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When A Hunch Pays Off... Pre-Maurya AR Karshapana

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Finn235's Avatar
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6130 Posts
 Posted 05/30/2017  1:47 pm Show Profile   Bookmark this topic Add Finn235 to your friends list Get a Link to this Message Number of Subscribers
Against my better judgement, I couldn't pass this one up.

India, Magadha Kingdom
AR punchmarked Karshapana
c. 420-350 BC
19x24mm, 3.37g

When-A-Hunch-Pays-Off...-Pre-Maurya-AR-Karshapana
When-A-Hunch-Pays-Off...-Pre-Maurya-AR-Karshapana

This one was being sold as a Maurya "king Ashoka punchmark" but it had too many punchmarks, and the style just seemed off. I was able to win it for $15. As soon as I got it in hand, I knew my hunch was correct:

When-A-Hunch-Pays-Off...-Pre-Maurya-AR-Karshapana

According to CoinIndia, the Magadha Kingdom adopted the Karshapana weight standard (3.4g) in about 420 BC and initially made very large, thin coins, but rampant countermarking made it almost impossible to "read" the official marks, forcing the use of much more compact flans. The Magadha Kingdom was usurped and taken over by Chandragupta Maurya in 322 BC, giving rise to the Maurya Empire after that.

Here is Coinindia's vcoins page for these coins:

https://www.vcoins.com/en/stores/co...List=&page=1
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echizento's Avatar
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 Posted 05/30/2017  2:39 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add echizento to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
That is a super coin, I count at least 14 punch marks on it.
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Spence's Avatar
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 Posted 05/30/2017  3:28 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add Spence to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
Great pick-up! The flan is almost just countermarks, with almost no flat field left.
"If you climb a good tree, you get a push."
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Kamnaskires's Avatar
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7066 Posts
 Posted 05/30/2017  8:26 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add Kamnaskires to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
That is one punchy coin...as Dave says, almost no negative space left over. Excellent pickup there, Steve. Well done. Thanks for showing it here.
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Finn235's Avatar
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6130 Posts
 Posted 05/31/2017  11:01 am  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add Finn235 to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
Thanks, all.

Interestingly, this type is supposed to have only 5 punches, at least two of which are the "solar" symbol and the "six-arm" symbol, both of which are visible on the right "tip" of the obverse, as well as on the reverse. I am assuming that the second picture is the reverse because theoretically nothing should be there besides unofficial banker's marks; all of the punches on that side are much weaker than on the first side.
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