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AR Vimshatika
| Issuer | Uncertain Indian mint (India (ancient)) |
|---|---|
| Year | 500 BC - 400 BC |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Obverse displays a dense, allover pattern of sinuous, interlocking serpentine or river-like motifs in low relief, covering the entire irregular flan. The design consists of multiple winding, curvilinear bands radiating from a central point and terminating in spiral volutes, creating a highly stylised geometric composition characteristic of early Indian punch-marked coinage. The surface texture is granular, consistent with the hammered silver fabric of the period. No legend or inscription is present; the decoration is entirely symbolic and non-figural. |
|---|---|
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| Mintage | ND (500 BC - 400 BC) |
| Additional information |
The vimshatika — literally "twenty" in Sanskrit, denoting its value in the archaic punch-marked weight system — belongs to the earliest phase of Indian coinage, predating the great Mauryan imperial issues by at least a century. These pieces were produced not by a single centralized authority but by merchants, regional chieftains, and city-states operating across the Ganges plain, each applying their own punches to blanks of tested silver. Attribution remains genuinely difficult: without a controlling mint or issuing authority, provenance and punch sequence are the primary tools scholars use to assign these to geographic zones.