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Karshapana - Maurya-Sunga Period
| Issuer | Shunga Empire |
|---|---|
| Year | 200 BC - 100 BC |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Technique | Hammered |
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| Obverse description | Central field dominated by a large, bold swastika symbol rendered in raised relief, its four arms terminating in right-angle hooks in the traditional Indian auspicious orientation. The swastika is set within a plain circular border, filling nearly the entire flan. The device is struck with characteristic vigor of the Shunga period, with the raised lines showing clear hammer definition against the flat, slightly concave field. No legend or additional subsidiary symbols are present on this face. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Central field bearing a stylized tree or plant motif in raised relief, most likely a sacred tree or Bodhi tree symbol, its bifurcating branches spreading upward from a central trunk with rounded foliage elements distributed throughout the field. The surrounding field is populated with a series of small globular pellets or dot symbols arranged around the periphery, a characteristic decorative convention of Shunga-period coinage. The overall design is executed in a naïve but confident hammered style typical of cast-and-struck Indian copper issues of the 2nd century BC. No inscriptions or legends are present. |
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| Additional information |
The Shunga dynasty came to power in 185 BC when the general Pushyamitra Shunga assassinated the last Mauryan emperor, Brihadratha, during a military review — a palace coup that ended nearly 140 years of Mauryan rule. Whether the Shungas continued striking coins through inherited Mauryan dies or established fresh production is a question the series itself doesn't resolve cleanly, and the overlap between late Mauryan and early Shunga copper issues remains genuinely contested among specialists. HGC 12 #977 places this piece within that ambiguous transitional range.