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« Last post by mitresh on September 20, 2020, 05:39:44 PM »
..............and just when you thought the beach was safe for a swim! BEWARE of the JAWS !!!
Ancient India, Saurashtra Janapada, 450-300 BC, Silver Punch Mark Coin (PMC), 1/4th Karshapana, 0.91g, 18mm, unlisted
Obv: Shark in centre surrounded by ancillary symbols viz taurine, triskelion and a hollow circle in front; overstruck on a prior specimen with portions of undertype visible
Rev: Rabbit / Hare / Pup jumping over a crescent moon with a bold Swastika in front and ancillary surrounding symbols viz hollow circle with a dot; rectangle with a pair of opposite facing fish? etc.
This is a remarkable coin with the first known representation of a Shark on an Indian PMC. The punch of the Shark is typologically very accurate with snout; the prominent dorsal fin at the top; the pectoral, pelvic and anal fin at bottom; and the split caudal tail fin.
The Saurashtra region is part of peninsular Gujarat with it being bound on the south & south-west by the Arabian Sea; on the north-west by the Gulf of Kutch & on the east by the Gulf of Khambhat or Cambay. The occurrence of sharks in such a peninsular coastal region flanked by sea and Gulfs would be common, especially 2400 years back!
This 'shark' coin type has only emerged recently being hitherto unknown and are quite rare! The type is unlisted in major catalogs viz Mitchiner, Rajgor or P. Anne van't Haaff. The previous known listed types in various catalogs include symbols such as hill, tree, bull, elephant, srivatsa, swastika, turtle, seated goddess (Laxmi), temple etc. The 'shark' type surfaced only last year (2019) from the Hiran riverbank at Verawal near Somnath temple in Gujarat. Approx 150 coins were found in the hoard, of which the shark type accounted for approx 38-40 pcs, as per information provided to me from source.
Like most others PMC coins from Saurashtra, they are also overstruck (o/s) or restruck on prior specimen. The o/s makes commercial sense when the mint needs to cater to a large volume of requirement fast, the likes of which can be expected at a bustling coastal port region like Saurashtra with ships visiting to-and-fro for trade ; or where the ruler wishes to save on raw material cost of preparing a new coin blank; or where the intent is simply to obliterate the prior ruler/dynasties issues for personal or political expediency!
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