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Need Help With Unidentified Indian(?) Coin (Id: Ramatanka Temple Token)

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HGK3's Avatar
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 Posted 07/30/2022  5:48 pm Show Profile   Bookmark this topic Add HGK3 to your friends list Get a Link to this Message Number of Subscribers
This is the second of the two coins I need some help with.

Weight is 11.96 grams, diameter is 27mm

Thanks for your time!


Need-Help-With-Unidentified-Indian?-Coin-Id:-Ramatanka-Temple-Token


Need-Help-With-Unidentified-Indian?-Coin-Id:-Ramatanka-Temple-Token
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Seeker55's Avatar
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634 Posts
 Posted 07/30/2022  6:22 pm  Show Profile   Check Seeker55's eBay Listings Bookmark this reply Add Seeker55 to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
Yes, India, a Hindu temple token.
Edited by Seeker55
07/30/2022 6:27 pm
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Spence's Avatar
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 Posted 07/30/2022  6:34 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add Spence to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
Haven't seen one of these temple tokens posted on CCF in a little while, but we have definitely seen them. You could use the search box with keywords TEMPLE TOKEN to find prior threads.
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Sap's Avatar
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 Posted 07/30/2022  11:01 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add Sap to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
This is a type of Indian temple token known as a "Ramatanka". The obverse features two standing figures, Rama and his brother Lakshmana. On the reverse, we have the "coronation of Rama" scene, with Rama and his wife Sita in the centre on the chair, the monkey-god Hanuman reclines underneath the chair, Lakshmana is on the left holding the umbrella, and the bear-king Jambavan paying homage on the right.

We call them "temple tokens", but they don't really have anything to do with Hindu temples (except they may have been produced and sold there). They were, and still are, used in worship in the household shrine, where food paste is smeared onto the token in a "feeding the gods" ritual. This is also why Ramatankas that have been in the same family for several generations are often quite discoloured, and highly polished from repeated cleaning - Ramatankas often become family heirlooms.

Ramatanka use dates back about 800 years. The earliest Ramatankas were made of gold; gradually, baser metals were used, until the modern pieces like the OP's example are made of cupronickel or silver-washed brass.
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Seeker55's Avatar
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 Posted 08/05/2022  11:26 am  Show Profile   Check Seeker55's eBay Listings Bookmark this reply Add Seeker55 to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
Thanks Sap for the helpful information. I have a couple of similar ones but didn't know how they were used.
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