Rupee from Assam: Lakshmi Simha 1697 (=AD1775)

[Rangnath]

When we visited Bhutan in 2005, we were not permitted to enter the Southern area of the country for several reasons.  One was the potential presence of members of an Assamese resistance group using Bhutan for safe haven.  In fact, just before our arrival, the Bhutanese, partly due to Indian pressure, had conducted a military operation against the "liberation" militia. This "successful" attack resulted in the death of several soldiers and guerillas but it did keep the Indian Army from entering into Bhutan. 

This coin was minted when Assam was an independent Kingdom. According to one source, the octagonal shape was chosen because it resembled the shape of the kingdom.  I find that difficult to believe.  Eight was a popular division for religious reasons  in Nepal and Tibet, why not in Assam as well? The legends were said to be in Sanskrit, Devnagri/Bengali script. I don't have any reason to doubt that. I certainly enjoy the angular rhythm of the letters.

richie

[Overlord]

Nice coin Richie. The script is indeed very beautiful. It seems to me that a creature has been depicted at the bottom. What is it---a dragon?

[Rangnath]

It looks like a dragon to me.  But according to the standard catalog, it is a lion. 
A lion?  In Assam? 
I would have thought that tigers, not lions, would have been the chosen animal for Assam.  But as the link states, the lion, not the tiger, was the cat linked with Emperor Ashok, arguably India's greatest ruler. 
I read somewhere that Assam used a "flying lion" in their art.  A flying lion and a dragon are pretty much the samething, aren't they?
richie

[Figleaf]

A flying lion and a dragon are pretty much the samething, aren't they?

Not really. Asian dragons usually don't have wings. Their body is usually that of a snake, though with the skin of a fish or a crocodile, sometimes with dorsal spikes added, the head's like a fantasy tiger as used in Japanese and Chinese art and it has (usually four) chicken legs. It must have been designed by a committee.

Peter

[Rangnath]

Good points Peter.  The creature on the coin appears to have a wing and doesn't appear to be snake like. 

The rulers who minted this coin were Hindus.  If the creature was indeed a lion, I suppose we must consider this to be a possible reference to Vishnu and Narasimha,  an incarnation of Vishnu. 

richie

[Overlord]

Good points Peter.  The creature on the coin appears to have a wing and doesn't appear to be snake like. 

The rulers who minted this coin were Hindus.  If the creature was indeed a lion, I suppose we must consider this to be a possible reference to Vishnu and Narasimha,  an incarnation of Vishnu. 

richie

Hi Richie

The image on the coin doesn't seem to suggest any reference to Narasimha. Narasimha is always depicted as having the body of a man and the head of a lion. Anyway, if this is a lion, I'd have no problem with the 'pig' elephant 

A bit off topic, but I also find the "official" name of the creature symbolizing the Axis Powers on The War Medal 1939-1945 (which I have posted in the 'Not used for payments' section) a bit puzzeling. All sources I checked call the creature a "dragon". However, considering that it has a beak, shouldn't it be called a griffin?

[Oesho]

The Ahom rulers have all Simha (= Lion) ending names. The depiction of a mythological winged lion is not only common on their coins, but also on the royal seals. On a coin (Saka 1619) of Rudra Simha (1696-1714) a lion is observed chasing a deer. De legend on the coin describes the king as Lord of Saumura. It's is possible that this type was issued on the occasion of the coronation ceremony.
The octogonal shape of the coins is either explained as refering to the shape of the kingdom. Others suggest that the shape may be the result of Sivaite influence, as Lord Shiva protects the whole universe with his eight forms. In this respect it is interesting to note that many tempels in Assam are also octagonal in shape. Besides the octagonal shape, also Ahom coins in square and round shape exist.

A) Assam, Rudra Simha (Sake1618-1636/AD1696-1714), octagonal rupee Sake 1619
(1697) with lion chasing deer. ref.: KM#41

B) Assam, Chakradhvaja Simha (Sake1585-1592/AD1663-1670), round rupee, ND
(1663) with Ahom legend. ref.: KM#9

C) Assam, Shiva Simha (Sake1637-1666/AD1715-1744), square rupee Sake
1651/Yr.15, with name of Queen Pramathesvari, mint: Gargaon. Persian script.
ref.: KM#75

D) Assam, Shiva Simha (Sake1637-1666/AD1715-1744), round rupee Sake
1649/Yr.14, with name of Queen Pramathesvari, mint: Rangpur. Persian script.
ref.: KM#74

E) Assam, Lakshmi Simha (Sake1691-1702/AD1769-1780), octagonal rupee, ND
(1769)with Ahom legend. The later coins with Ahom legend were struck on the
occasion of the corronation and were just ceremonial issues. ref.: KM#182B

[Figleaf]

I've been ogling this small collection for some time now Delightful! One thing I can't help myself thinking is that maybe these coins weren't made octagonal for any deep reason, but just because it's nice to see. If you don't have coin operated machines, there's no compelling reason why coins should be round.

Another thing I find striking is the very wide variety of styles in a space of 80 years. Sure, some may be imitations of coins of nearby lands, but most are not. While in the European tradition, the ruler was most often heavily involved in what the coins looked like, these coins seem to come from a tradition where the ruler simply cared only about having his precious metals transformed into pieces that would be easily sold for goods and services.

Peter

[inscriptor]

The subject coin seems to me being dated 1657 SE (= 1735 AD) with mirrored "5".
I mean I can't understand why did the topic starter mark it as 1768 A.D. ...

Please approve my dating version or explain me where I am wrong,
Thanks.

[Oesho]

The subject coin seems to me being dated 1657 SE (= 1735 AD) with mirrored "5".
I mean I can't understand why did the topic starter mark it as 1768 A.D. ...
Please approve my dating version or explain me where I am wrong,

The topic seems to have been wrong from the beginning. The date is Sake 1697 (=AD1775).
The coin is not of Rajesvara Simha, but of Lakshmi Simha (SE1691-1702/AD1770-1780).

Obv.: sri sri hara/gauri charana ra/vinda makaranda/madhukarasya
Rev.: sri  sri svarga/deva sri laksmi/simha nrpasya/sake 1697

[inscriptor]

Oh, so this is "9", not mirror'd "5"!
Thank you for identifying this!

[inscriptor]

Oesho,

I'm working on a project that helps people identify date on their coins. One of the systems refers to the Assanese coins, this one: http://apps.creounity.com/time_machine/index.php?go=assam_ips.php&lang=en. So that is why I was asking about the numerals above.

Could you please check the rightness of the shapes of the numerals, provided in the left part of the page, as well as verify the dates for the set of images available right there on the tab called "Images of coins"?

Some pics were taken from this very topic, which — thankfully — I had  found a couple of days ago.

Thank you.

[RG]

Here's a coin from my collection added last month from an auction. Image courtesy, to auction house.

[RG]

Thae above coin is attributed to Pramatta Simha.

[Oesho]

rameshgshenoy78 date is Sake 1672 (1750).