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1 Karshapana
| Issuer | Mauryan Empire |
|---|---|
| Year | 322 BC - 185 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Karshapana (322 BC to 185 BC) |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
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| Reverse description | Irregular square flan with four punch-marked symbols distributed across the field, applied in the typical Mauryan fashion of secondary banker's or royal counter-marks. The devices include a clearly defined sun symbol with a central orb and concentric elements, a bull's head or similar animal device within a circular punch, and additional smaller geometric punch marks in the corners of the flan. The incuse impressions are bold and well-struck, consistent with official Mauryan imperial punch-marked coinage. |
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| Mintage | ND (322 BC - 185 BC) |
| Additional information |
The karshapana predates the Mauryan dynasty itself — these punch-marked pieces were already circulating across the Gangetic plain before Chandragupta seized Magadha around 322 BC. What the Mauryans did was systematize production, imposing state control over what had been a fragmented regional coinage. Kautilya's Arthashastra, the administrative treatise attributed to Chandragupta's minister Chanakya, devotes specific passages to the regulation of silver purity and the duties of the mint superintendent — one of the earliest bureaucratic treatments of monetary policy anywhere in the ancient world.