2017-02-25 Sat

In Ancient India there were many Janapadas and 16 Mahajanapadas, all these republics issued Punch Marked coins. Every Janapada had their own symbols on their coins.

Vanga is the Ancient name of Bengal. Vanga is mentioned as one of the Janapadas in Jain and Buddhist literature.

The early coins of Vanga are found in Chandraketugarh , Wari-Bateshwar and in the other parts of Bengal. The early Punch Marked coins are made up of Silver, Copper and Billon. They are usually found in the karshapana and ½ karshapana denominations. Also most of the Vanga coins are scarce and rare. The ship mark is significant symbol of Vanga Janapad, as these coins occur in the region of the Lower Ganga/ Brahmaputra where boat traffic would have been an efficient means of transport. So now you know how to distinguish the Vanga Janapada PMCs!

The given picture is one of the Bengal specimens. It is a billon coin which belongs to 2nd century BCE. It has three symbols, a ship, a wheel and two circles enclosing dots, six dumbbells around. The reverse has a Conch shell. It weighs 2-3.3 grams and is in good condition.