Catalog
Æ Unit
| Issuer | Vidisha, City of |
|---|---|
| Year | 201 BC - 101 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 | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | A rectilinear geometric symbol, possibly a svastika or stepped square motif, occupying the central field within a plain border. The design is executed in low relief with bold, simplified lines consistent with 2nd century BC punch-marked or die-struck civic issues from the Vidisha region. The flan is irregular with heavily corroded surfaces. |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
Vidisha — modern Besnagar in Madhya Pradesh — was among the most commercially active inland cities of the Gangetic plain during this period, sitting at the confluence of the Betwa and Bes rivers. Its civic coinage emerged independently of imperial Mauryan authority, likely after the empire's fragmentation following Ashoka's death in 232 BC. These small bronzes circulated within a tight regional economy, and the city later gained fame as the site of the Heliodorus pillar, erected around 110 BC by a Greek ambassador from Taxila who had converted to Vaishnavism.