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1 Karshapana
| Issuer | Nanda Empire (India (ancient)) |
|---|---|
| Year | 370 BC - 321 BC |
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| 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 | 1.8 mm |
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| Obverse description | Flat, irregularly shaped silver flan bearing multiple punch-marked devices applied at different positions across the field. The principal marks include a solar symbol, a six-armed geometric symbol, a bull depicted on a hilltop, an Indradhvaja (standard) flanked by four taurine symbols, and an elephant. Several of the punchmarks are partially off the flan due to the irregular cutting of the planchet, a characteristic feature of early Indian punch-marked coinage. The surface exhibits the flat, unworked texture typical of the Nanda period karshapana series. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse presents a largely plain, uninscribed silver surface with only faint and indistinct incuse impressions visible, consistent with secondary or banker's marks that are largely illegible on this specimen. No clearly identifiable symbols or legends are discernible, as is common on worn or poorly struck examples of Nanda-period punch-marked coinage. The surface shows the natural granular texture of the hammered silver planchet. |
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| Additional information |
The Nanda Empire's punch-marked coinage represents some of the earliest standardized silver currency on the subcontinent, predating the Mauryan reforms that would eventually supplant it. The dynasty itself — possibly of low-caste or even Shudra origin according to later Brahmanical sources — was regarded with considerable hostility by the brahmin-authored texts that are our primary literary evidence for the period. Their monetary output is consequently better documented by archaeology than by any written record they left themselves.
GH#450 falls within the Magadha regional series. Attribution to the Nanda period specifically relies on stratigraphic evidence from Pataliputra excavations rather than any direct inscription.