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1 Karshapana - Ujjain/Avanti Region
| Issuer | Ujjain region |
|---|---|
| Year | 200 BC |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | JA Ancient#11 |
| Obverse description | Standing figure of Lord Shiva depicted in full relief at center of field, rendered in the schematic artistic style characteristic of ancient Avanti coinage. The deity is shown in frontal or three-quarter stance with attributes typical of early Indian iconographic convention. The flan is irregular and the surface exhibits the textured quality associated with cast copper issues of the period. No inscriptions or legends are present, consistent with pre-literate coinage of the Ujjain region. |
|---|---|
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| Mintage | -200 - Approximate |
| Additional information |
The Avanti janapada, with Ujjain as its capital, had been a major punch-marked silver currency zone for centuries before copper issues of this type began circulating. By the 2nd century BC, the regional political order was fragmenting under Shungan pressure from the east, and copper karshapanas of local issue increasingly substituted for the silver coinage that had defined earlier Mauryan-era commerce in the region. Ujjain's position on the Tropic of Cancer made it the site of one of India's most important astronomical observatories — a city of genuine administrative weight, not a provincial backwater.