Got Ancient Indian Coins??

The vast history of the Indian subcontinent has left us with some stupendous coins. Stretching from the dawn of numismatics c. 600BC to the present.


Lets see those ancient coins of India!



Here is one that came in today. This is new type of Ancient coinage for me, but these two coins spoke to me, and at a good price:yes:I was drawn to them because they continue to incorporate Sassanian Persian coin style with the right facing bust on the obverse and the Zoroastrian fire altar on the reverse.

India
Period of Pratihara Supremacy, Pratitkara - Pala
(c. 780-980 AD)
AR Drachm 19.1 mm x 21.5 mm x 4.13 g
Anonymous Issue
obv. Stylized bust of Firuz with a turreted and winged crown. SRI DAMA in Brahmi.
Rev. Stylized Zoroastrian fire alter with attendants on both sides.
The reference was given as...Mitchiner 364 by a reputable dealer. The dealer did say that the coins of this type were of unknown provenance and that they were found in Gujarat and Malwa but no one knows who issued them. I guess the Stone inscriptions found in that area are in conflict with the inscriptions on this coin. These coins are thought to be dated later and to another type. The seller is an expert in this field and suspects the attribution is incorrect. I unfortunately did not press him for more information then that which was on the original listing.




The second coins I saw featured for the first time on Doug Smith's site. Very well written and easy to read. He shows several different examples of type. I enjoyed it and urge other who are interested in Indian and eastern coins to red it.


India
Saurashta and Gujarat
Anonymous Issue (800-950AD)
AR drachm 17.2 mm x 4.00 g
Obverse: Stylized bust of Khushrau right. With degraded dots for legends,
Reverse: Stylized Zoroastrian fire alter.

 

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Anoob, don't have any yet.....but yours are great...:yes:

 

Good looking coins. I do like that some of those coins are made square instead of round. Gives it a special dimension.

 

POST-MAURIYAN SUNGA DYNASTY AE ½ KARSHAPANA Era: 185-75 BC.
Obverse: Bull, elephant, swastika and staff symbols.
Reverse: Hill, cross and tree symbols.
Weight:3.1 gms.
Dimension: 14 x 15 mm.
Reference: MACW-4348.


INDIA, CHALUKYAS of GUJARAT (1030 - 1120 A.D.)
AR Drachm (gadhaiya paisa)
O: Degenerate Indo-Sasanian style bust right, sun and moon (crown?) above.
R: Stylized fire altar, sun (consisting of rosette of dots) above left, crescent moon above right.
4.4g
17mm
Deyell 158, Mitchiner Non-Islamic 427

 

Mat - Coin #2 looks like it has the numeral "3" in the 8 o'clock position. I wonder if it is in fact a numeral or just part of the design. I wonder what the authority on the coin says?

 

India, Pushkalavati
anonymous civic or guild AE coinage
circa 186-160 B.C.
Dimensions: 24x23 mm
Weight: 11.70 grams
Obverse: Elephant right, chaitya above
Reverse: Lion left, swastika above, chaitya at left
Reference: MACW 4401-4403

 

Indo-Scythian Kings, Azes. AE-Unit
Brahma Bull / Lion
circa 58-20 B.C.
Diameter: 27 mm
Weight: 13.35 grams
Obverse: Rajadirajasa Legend. Lion standing right, monogram above
Reverse: Brahma bull right, monogram above, shi before
Reference: Senior 102.120

 

It looks like the normal S shaped design with part missing due to that edge irregularity that touches it. If you want to ask an expert, you might try this one:
http://coinindia.com/
Click on contact for his email.

 

I'll offer this without ID and ask your opinion on what it is. I believe it is South Indian but it could be from Sri Lanka which, IMHO, you should collect along with your Indian coins. Many Indian coins are struck with dies larger than the flans making it less than obvious what the type was on some examples and making two coins of the same type look very different.

 

:lurker:

 

A few Indian types I consider different enough to have joined my collection:


Ishvakus c.300 AD PB13
Mitchiner 5075


MAITRAKAS OF VALABHI Ar drachm
Mitchiner 4885-98?
450-700 AD but I don't have the issuing ruler even though the reverse names the founder of the dynasty (Bhattaraka). These look a lot like the common Western Satraps coins but have a trident on the reverse in place of the mountain. Help me?


Toramana II 540-570 ADAE unit Mitchiner 3792-5
This is actually pretty nice for these crude things but I bought it for the very hard green patina which seems restricted to the high points and the clear reverse legend JaYa at right. I would like to have one with faces well struck but have not seen one for sale.


Two from the Napki Malek group which come bronze and silver (and everything inbetween?). They are easy to find with nice obverses but the reverses are usually crude like these. Mitchiner 1508var. 6th century?

 

Awesome coins, dougsmit ...

 

I thought the Napki Malka nezak coin was struck in Kabul. Not really India, is it?

 

here's one of my favorites...





queen lilavati
1197-1212ad

not technically ancient or indian...but still in the spirit of the thread i think, medieval sri lanka.

 

haha yes! Great addition to the thread!

doug- yours will take some thought, interesting challenge .

 

Good question. It depends on whether we insist on saying that modern borders have to with ancient places. When I think of 'Indian' I tend to include a lot of what is now adjoining areas with other political names today and not have hard lines drawn where they separate. If this coin is not Indian then half of our Greek coins are not Greek and relatively few of our Roman coins are Roman. Perhaps we should just call them Hephthalite and expect everyone to look them up to see where that was. There is also the matter of my ignorance as to where mints were located. Is this one also Kabul?
Earlier? Later? I don't know!

 

I like these. Lilavati is the common one but special because she was female and a really interesting ruler. Mine here is clearly different if you read the legends and special to me because Dharmasoka 1208-1209 AD died before he was two but still got coins for his time as king. His are the most rare of the common Lankan coins of this type.

 

Fair enough. Personally i do not consider Bactria to be indian, if you say that you might as well say all of central asia is india. I do include coins from modern pakistan though.

Btw, that coin is hunnic, but not hepthalite. Everyone wants to label central asian huns as hepthalites, but they aren't. These were nezak, and were red huns, not white huns like the hepthalites. Later on red huns moved to india, but hepthalites never did.

 

Kidirites are red huns right???

 

Actually the kidarites appeared before those distinctions were made. Alchon and nezak we know were red, hepthalite whiite, we simply do not know about kidarites. My guess would be yes, since the hepthalites in many ways unique, but its a guess unsupported in history.