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1 Drachm - Gautamiputra Satakarni Overstruck Type, Nahapana
| Issuer | Satavahana Empire |
|---|---|
| Year | 53-78 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | 17 mm |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Brahmi |
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| Reverse description | The reverse displays the overstruck design featuring a hill motif accompanied by Ujjain symbols — characteristic four-pellet-in-cross or ring-and-dot devices — distributed across the field. The Tamil legend is present in the surrounding area, identifying the issuing ruler. The underlying reverse type of the original Nahapana drachm, typically bearing a Kharoshthi legend and arrow-and-thunderbolt devices, remains partially discernible beneath the overstrike. The overall execution is consistent with the Satavahana practice of overstruck reissuance of captured enemy coinage as a statement of political and military dominance. |
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| Additional information |
Nahapana was a Kshaharata Satrap whose western Indian territories were systematically reconquered by Gautamiputra Satakarni around 124 CE — a campaign so thorough that ancient sources claim he overstruck vast quantities of Nahapana's silver coins rather than melting them, reclaiming both the metal and the symbolic territory simultaneously. This piece is a direct artifact of that deliberate act of political erasure. The underlying Nahapana type frequently remains partially visible beneath the new dies, making these overstrikes among the most legible evidence of conquest in the entire ancient Indian numismatic record.