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1 Karshapana
| Issuer | Mauryan Empire |
|---|---|
| Year | 321 BC - 298 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| 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 | Square (irregular) |
| 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 (321 BC - 298 BC) |
| Additional information |
The Mauryan karshapana circulated during one of the most administratively sophisticated states the ancient world had yet produced. Chandragupta Maurya, who founded the dynasty around 321 BC after displacing the Nanda rulers, operated a currency system described in considerable detail in the Arthashastra — Kautilya's treatise on statecraft, which prescribed precise standards for silver purity, die production, and the penalties for counterfeit. State assay offices called rupa-darshakas were responsible for testing coinage in circulation.
These punch-marked pieces were struck, not cast — each symbol applied with a separate punch, which accounts for occasional misalignment or partial impressions on surviving specimens.