Well I'm sorry for clickbaiting you into a niche topic, but I'd love to share my newest acquisition! A rare Pandyan issue with some interesting elements, on the obverse there's the unassuming Chola style standing king, but the party is on the reverse with a couple of fishes in the middle surrounded by the legends Ellanthalaiyan. Most agree on the issuer being Jatavarman Sundara Pandya 1251 CE–1268 CE, however I think this belongs to his successor Maravarman Kulasekara Pandyan (1268 – c. 1308 CE) who in 1279 put an end to the Chola dynasty and further conquered the whole of south India, and thus the title Ellanthalaiyan( Ellam (all/everyone) -thalaiyan (leader), meaning 'Leader of all'. Madurai mint? 4.05g I have seen many pronunciation/spelling of this title varying from each auction houses and blogs, however I have traced the lettering to the best of my knowledge and got எல்லாந்தலையன் (Ellanthalaiyan), old Tamil script doesn't have dots, so while it reads Elalaanathalaiyana, people back in the day would've still read it as Ellanthalaiyan, but what's interesting is the letters ந் and த being retrograde (the ones near the tails of the fish), which is curious given how this coin types have used Boustrophedon in their lettering, as explained in detail by Quant Qeek. Pandya empire at it's greatest extent after defeating their arch nemesis, the Cholas of Thanjavur. Thanks for reading, and please post you fishes!
I'll take the chips (fries), but you may keep the fish. I prefer fish in their natural habitat or in an aquarium rather than on my plate. The coin too is outside my realm, though anything exotic and medieval is cool. Identifying, much less attributing, medieval south Asian material- or let's face it- just about any medieval Asian material- or heck, even some of the modern stuff- is difficult for me. I've got a strong Western bias in my collecting. It's mostly unconscious and a product of my relative lack of education in Eastern topics, I suppose. Not because I fail to be interested in Near- or Far Eastern history and coins. I'll bet that if that coin could talk, and there was anyone around to decipher what it was saying, it could tell some stories.
I am not a fish eating guy either, But I have eaten some fish and chips made from old school English recipes that I would actually eat again. Neat Coin JayAg!
