2017-08-22 Tue

A coin without a symbol is an empty piece. Every symbol we see on coins has its own significance but few of the symbols are very rare to see. When we see those symbols, we get curious to know further about it. One such symbol is a temple.

Last time we wrote an article on the temples on the coins of Yaudheya, Audumbara, Shilahara and Chalukyan.

And today we will be discussing another coin which has a temple on it. The given Punch mark coin in the image belongs to Gujarat/ Kathiawad region, attributed to Saurashtra Janapada (350 BC- 250 BC). It is ¼ Karshapana and weighing 0.68 grams. The obverse of the coin depicts a building structure with an arched entrance, while the reverse has the traces of the obverse device.

It is believed that the given structure on the coin is probably the earliest representation of a temple on Indian Coins. This amazing structural tiny piece coin got sold for INR 31,000 in Classical Numismatics Gallery on 12th August 2017.