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1 Karshapana
| Issuer | Mauryan Empire |
|---|---|
| Year | 399 BC - 300 BC |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 3.36 g |
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| Obverse description | Flat silver field bearing multiple punch-marked symbols applied individually by official dies. Visible devices include a taurin symbol (bull's head motif) and a tree, characteristic emblems of Mauryan imperial punch-marked coinage. Additional subsidiary punches are distributed across the field in a somewhat irregular arrangement typical of hand-struck punch-marked fabric. The devices are deeply impressed into the planchet, resulting in raised surrounds and slightly uneven surface relief. |
|---|---|
| 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 Empire itself — these punch-marked pieces circulated across the Indian subcontinent from at least the 6th century BC, with the Mauryans inheriting and standardizing a tradition already centuries old. What distinguishes Mauryan issues from earlier janapada coinages is the addition of a fifth punch, generally attributed to imperial authority, applied over the earlier four banker's marks.
Chandragupta Maurya's administration codified coin weights and testing procedures in the Arthashastra, Kautilya's treatise on statecraft, which specifies acceptable silver purity and the role of state assayers.