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Karshapana - Maurya-Sunga Period Mathura Region
| Issuer | Shunga Empire |
|---|---|
| Year | 185 BC - 73 BC |
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| Currency | Karshapana (185 BC to 73 BC) |
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| Obverse description | Central device depicting a tree within a railing (vedika), rendered in a schematic, punch-marked style characteristic of early Indian coinage. The tree motif, likely a sacred pipal or similar auspicious species, is shown frontally within a rectangular enclosure, occupying the central field of the irregular square flan. The relief is low and the design somewhat worn, consistent with cast copper coinage of the Shunga period from the Mathura region. |
|---|---|
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
The Shunga dynasty came to power when Pushyamitra Shunga, a Brahmin general, assassinated the last Mauryan emperor Brihadratha during a military parade around 185 BC. The transition mattered for coinage: the Mauryan punch-marked silver karshapana system gave way to regional cast and struck copper issues under local authority, of which this Mathura-region piece is a product. Mathura operated as a significant commercial node on routes connecting the Gangetic plain to the northwest, and copper karshapanas from this zone circulated in a genuinely mixed monetary environment alongside remnant Mauryan silver.