My Quest For The Golden Octopus

For 2015 I sought to set a simple goal. I would acquire a gold coin by hook or by crook. Many of you saw the large Electrum Kidarite Dinar I posted a while back, great coin but still not a gold coin. I knew there were of ancient and medieval coins available everywhere and its just a matter of throwing money at it.

Hugely generalizing its very difficult to find an ancient or medieval coin in VF or better condition for less than $500. There are a few very good candidates for what is considered relatively inexpensive gold coins. You have some common Byzantine solidi and fractions that can be had in the $250 range. On occasion you might find a large diameter scyphate coin from the Middle Byzantine period in VF (or super EF if you are Eng). If neither of these is what strikes your interest at the moment than the quest gets rather interesting. Ancient Roman, Greek, Persian and Chinese gold are generally unavailable to the average casual collector and can range from $1000 to Moon Cheese. Lets just take that off the table. A max budget for this particular acquisition was set at $500.

If you are someone going on this quest with me then you have realized it is not so easy to get a decent gold coin for not a lot of money. You might find yourself looking at coins you have never seen and rulers you never heard of looking for this "cheap authentic gold coin.' If you are doing this ?- STOP right now!! You never, ever, ever,ever buy coins especially gold coins you know little to nothing about, you are setting yourself up to get snagged. Now if you feel confident in what you are looking for and you have done all your research and everything seems to check out, all your buyer protections are in place or this is a knowledgeable dealer you trust, then go for it and get'r done.

My numismatic interest and coin collection spans the entire ancient and medieval world so right off the bat, I felt my chances were good of finding a decent, cheap, authentic coin. After 6 months of trolling auctions and wish listing $600 coins, wading through garbage. Watching the price of the Kushan gold dinars of late antiquity slip away from me was quite upsetting, although not super expensive $600-$2000 they were more than I really wanted to spend on a single piece.

Than all of a sudden there it was...swimming on the 'bay.....Sitting in plain view, right there, in front of everybody. An authentic, historic, high grade, pure gold coin. golden octopus! I explained to the golden octopus that I was saving him from all those bottom feeders that might want to buy him up. We arranged a more than favorable price ($350 and postage) and I convinced the Octopus to come home with me, a collector not a *cough* bottom feeder.

In all seriousness what I picked up was not an Octopus but rather a gold Kahavanu of the Great Empire of the Chola, minted for the invasion of Sri Lanka in AD 980. The term "Octopus coin" is almost offensive and reflects the continued ignorance of the coin type. The coin does not in anyway depict an Octopus, the obverse shows a beautifully executed pointed hat King standing in front of a couch with MC hammer pants, hold various objects depending on the coin. The reverse of the piece is has memorable depiction of the king seated on a bed like throne hold various objects and a legend generally with the name of the ruler. This style of coin proved to be incredibly robust in the region for nearly 5 centuries.

The Chola (The Tiger) of South India reached new heights of awesome. They defeated and subjugated their two ancient rivals the Pandya (The Fish) and the Chera (The Bow). Together the 3 kingdoms ushered in an era of unprecedented advancements, in the subjects of literature, architecture, science, civil service, education and trade. Great care seems to have been taken in every aspect of Chola society.



Around AD 980 The Chola under Raja Raja Chola I began a massive invasion of the contemporary empires of southeast Asia and the Pacific. On of those contemporary kingdoms was ancient Island kingdom of Lanka (Sri Lanka, Ceylon.)

Raja Raja I successfully invaded the island occupied it for nearly a century. AD 1070 the Chola were finally expelled after a bloody 17 year long campaign by Vijayabahu I of Polonnaruwa. Buddhism was reestablished and extensive work was done to fix the islands infrastructure, damaged after nearly 2 decades of warfare.

Over the next 4 centuries Sri Lanka continued to produce coins in the likeness of the Chola. These coins only ceased production briefly when a foreign tyrant Kalinga Magha successfully invaded the island and abolished the use of coins. He too was expelled and the throne of Queen Lalivati was preserved.

I thought long and hard about the kind of money I wanted to spend and the style of coin I could get for the money. I found no better ratio than this coin. Just oozing history, beauty and mystique all over the place.

Tamilnadu, Madura
Anonymous Type III-B (Mainland Vibhu Issue)
AV Kahavanu 20 mm x 4.36 grams
Obverse:Standing figure with head to right. Crown thick straight line with triangle in rear. In a Dhoti (garment) indicated by two curved lines on either side and one line in between longer than legs, standing on a lotus plant stalk with small circle in centre ending on left in a chank and on right in flower as in hand. In left hand is an open Jasmine flower (pichcha mala) viewed from side. The right arm is extended with hand over a symbol (1b) consisting of a straight shaft with short cross pieces, ending in four prongs, which are thick. The head of the symbol is somewhat like the calices of two half-opened flowers, one being placed above the other. To right four annulets and ball above. A beaded circle along the periphery of the coin.
Reverse:A figure, head right crown as on obverse Squatting upon asana, (a bed-like throne) represented by a short oblong frame, divided lengthwise by a line and two cross lines. dhoti represented by bent line and small line in angle between the legs. The right arm is pendent over the right knee, which is drawn up; In left hand a chank. In field to right, Devanagari legend in three lines. Sri Lan Kan Vib Hu.
Ref:Ceylon Coins and Currency By H. W. Codrington. Colombo 1924
Page 57 Chapter V Mediaeval Ceylon - Kahavanu.
Note: Super awesome and extra fresh.




Thanks to http://coins.lakdiva.org/medievalla...II.B_au.html for the attribution and correct terminology.