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 Replies: 12 / Views: 5,229 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5155 Posts |
 When I ever saw these I said to my self, as I have said many times...Aww man, I have to have that!  These Drachms although widely sold in bulk lots for next to nothing, are quite common and yes very ancient. These Drachms that I have appear to the naked eye as nothing more then your run of the mill Indian Punch Mark Drachm of a king or king nooone but the scholarly has ever heard and whose name requires 30 characters to spell. This is not the case...  ...These are RARE issues of the Great King ASHOKA!!  .....It is a Five Fruit..I mean Punch Mark variety... Behold.... India, The Mauryan Empire Ashoka The Great 304-232 BC c. 272-232 BC AR Drachm; Ujjain Mint 14mm x 14mm @ 3.12g Obverse: Punch Marks Reverse: More Punch Marks  India, The Mauryan Empire Ashoka the Great 304-232 BC c. 272-232 BC AR Drachm; Ujjain Mint 18mm x 13mm @ 2.84g Obverse: Punch Marks Reverse: More Punch Marks  The punch marks are described as being a Sun, a three armed symbol, a three arched hill, the symbol of Ashoka and the RARE warrior with small shield and spear. I am including in this post a picture of the symbols that appear on the coins...I drew them onto the back of the attribution flip card I made....   With that all being said... I will share with you guys a little back ground information on the ruler... from wikipedia....got to love them... Ashoka Maurya (304 BCE - 232 BCE) commonly known as Ashoka and also as Ashoka the Great, was an Indian emperor of the Maurya Dynasty who ruled almost all of the Indian subcontinent from ca. 269 BCE to 232 BCE.[1] One of India's greatest emperors, Ashoka reigned over most of present-day India after a number of military conquests. His empire stretched from the Hindu Kush mountains in Afghanistan to present-day Bangladesh and the Indian state of Assam in the east, and as far south as northern Kerala and Andhra Pradesh. In about 260BCE Ashoka waged a bitterly destructive war against the states of Kalinga (modern Odisha).[2] He conquered the kingdom named Kalinga, which none of his ancestors had conquered starting from Chandragupta Maurya. His reign was headquartered in Magadha (present-day Bihar). He embraced Buddhism after witnessing the mass deaths of the Kalinga War, which he himself had waged out of a desire for conquest. Ashoka reflected on the war in Kalinga, which reportedly had resulted in more than 100,000 deaths and 150,000 deportations. Ashoka converted gradually to Buddhism beginning about 263 B.C.E. at the least.[4] He was later dedicated to the propagation of Buddhism across Asia and established monuments marking several significant sites in the life of Gautama Buddha. Ashoka regarded Buddhism as a doctrine that could serve as a cultural foundation for political unity.[5] Ashoka is remembered in history as a philanthropic administrator.
In the history of India, Ashoka is referred to as Samraat Chakravartin Ashoka â€" the "Emperor of Emperors Ashoka". His name "aÅ›oka" means "painless, without sorrow" in Sanskrit (the a privativum and Å›oka "pain, distress"). In his edicts, he is referred to as DevÄnÄmpriya (Pali DevÄnaṃpiya or "The Beloved Of The Gods"), and PriyadarÅ›in (Pali PiyadasÄ« or "He who regards everyone with affection").and of course a map....  Feel free to comment, on these its not every day we see these on the forum!
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
2624 Posts |
Those who like punchmarks will love these :)
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Moderator
 United States
23731 Posts |
Two very nice and interesting coin, I really enjoy the background you give with all your coins.
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
5155 Posts |
@ DUK- You know they will!
@ Ski- I am glad you like the info. I try and keep it interesting for you guys. I really appreciate the fact that you read all my post, and often comment. Thanks!
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4971 Posts |
that is fantastic, a great square I haven't seen before. those symbols are cool, I picked them out after checking out your artwork on the attribution.   |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4253 Posts |
Interesting. I'll give you a dancing banana.  |
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
1411 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1316 Posts |
Anoob, awesome pickup.. .. these coins are very cool, just picked up 3 non Romans, post when they come to the front door...  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1549 Posts |
I found myself attracted to these but when buying I try to get only coins I think I can identify. They come from quite a range of dates and not all follow the same rules. The most common ones have 5 marks on one side and one on the reverse. They were randomly placed so it is unlikely that you will get a coin with all 5 marks clearly spaced. Coins that are too neat are likely fakes. The trick is to find coins with clear strikes of the last device (here the warrior) at the expense of the sun and 6 armed symbol that tend to be on all from this period. Specialists pay extra for rare types but I am a beginner and prefer something clearly identifiable and common to a mystery coin. Another problem is that some coins have bankers' marks or are overstruck. Identifying these is over my head. Those interested in the challenge are invited to help me with these two coins that have evaded me so far. Don't just tell me your ID but explain to me how you decided that it was correct. The first should be easy but I had reservations on the exact Mitchiner number. The second is a real mess. Have fun.   |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5155 Posts |
Doug, I am glad you chimed into my thread here... I bought these coins from a gentleman who is a specialist in Indian and Oriental coins, I am more then confident with his attribution. I independently confirmed the G/H number as being 566 on my two...I will work on your coins when I return from work. I will even take a picture of my drawings for you.... I humbly accept your challenge....
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1316 Posts |
Instead of starting a new thread, I'm going to add to this one, so when Anoob and doug posted there's I went out a found these 2...  India Mauryan Empire Annonymous....c 321- 187....BC.. AR Karshapana ... Sun, six armed symbol, hill, tree -in- railing, bull. Taxila symbol... MACW 4196( attributed to Sampraiti), 216- 207..AD.. 13 x 15 mm x 3.39g..   This coin is the same as the other. But the size a weight are different... ...Now back to the Roman's and Greek coins... 15 x 16 mm x 3.33g..   |
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Pillar of the Community
3352 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5155 Posts |
As far as Dougs coins, I everytime I would get close to attributing it One punchmark would not fit. As I do not have a complete cat. of the symbols and combinations..Doug...I have failed.
Eng- those are some wonderful punch marks, crisp and sharp each unique and beautiful in there own right. Interesting grab, I am glad we inspire to collect from outside the box.
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Replies: 12 / Views: 5,229 |
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Posted 11/26/2012 7:17 pm
