Chapter outline and page reference:
Saurashtra Janapada Punch-marked Coins 377
Mauryan Coins 382
Indo-Greek Coins 382
Indo-Parthian Coins 383
Western Kshatrap Coins 384
Sharva Bhattaraka Coins 392
Gupta Coins 393
Chudasama Rajput Coins 393
Gujarat Sultan Coins 393
Mughal Coins 394
Babi Coins 395
Chinese Coins 399
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Saurashtra Janapada Punch-marked Coins
According to Rajgor (1996): ‘The earliest coins of India, popularly known as the Punch-marked coins, are known to the ancient texts as the ahat, purana, karsapana, pana, vimsatika, and satamana…Janapada coins are the earliest punch-marked coins dating back to pre-Mauryan period…the silver coins which are termed “Surastra Coins”…are chiefly known from the southern part of Saurashtra peninsula. This information helps in identifying that particular coin series with the Surastra Janapada known from the chronicles. Thus, these Janapada coins are local and archaic in appearance.’ In the Junagadh District, thousands of these small square coins are reported. As most Saurashtra Janapada coins are found in the south of the Saurashtra Peninsula, it is likely that this Janapada was restricted to the southern part of the peninsula, i.e. the Junagadh District.
Rajgor (1998a) suggested that no less than seventeen Janapadas ‘issued their coins from about the 6th century B.C. to the rise of the Mauryas’. Of these Janapadas, Chakrabarti (2000) indicated that: ‘Surashtra Janapada (c. 450–c. 300 B.C.) coins are found in the Junagadh area of the Saurashtra peninsula and weigh about a gramme each. The symbols include variations of an elephant shown in association with other symbols.’ Rajgor (1998a) also suggested that: ‘Coined currency in early historic India followed a universal system of pictographs. According to this system, each state had a unique symbol which represented the issuing authority. Such symbols were exclusively employed by those states on their own coins. As far as the rest of the symbols are concerned, like the State symbol the other symbols also had a hidden meaning.’
Figure 83. Silver 1.0 g, 10 mm, punch-marked ¼ Karshapana coin (with shrivatsa symbol) of the Saurashtra Janapada (c 450–300 BC), from Junagadh, in the collection of a local historian (photo by Wainer 2010).
The Saurashtra Janapada coins are punch-marked, small square pieces, and of silver. ‘The most important feature of these coins is that they are produced by a single-die technique. Often existing coins of the same Janapada were called back by the mint authorities and were reused by stamping them with new marks on the other side of the unifaced coins. At times, coins were also cut into halves and quarters to serve as fractions’ (Rajgor 1998a). Rajgor (2001a) listed six important hoards of these coins, five from the Junagadh District and one from Dhank in the Rajkot District, comprising a total of about 5,000 coins. The largest of these hoards, found in 1991 from the outskirts of Junagadh City, consisted of over 4,000 coins (more than 4 kg) in the three denominations known, viz ¼ Karshapana, 2 Mashaka and Mashaka. The Girnar Hoard of 50+ coins was found in 1990 (Rajgor 1996, 1998b). ¼ Karshapana coins were approximately one gram in weight, or more precisely 0.97 gram, which is equivalent to 8 rattis where one ratti equals 0.12125 gram. Rattis are seeds of the legume Abrus precatorius, which were used for measuring weights in India as they are very consistent in weight; 8 rattis = 1 masha, and 12 mashas = 1 tola (11.6 g).
Rajgor (1996, 1998b) described the different types of Saurashtra Janapada coins: ‘On the basis of fabric and minting techniques, the Surastran coins can be divided into three main categories. These are:
(a) Coins as Original Issues,
(b) Coins Restruck on the Earlier Issues, and
(c) Coins Restruck on the Magadhan Issues.