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1/4 Karshapana - Sunga Dynasty
| Issuer | Shunga Empire |
|---|---|
| Year | 185 BC - 73 BC |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | 3 mm |
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| Obverse description | Central field depicts a standing human figure, likely a deity or royal personage, positioned to the right beside a large elephant rendered in profile facing right. The figures are executed in a bold, archaic punch-marked style characteristic of early Indian copper coinage. The design occupies the majority of the irregular flan, with the elephant's body and the attendant figure rendered in low relief. The surfaces show the typical rough texture associated with cast or hammered Shunga-period copper issues. No legend or inscription is present on this side. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse displays a stylised symbol consisting of a crescent or arched element surmounting a central motif, with a recumbent or crouching animal — likely a bull or elephant — depicted below in low relief within a square or rectangular punch. These punch-marked symbols are characteristic of Shunga dynastic copper coinage and carry cosmological or dynastic significance. The design is enclosed within the roughly circular field of the irregular flan. No inscriptions or legends are present. The execution is typical of the bold, schematic punch-marked tradition of the Gangetic plain during the second and first centuries BC. |
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| Mintage | ND (185 BC - 73 BC) |
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