2026-08-27 Thu

As we have seen in our last article that Sangam Cholas belonged to one of the three great Tamil dynasties of early historic South India, alongside the Cheras and Pandyas. Their power was closely connected with the fertile Kaveri region, and their memory survives not only through Sangam literature and archaeology but also through their distinctive coinage.

Continuing our journey through the fascinating coinage of the Sangam Cholas, this small copper piece demonstrates how varied the symbolic repertoire of early Chola coins could be.

This copper coin weighing 1.54 g carries two powerful animal motifs. On the obverse, an elephant facing left is shown within a dotted circle, with additional symbols above it. On the reverse, a lion facing left with an upraised tail appears within a similar dotted border.

The use of animals on these early coins is one of their most intriguing features. The elephant, lion and tiger appear repeatedly in the coinage attributed to the early Cholas and reflect a broader tradition of using powerful animals as visual symbols of authority.

Unlike later Chola issues, which often incorporated inscriptions and more standardised royal imagery, these early copper coins communicate largely through symbolic designs. Their relatively small size makes the clarity and deliberate arrangement of these motifs all the more remarkable.

Don't miss out, our last article, A Coin from Ancient Tamilakam – Elephant and Tiger of the Cholas