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Æ Unit - Ancient Vidarbha Post-Mauryan
| Issuer | Adam-Vidarbha region |
|---|---|
| Year | 250 BC - 200 BC |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Five punch-marked symbols applied to the flat, irregularly square flan: a solar symbol, a six-armed geometric device, a stylized tree, a taurine symbol, and a swastika enclosed within a rectangular box, accompanied by a triangle-headed standard. The punches are distributed across the field in the typical post-Mauryan regional tradition, each applied individually with a separate die. The surface is granular and shows the characteristic texture of a cast-and-hammered billon flan. No legend or inscription is present. |
|---|---|
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
The Vidarbha region — roughly modern eastern Maharashtra — sat at the margins of Mauryan administrative reach, and the coinage emerging here in the post-Mauryan transition reflects that ambiguity. These issues are attributed to local polities that operated semi-autonomously even during the height of Pataliputra's power, minting on their own weight standards rather than conforming to the imperial karshapana system.
Attribution remains genuinely contested among South Asian numismatists; "Adam-Vidarbha" references the archaeological site at Adam in Nagpur district, where substantial punch-marked and cast coin hoards established the regional typology.