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Potin unit - Kadambas of Banavasi
| Issuer | Kadamba Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Year | 345-525 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Orientation | Variable alignment ↺ |
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| Obverse description | Humped bull (Nandi) depicted in profile facing right, rendered in a schematic and stylized manner characteristic of early Deccan coinage. The animal is set within a dotted border or beaded circle, occupying the central field. The die work is crude yet expressive, with visible surface porosity consistent with the potin casting technique. The surrounding field shows traces of wear and surface encrustation typical of coins of this period and fabric. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Plain, essentially featureless reverse with a heavily worn and pitted surface, typical of the cast potin fabric of Kadamba issues. The field is largely flat and undifferentiated, with only faint traces of relief visible at the edges, possibly remnants of a die impression that has been effaced by wear and corrosion. No discernible legend, symbol, or device can be identified with certainty. |
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| Additional information |
The Kadambas of Banavasi were among the earliest dynasties to assert independent rule in the Deccan following the fragmentation of Gupta influence in the south, and their coinage reflects a regional minting tradition that drew selectively from both the punch-marked past and the emerging dynastic coinages of the Western Ghats. Potin — a low-grade alloy of copper, tin, and lead — was the workhorse metal of southern and western Indian local economies precisely because silver was scarce and copper too valuable to waste on small-denomination trade.
Banavasi itself, in present-day Karnataka, was the dynasty's capital and an active entrepôt on inland trade routes connecting the Arabian Sea ports to the interior. These units almost certainly circulated in that regional market rather than functioning as prestige or tributary currency.