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1 Karshapana - Ashoka
| Issuer | Mauryan Empire |
|---|---|
| Year | 272 BC - 232 BC |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 3.04 g |
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| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Plain, nearly uninscribed reverse bearing a single small counter-mark — a floral or rosette punch — applied to the left of centre in high relief against the otherwise smooth, flat silver field. The surface shows extensive areas of reddish-brown and green patination consistent with long burial. The reverse is otherwise undecorated, as is standard for Mauryan punch-marked karshapanas of this period, where the reverse served primarily as the blank anvil face during manufacture. |
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| Mintage | ND (272 BC - 232 BC) |
| Additional information |
Ashoka's karshapanas circulated across one of the largest contiguous empires of the ancient world, from the Hindu Kush to Karnataka. The punch-marked technique used to produce them — multiple dies struck cold onto a pre-cut blank — means no two pieces share an identical arrangement of symbols, a manufacturing reality that still complicates attribution today. Mitchiner's classification system remains the primary reference, though scholars continue to dispute which symbol clusters are genuinely Ashokan versus inherited from Bindusara's earlier issues.