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1 Karshapana - Shaishunaga Dynasty
| Issuer | Magadha Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Year | 413 BC - 345 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Silver |
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| Obverse description | Irregular silver flan bearing five punch-marked symbols applied in sequence: a sun symbol (Gupta-Hardaker 417) in the upper field, a six-armed variant symbol (G-H 468), a hill of five arches (G-H 325), a river with two fish (G-H 217), and two fish within a rectangular box (G-H 83). Each symbol was individually impressed by a separate punch, characteristic of the Magadha punch-marked coinage tradition, with the impressions distributed across the flat, roughly finished flan surface. |
|---|---|
| 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 Shaishunaga dynasty ruled Magadha during a period when coinage in the Indian subcontinent was still developing its own logic entirely independent of Greek or Persian influence. These punch-marked pieces were struck — or more accurately, punched — by applying individual dies to the silver blank in sequence, which is why the symbols read as a cluster rather than a unified design. The specific symbol combinations catalogued by Gupta and Hardaker allow attribution to issuing authority and approximate period, though the system remains only partially decoded.
Nanda rulers displaced the Shaishunaga line around 345 BC, but continued issuing nearly identical punch-marked currency, making terminal dating of this type genuinely difficult.