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1 Karshapana - Magadha Janapada
| Issuer | Magadha Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Year | 350 BC - 300 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | 15 mm |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
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| Reverse description | The reverse field is largely plain and unworked, bearing at most one or two faint secondary punchmarks of indistinct form, applied with considerably less force than those on the obverse. The surface shows the characteristic rough texture of a hand-cut silver flan. The punchmarks, where present, are shallow and poorly preserved, consistent with the counter-marking practices common to Magadhan punch-marked coinage of this period. |
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| Mintage | ND (350 BC - 300 BC) |
| Additional information |
Among the earliest punch-marked coinages of the Indian subcontinent, Magadha's karshapanas predate the Mauryan imperial series and circulated during a period when the kingdom was consolidating control over the Gangetic plain — a process that would eventually produce the Mauryan Empire under Chandragupta around 321 BC. The coins were produced not by die-striking but by punch-marking: individual symbols applied sequentially with separate punches, which means no two pieces carry identical arrangements.
Attributing specific punch-marked pieces to Magadha as a janapada rather than the later imperial mint remains genuinely contested among specialists.