Madurai Kasu?

[Rangnath]

I recently bought a group of unidentified coins.  This one is 2.4 gms and 14 mm across at its longest.  I see it as a Deity standing next to a small altar and holdling two symbols of power.  Could this be Km 1, 1601,  in Madurai of the World Catalog?
No picture was provided. 
Whether or not the coin is Km 1 or even from Madurai, it is likely that the South Indian coin has Venkateshwara as its resident Deity.  An avatar of Vishnu, He was pretty popular then and now. 
Any thoughts on this? Am I close?
richie

[Oesho]

Dear Richie, your investigations are quite correct. The coin is a South Indian copper kasu and attributed to the Nayaks of Madurai. It?s an anonymous issue with the legend in Kannada script, reading Shri Vira and produced during the period 1701-1736. The Sri Vira coinage passed through a number of evolutionary stages. The early coins are well executed pieces and have slightly simplified form of the character Sri. The present coin, on this bases, can be attributed to the period 1601-1630. The coin depict Venkateshwara (Vishnu) standing under an arch. On the rev. Kannada  Sri (left) / Vi (top right) ra (below).
Ref.: KM#1; Mitchiner: The coinage and history of Southtern India, -part II- Tamilnadu - Kerala #828.

[BC Numismatics]

Richie,can you please post a photo of the other side of that coin?

Aidan.

[Rangnath]

Hi Aidan,
Below the posted image, there should be a way to scroll to the right. The other side is posted.
Richie

[BC Numismatics]

Richie,thanks for that.I was feeling tired,as I didn't see the scroll bar.

Aidan.

[Rangnath]

No problem Aidan.
richie

[Overlord]

This thread reminded me of a small lot of Madurai Nayak coins I had bought some time back. The condition is extremely poor and I couldn't make out anything on most of them, but they were very cheap too. Here they are...

Coin 1


Coin 2 (reminds me of the Golgi apparatus  )



Coin 3 (Golgi apparatus again;D)



Coin 4



Coin 5

[Rangnath]

I would love to have a comprehensive text on South Indian coins! 
Some that you just posted are Sivaganga coins.  If you coupled reverse and inverse and if you posted 5 coins,  counting from the top,  2, 3, 4 and maybe 5 are from the lords of Sivaganga.
I have a coin similar to your number 1 that I identified as from the Tanjore Nayakas.
Could I be wrong about the later? Easily!
Richie

[Overlord]

I would love to have a comprehensive text on South Indian coins! 
Some that you just posted are Sivaganga coins.  If you coupled reverse and inverse and if you posted 5 coins,  counting from the top,  2, 3, 4 and maybe 5 are from the lords of Sivaganga.
I have a coin similar to your number 1 that I identified as from the Tanjore Nayakas.
Could I be wrong about the later? Easily!
Richie

Hi Richie

Thanks a lot for the info on these. I checked my notes and found that the dealer (who, I suspect, had little idea about these) had described these as coins of "Tanjore Nayakas". I erroneously wrote "Madurai Nayak" in my last post, so your attribution of coin 1 may be correct.

I don't know much about about Sivaganga rulers, except what I found at Wikipedia. Is it possible to identify the issuing ruler from these? How old would these be?

[Rangnath]

This gets back to my desire for a comprehensive South Indian Text!
The Standard Catalog gives a sentence of information and but a couple of pictures! 
richie

[Overlord]

The "Golgi apparatus" could be a Shivling:

http://cgi.ebay.in/Ancient-Coin-with-Shiv-Ling-Deity-Coin-2_W0QQitemZ350048343951QQihZ022QQcategoryZ45138QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.in/Ancient-Coin-with-Shiv-Ling-Deity-Coin-1_W0QQitemZ350048343981QQihZ022QQcategoryZ45138QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

And I was about to submit a paper to Nature, claiming that the Sivaganga people had discovered the organelle much before Camillo Golgi 

[Figleaf]

Look here for other fertile mind interpretations. I have tried reading the Wiki page on the Golgi apparatus and still don't know what it does, so I have decided I'm better off that way.

Peter

[Overlord]

Look here for other fertile mind interpretations. I have tried reading the Wiki page on the Golgi apparatus and still don't know what it does, so I have decided I'm better off that way.

Peter

Thanks Peter. I go through the older threads every now and then and each time there is a new surpise waiting for me.

As for the aforementioned paper, I can still submit it (maybe not to Nature). I will just have to throw in a lot of important-sounding buzzwords and work in quantam physics somehow. Don't believe it would work? Check out this   

[Rangnath]

I guess that there is a difference between fertile mind interpretations and fertile mind ebay descriptions. 
How old must an Indian coin be to be classified as ANCIENT?
Is this a technical or a rhetorical question?
richie