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1 Tara - Devaraya I
| Issuer | Empire of Vijayanagara |
|---|---|
| Year | 1406-1422 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Tara |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Crude hammered field depicting a stylized elephant in profile facing right, rendered in the characteristic rough die-struck manner of early Vijayanagara coinage. The animal's form is conveyed with minimal but recognizable detail, including a suggestion of the trunk and body mass. The overall design reflects the archaic artistic conventions of 15th-century Deccan silver coinage. The surface exhibits the irregular flan typical of hammered tara issues of this period. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse script | Devanagari |
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| Additional information |
Devaraya I's reign saw the Vijayanagara empire consolidate control over much of the Deccan peninsula following decades of pressure from the Bahmani Sultanate to the north. He is recorded in contemporary sources, including the account of the Italian traveler Niccolò de' Conti who visited the empire around 1420, as ruling a city of extraordinary scale and commercial density — a kingdom that required small fractional silver coinage precisely because its markets were active enough to demand it. At 0.25 grams, this tara represents the lowest practical denomination in metal that the mint could strike with any consistency.