continued to flow from Vijayanagara's mints throughout, partly because the empire's control over the Deccan trade routes and the Bellary gold-producing region gave it bullion reserves that political setbacks alone could not drain.
The half pagoda denomination served actual transactional use in market trade rather than functioning purely as a prestige issue.