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1 Karshapana
| Issuer | Mauryan Empire |
|---|---|
| Year | 322 BC - 185 BC |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 3.4 g |
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| Obverse description | Irregular square flan bearing four punch-marked symbols applied at various points across the field. The dominant device is a large elephant facing left, rendered in the characteristic incuse punch-marked style of the Mauryan period. Adjacent to the elephant, a stylized sun symbol with radiating rays is visible, along with two additional punch marks including what appears to be a geometric or floral motif. All devices are deeply impressed into the silver flan and display the bold, slightly abstract artistic conventions typical of Mauryan imperial coinage. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
The karshapana predates the Mauryan dynasty itself — these punch-marked pieces were already circulating across the Gangetic plain before Chandragupta seized Magadha around 322 BC. What the Mauryans did was systematize production, imposing state control over what had been a fragmented regional coinage. Kautilya's Arthashastra, the administrative treatise attributed to Chandragupta's minister Chanakya, devotes specific passages to the regulation of silver purity and the duties of the mint superintendent — one of the earliest bureaucratic treatments of monetary policy anywhere in the ancient world.