Catalog
96 Ratti Sriksetra-Hailin
| Issuer | Halin, City of |
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| Year | 400-600 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse description | The obverse depicts the Bhadrapitha, a ceremonial throne or throne stool rendered in schematic style, occupying the central field. Three lanterns or lamp motifs are arranged above the throne in a symmetrical composition. This design identifies the coin as a Hailin derivative of the Sri-Ksetra coinage tradition, reflecting the shared iconographic conventions of the Pyu city-states of early Burma. The style is characteristic of hammered silver issues produced in the Irrawaddy valley during the early Common Era period. |
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| Reverse description | The reverse is dominated by the srivatsa, an ancient Indic auspicious symbol associated with good fortune and prosperity, rendered in the characteristic curvilinear style of Pyu coinage. At the center of the srivatsa device is a sankha, or conch shell, itself a sacred symbol of auspiciousness in Buddhist and Hindu iconographic traditions. The composition is centrally placed within the irregular round flan, with the devices occupying the majority of the reverse field. The overall treatment reflects the strong Indic cultural and religious influences prevalent in the Pyu city-states during the 5th to 7th centuries CE. |
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| Additional information |
Śrīkṣetra, the Pyu city-state near modern Pyay in central Burma, produced coinage well before most mainland Southeast Asian polities had developed monetary systems at all. The 96 ratti weight standard — ratti being the seed of Abrus precatorius, used across South and Southeast Asia as a unit of mass — ties this issue directly to Indian metrology, almost certainly arriving via Bay of Bengal trade networks rather than overland routes.
The extreme silver fineness is consistent across excavated Pyu hoards, suggesting tight control over metal sourcing that outlasted the city itself.