As a Buddhist I thought it would be neat to collect coins that have the image of the Buddha on them. I already have a couple commemoratives from Nepal, and a couple of bank notes from Cambodia with a Buddha watermark. Does anyone know of a resource that I can use to find out which coins have a Buddha on them, and then that will help me look for the actual coins at auction and so forth. Thanks, David
If I recall correctly, some of the later Bactrian greek coins may have shown an image of Buddha. While you're at it, find a coin of Menander, he was the Bactrian Greek king who converted to Buddhism.
Go to the public library and consult the Standard Catalog of World Coins. Check all the countries with significant Buddhist populations (Thailand, South Korea Taiwan, India, Sri Lanka, Japan, China, Vietnam, Mynamar (Burma) and Cambodia are the 10 top prospects, not necessarily in that order), and look at the pictures. When you finish with those, start with other Asian and Pacific Ocean countries. (There are many more than 100,000 pictures - almost all actual size - in the five volume set covering the 17th-21st Centuries.) That method may be tedious and time consuming, but it will certainly find most of the potential candidates for such a collection.
There are some extremely rare Kushan coins with Buddha's image on them. Great Kushan king Kanishka I issued gold dinars with Buddha's image on reverse. Their are only 4 dinars known in existence at this moment. One is in British Museum, second one is in Hirayama's collection in Japan, third one was in Boston Museum (unfortunately lost few years ago) and the fourth was available in market couple of years ago and was sold in one of the CNG's auctions. Apart from these gold dinars, there are copper coins of Kanishka I with Buddha's reverse. The two known types with Buddha's image are 1> In Standing Sakyamuni "Gautam" position. 2> In seated Abhaydan "Maitraya" position. Even these copper coins with Buddha reverse are extremely rare and in last couple of years I have seen even a very low grade coin sells for several hundred dollars. Last year in one of the CNG's auction, there was a decent "Maitraya" reverse coin and high bid was more then $3000. Apart from these Kushan coins, I believe there is one Shri Lankan silver coin issued to celebrate 2500 years of Buddhism. I don't think it had a Buddha's image on them, but just the image of Chakra on reverse. Good luck in your hunt and let us know when you add some coins in your collection. Regards, Ballabh Garg
Update - I have found some medals, that I have ordered from a dealer in Singapore. On the coin front, there are very few common coins, as far as I can tell that have the actual Buddha on them. There are some silver proofs from Sri Lanka from 2006 and some copper from sri lanka in the 80's. I have found and am looking for some coins with Buddhist themes. A couple from sri lanka, one from Thailand, and a few from Cambodia. There are some gold proofs from Japan and Korea, and one from China, but I think it might be more of a medal than a coin. I did find some paper money from Cambodia that has a watermark of the Buddha's head on it. There are some copies of some extreamly rare ancient coins from china, but I do not know if it is worth getting them or not. A real problem I'm running into, as I find more of these coins, is what is a good value for these coins. Some of these coins are not worth more than their base metal value, but since they are coming from overseas that makes them a little more pricey. Someone on one of my mailing lists said that they are worth what I am willing to pay for them, which I guess is true, but it makes it harder to justify to the wife! Just thought I would let you know how my search is going. When some of the items start coming in I can post pictures if anyone is interested. edit: I also found an interesting site about oriental coins. http://www.zeno.ru/ it's a kind of neat place to look around. Thanks, David
Laos 2006 Buddha I came across these coins during my silver panda search. http://www.pandaamerica.com/sresult.asp?keyword=Laos 2006 Budd&sortby=priceasc I think its issued by Singapore mint. Looks beautiful!!!
Nice thing about the Standard catalog on DVD's is that you can do a search through the text for a term and find all of the examples. So I do a search for Buddha and every case where they describe what is on the coin and use the word Buddha comes up. In the 1801 -1900 book we find: The names of two rulers of Thailand. That is all In the 1901 - 2000 book: China Peoples Republic Y 441 1993 5 Yaun obv Great Wall rev Taiwan Temple Buddha Statue (Silver) Mintage of 2,000 Proof only $27.50 Y 711 1997 10 Yuan Sino Thailan Friendship obv Forbbin City and Thai Royal Palace rev two Budha statues one in cameo mintage 45,000 proof only $22.50 Y 1207 1999 10 Yuan obv Building on top of E Mei Mountan rev The Kuan Yin Buddha mintage 60,000 BU $40.00 Y 445 1993 50 Yuan Taiwan Temples obv Great Wall rev Buddha statue (Gold) mintage 1,000 proof only $370 (This is probably the same design as the Y 441 which wasn't pictured in the SCWC) Y 712 1997 200 Yuan Same designs as Y 711 listed earlier 1000 gram silver proof coin mintage of 880 $1000 Y 449 1994 500 Yuan same as Y 445 5 oz proof gold mintage 76 $4,000 Gibralter KM 599 1997 1/25 Crown Asia obv Crowned head of Queen rev Buddha and Temple (gold) mintage 15,000 proof only $40.00 KM 446 1996 1/10 Crown obv Queen rev Buddha statue (gold) mintage 10,000 Proof $95.00 KM 447 1996 1/5 Crown same as KM 446 (gold) mintage 8,000 Proof $185. KM 637 1998 1/5 Crown Japan Winter Olympics obv Qween rev Ski jumper and Buddha (gold) mintage 5,000 Proof $165 KM 448 1996 1/2 Crown Same as KM 446 (gold) mintage 5,000 Proof $365 KM 449 1996 1 Crown Same as KM 446 coppernickel mintage not listed Unc $7.50 KM 449a same as last but silver mintage 15,000 Proof $25 KM 600 1997 1 Crown Same as KM 599 (silver) mintage 10,000 proof $40 KM638 1998 1 Crown same as KM 637 coppernickel mintage not list Unc $8.00 KM638a same as last but silver mintage 30,000 Proof $40 KM 451 1996 5 Crown Same as KM 446 5 oz gold proof mintage 250 $3,500 North Korea KM 177 2000 5 Won obv Mythical bird rev Buddha statue (silver) mintage 3,000 Proof $30 Laos KM 21 1975 100,000 Kip obv King Savang Vatthana rev Statue of Buddha (gold) Mintage 100 Unc $375 100 Proof $450 Nepal KM 1119 VS2055 (1998) 50 Rupee obv trad square in circle design rev Buddha portrait and Ashoka piller (bronze) mintage 30,000 Unc $10 KM 1127 VS2057 (2000) 50 Rupee obv trad square in circle design rev Buddha and four figures. (brass) mintage 30,000 Unc $10 KM 1077 VS2052 (1995) 500 Rupee obv trad rev Buddha (silver) mintage 15,000 proof $37.50 KM1095 VS2054 (1997) 1500 Rupee obv tred rev standing figure Buddha in cameo at right (silver) mintage 15,000 proof $35 KM 1120 VS2055 (1998) 1500 Rupee as KM 1119 (silver) mintage 15,000 proof $50 KM 1128 VS2057 (2000) 1500 Rupee obv trad rev Buddha (silver) mintage unlisted Unc $50 KM 1121 VS2055 (1998) 2000 Rupee same as KM 1119 (silver) mintage 5,000 Proof $75 KM 1078 VS2052 (1995) same as KM 1077 (silver) mintage 3,000 proof $200 KM 1129 VS2057 (2000) .3 Gold Asarsi obv tred rev Buddha with halo (gold) mintage 25,000 Unc $12 KM 1122 VS2055 (1998) 1/25 oz Asarsi same as KM 1119 (gold) mintage 30,000 proof $35 KM 1130 VS2057 (2000) 1/25 oz Asarsi Same as KM 1129 (gold) mintage 30,000 proof $35 KM 1079 VS2052 (1995) 1/20 oz same as KM 1077 (gold) mintage 15,000 Proof $37.50 KM 1096 VS2054 (1997) 1/20 oz same as KM 1095 (gold) mintage 15,000 proof $40 KM 1080 VS2052 (1995) 1/10 oz same as KM 1077 (gold) mintage 15,000 proof $70 KM 1097 VS2054 (1997) 1/10 oz same as KM 1095 (gold) mintage 15,000 proof $70 KM 1123 VS2055 (1998) 1/10 oz same as KM 1119 (gold) mintage 15,000 proof $70 KM 1131 VS2057 (2000) 1/10 oz same as KM 1129 (gold) mintage 30,000 proof $70 KM 1081 VS2052 (1995) 1/4 oz same as KM 1077 (gold) mintage 15,000 Proof $175 KM 1098 VS2054 (1997) 1/4 oz same as KM 1095 (gold) mintage 15,000 proof $175 KM 1124 VS2055 (1998) 1/2 oz same as KM 1119 (gold) mintage 2,500 proof $365 KM 1132 VS2057 (2000) 1/2 oz same as KM 1129 (gold) mintage 2,500 proof $365 KM 1082 VS2052 (1995) 1 oz obv trad rev bust of Buddha (gold) mintage 2,500 Proof $700 KM 1099 VS2054 (1997) 1 oz same as KM1095 (gold) mintage 2,500 Proof $700 Sierra Leone KM 174 2000 one dollar obv Arms rev Seated Buddha (coppernickel) mintage unlisted Unc $8.50 KM 177 2000 Ten dollars same as KM 174 (silver) mintage 25,000 proof $47.50 KM 180 2000 Twenty dollars same as KM 174 (gold) mintage 5,000 proof $55 KM 183 2000 Fifty dollars same as KM 174 (gold) mintage 5,000 proof $95 KM 186 2000 one Hundred Dollars same as KM 174 mintage 5,000 proof $175 KM 189 2000 Two Hundred Fifty dollars same as KM 174 mintage 5,000 proof $385 km 192 2000 Five Hundred dollars same as KM 174 mintage 5,000 proof $740 KM 195 2000 2500 dollars Same as KM 174 mintage 250 Proof $3,500 Sri Lanka KM 160 1998 5000 Rupee obv flag & denom within wreath rev seated Buddha (gold) mintage 5,000 proof $245 From the 2001 - Date catalog Cambodia KM 100 2001 3000 Riels obv armless statue rev Radient Buddha next to a carved Buddha face (silver) mintage 10,000 Proof $45 China Peoples Republic Y 1082 2001 20 Yuan obv 8 story building rev Buddha (silver) mintage 30,000 Proof $100 Y 1084 2001 50 Yuan same as Y 1082 (gold) mintage 50,000 Proof $90 Y 1145 2002 200 Yuan subject Buddha (gold) mintage 8,800 Unc 400 Y 1206 2004 2000 Yuan obv Grotto rev Buddha portrai twith flying devatas (gold) mintage 288 proof $3,650 Liberia KM 537 2001 10 Dollars obv national arms rev colorized portait of Buddha with name misspelled as Budha (coppernickel) mintage 9,999 unc $10 Nepal KM 1157 VS2058 (2001) 100 Rupee obv trad rev Seated Buddha teaching five monks (brass) mintage 30,000 Unc $10 KM 1158 VS2058 (2001) 1500 Rupee obv trad rev Seated Buddha teaching five monks (silver) mintage 15,000 Proof $31.50 KM 1153 VS2058 (2001) 2000 Rupee obv trad rev Seated Buddha (silver) mintage 30,000 unc $16 KM 1154 VS2058 (2001) 1/25 oz obv trad rev Seated Buddha (gold) mintage 25,000 Unc $32 KM 1155 VS2058 (2001) 1/10 oz obv trad rev Seated Buddha (gold) 15,000 Unc $80 KM 1156 VS2058 (2001) 1/2 oz obv trad rev Seated Buddha (gold) 2,500 Unc -- Sri Lanka The two pieces that Shatsi showed which are not in the 2008 2001 - date book yet. There is also KM 170 5 Rupee which also honors Buddha Jayanthl but he is not pictured.
Those would be bronze didrachms or tetradrachms of the Kushan king Kanishka I. DO. NOT. BUY. THESE. ON. EBAY. Hell, don't buy these from anyone but a top notch, triple A ancients dealer. I haven't seen too many fakes of these, but probably 7 in every 10 are severely tooled, sometimes from completely different coins.
******* Thanks for the info, but, yes I realize Kanishka minted the Buddha bronzes, which this purports to be. However the reverse (Buddha figure etc) looks unlike the Real Kanishka Buffha bronzes I have seen pics of here and there. Is this a different Kanishka type w a seated diety perhaps (I have no reference on these)? Or are you saying its a totally re-tooled reverse, perhaps it used to be an elephant or horse?? The seller does have real some real coins as well as this piece. thanks again!
I can't say for sure without looking at it in hand, but I'd bet anything its tooled from another type.
these coins have some great buddist symbols one them...bodhi tree, stupas, all sorts of cool stuff. Sunga Empire, AE 1/2 karashapana, 2nd-1 Century BC O: Elephant, Indra-dhvaja, swastika, taurine; R: hollow cross, stupa, bodhi tree, taurine. 14 mm, 2.6 g, Mitchiner ACW 4348-4352? Sunga Empire, AE unit?, 2nd-1 Century BC O: Bull, taurine, swastika, R: bodhi tree, ujjani symbol, hollow cross. 11 mm, 1.0 g
Another coin type, that might interest you, the Tibetan Tangka, they are coins full of Buddhist imagery and symbols. Not showing Buddha but the imagery and sybology. You can find a lot of info on them here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tibetan_tangka This one I recently purchased, and it is fascinating in hand. Tibet, c. 1850-1948 AR Ga-den Tangka, 27mm, 4.3g, 12h. Obv.: Eight auspicious symbols arrayed around lotus: umbrella of sovereignty, two golden fish of good fortune, amphora of ambrosia, lotus, conch shell, emblem of endless rebirth, banner of victory, and wheel of empire. Rev.: dga'-ldan pho-brang-phyod-las-rnam-rgyal, within eight circles. (The Palace of Ga-den is victorious in all directions)
