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 Replies: 193 / Views: 49,276 |
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Pillar of the Community
  Spain
2752 Posts |
First  to the forum Sergio.....Very nice coin with good detail  Your coin is of a slightly rarer ruler..Sankara Varman AD 883-901/2 Utpala dynasty Sankara Varman was the second of the Utpala dynasty. He succeeded his father Avanti Varman in A.D. 883. He Spent a lot of time on foreign expeditions and conquered the kingdoms of Kangra and Gujrat.But soon lost all ambition to expand the empire and became greedy using all types of extortion to accumalate wealth, hoarding money and treasures alike.He was killed on expedition and is said to have been shot in the neck by a mountaineer, and died in A.D. 901. Paul  |
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New Member
France
2 Posts |
Great ! Thank you Paul for this quick and complete response to my message. And all my congratulations for the explanations so clear and detailed on this coinage which I have only the book of Michael Mitchiner for reference "Non-Islamic & Western Colonies". Thanks again. Sincerely and see you soon for more questions. |
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New Member
India
7 Posts |
Can the experts here confirm whether this is Partha varma coin? How rare is this coin?  Edited by Ganvema
02/14/2019 10:00 am
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Pillar of the Community
Spain
2752 Posts |
Hi Ganvema......Sorry but I cant see Partha Varman on your coin..... To the left of Lakshmi I'm pretty sure I can make out 'SRI' and as far as I know Partha coins dont have this symbol.... What I'm seeing is Sugandha Deva....But I could be wrong! Queen Sugandha was one of the two queens of Utpala Dynasty of Kashmir. After the death of Shankara Verman, his infant son Gopala Verma was made king, under the regency of his mother Sugandha. She subsequently began to establish her control over the throne and became a ruler in early 900 CE.  |
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New Member
India
7 Posts |
Thanks a lot mr.Palouche. After your explaining, I am convinced it is Sugandha Devi.
Thanks once again.
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Pillar of the Community
Spain
2752 Posts |
Your welcome.... Just a little bit more information for you, the reverse legend is referenced as Deva in the masculine form. I know this is quite strange but I think its because she has been documented in the Rajatarangini as having accompanied her husband on military expeditions and being a force to reckon with! Her coins being referenced as.. 'Sugandha's coinage is an important corroborative evidence of her power and refers to her by the masculine epithet sri sugandha deva'. As to the rarity of her coins...They are more difficult to acquire than the 11th century coins especially with good detail....Nice find.... Paul |
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Pillar of the Community
Spain
2752 Posts |
Going back in time.... Just picked up a couple of Toramana II coins and as these are the predecessors of the later Kashmir coinage I thought I'd link them to this thread... Here are my 2 new coins.... Toramana II (Probably posthumous issues) Copper...19.5mm diameter/6.86 grams OBV... King standing, sacrificing at fire altar, Brahmi legend Sri Toramana at top left along circular margin REV... Goddess Lakshmi seated, holding a long-stemmed lotus, with Brahmi legend Jaya to the right Ref: Mitchiner 155-158  Toramana II was the son of the infamous Hunnic king Mihirakula (515-540 AD), the Alchon Hun who had invaded Kashmir, Northern and central India at the beginning of the 6th century ravaging the Gupta empire. He was a cruel despotic ruler and was eventually defeated by an alliance of Indian kings in Malwa at the battle of Sondani in 528 AD. He escaped/retreated to Kashmir where he took control by killing the local king who had offered him refuge there. He died in 540AD and his son Toramana II took control   This is when we hit the unknown! Frustratingly not much is known about the ruler Toramana II or coinage (if any) minted for the next 3 centuries...Here are 2 very interesting discussions about his coinage....I recommend reading them if your interested in this series.... http://www.worldofcoins.eu/forum/in...opic=31328.0http://www.worldofcoins.eu/forum/in...22014.0.htmlIn the details below you can see how the obverse and reverse legends are written..  Not long ago Echizento (Ron) posted a really nice Toramana coin.. http://goccf.com/t/308739 I especially like the obverse showing that mad hand of the ruler holding the trident...You can see from the details below just how much more lifelike Rons coin is in comparison to mine, his having a much softer body shape and is a lot more detailed... I would say that Rons coin is an intermediate lifetime issue....Whereas mine is probably a later posthumous issue. Depending on the answer to this excerpt from the threads above... Quote:
As for the gap between about 570 AD and 850 AD (at the earliest) I agree this is unexplained.  I've put together a timeline of this series approximately 100 years between coin types and hopefully this shows the continued abstraction of the design.. Note...The coins of Toramana II show the rulers name enscribed on the kings side of the coin....300 years later the rulers name has been tranferred onto the Lakshmi side....Paul  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7066 Posts |
Another excellent post, Paul. You have a remarkable wealth of knowledge about this series. Congrats to both you and Ron for obtaining these interesting coins.
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Moderator
 United States
23731 Posts |
Paul, I wish I had your expertise and knowledge on this coin type I would have not known the difference between a lifetime and posthumous issue until you pointed it out.
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Pillar of the Community
Spain
2752 Posts |
Thanks Bob and Ron for your comments...
I started researching the Toramana II coins about a year ago (on and off), and found this blank void of three centuries, from the end of his coinage around the latter half of 6th century to a sudden reinstatement of a very similar design of coin appearing in the mid 9th century, really intriguing....As to how long his posthumous issues were minted no one seems to know but imo it wasn't for 300 years!
I'm now working on the design element differences and similarities and will post my findings when finished...
Thanks again saludos Paul
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Pillar of the Community
Spain
2752 Posts |
Here's a my latest pick up... A nice lifetime issue of Toramana II with an added bonus! The reason I bought this coin is at 7 0'clock on the reverse you can clearly see the lions head that Lakshmi is seated on...Quite difficult to find the lion depicted in such detail...   |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
6130 Posts |
Super pick up, Paul!
I had no idea Lakshmi was sitting on a lion - I thought it was a chair or throne in the originals by the later Kushans and Kidarites?
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Pillar of the Community
Spain
2752 Posts |
Thanks Steve! Here's a couple more examples of the lion (Tiger) (not my coins).. As to whether Lakshmi is sitting on the lion or its laid at her feet I don't really know but I've seen references to both and has even been described as a lion rug!?..But one things for sure as this coin series progressed, disappeared and then reappeared 300 years later, the lion was no longer there being replaced by an abstract triangle or square..Paul  Edited by Palouche
03/12/2019 7:41 pm
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Pillar of the Community
Spain
2752 Posts |
Just picked up this scarce ruler to add to my collection which now has 22 different rulers... Very difficult to find this king especially with a good attributable legend.. Avanti Deva (Varttideva) 1164-1171 A.D. Obverse- Goddess Ardochsho/Lakshmi seated facing in half lotus position, with Nagari legend 'A' left/'Va nti' right Reverse- King standing facing and sacrificing at altar.Nagari legend 'Deva' bottom right. Not much known about this ruler..He was the son of Paramanuka (1154-64 A.D.)Who was in turn the son of my last dated coin Jayasimha (1128-54 A.D.) I am in the process of re-taking photos of the set and will post a new reference picture including the Toramana coins soon...Paul  Edited by Palouche
03/14/2019 06:49 am
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7066 Posts |
Congrats on the 22nd ruler pickup, Paul. Sounds like that one nicely fills a hole in the collection. I can't imagine there's very many private collections of this series that are as extensive as yours. Definitely world class.
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Posted 12/19/2018 09:46 am
