2017-10-02 Mon

Alupa (also known as Alva) was a royal dynasty in South India who ruled from 4th to 15th CE. Their coinage is known for their beauty! The coins were issued in Kannada and Nagari legend. While the coins with Kannada legends were minted in Mangalore, those with Nagari legend were minted at the Udupi mint. The royal emblem of Alupa has ‘two fishes’ and this has been seen on their coins too.

The coin shown in the above image is a gold pagoda weighing around 3.48 grams. The obverse depicts a fish flanked by conch shell and lamp with complete Kannada legend around. The reverse has a legend ‘Sri Pandya Dhananjaya’ in Kannada. This particular coin was sold for INR 1,25,000 by Todywalla Auctions. This is a very rare coin as there is a legend even on the obverse, which is very rare to see!

Check out other beautiful coins of Alupas on our website.