Punch Marked and Gold Coins from Malhar

The first coin appearing above is in Gold but the quantity of gold seems minimal. This was worn around the neck as a pendant. Scholars opine that this is an imitation of Roman Coin.
The second one is a Silver Punch Marked coin which has been overstruck with the Malhar device "". It bears four symbols. Sun at top left corner, a Bull facing right at the top right, an Elephant facing right at the bottom and the an unidentifiable truncated symbol. It weighs .75 gm. This is 1/4th of a Karshapana which are scarce. The third one a silver Punch Marked Coin on which the Sun is clearly seen at top right corner. Apart from that there is an incision like marking. The fourth one, also a Silver PMC seems to bear around five symbols out of which the Sun could be seen at top right corner.

Coins of Smaller Denominations

The Coins displayed above are in Copper and very small in size. They all bear some markings. However I did not attempt to clean them properly as I was sure that it is unlikely to find any legend on them

They could be placed in around 3rd Century AD. I wonder as to how people used to manage them.

Anonymous Coins from Malhar

Coins of Bhaliga

Coins of Bhaliga have been found in lead as well as copper. Most of the coins bear a tree in railing as the reverse symbol. On all my coins there is an elephant to the right on the obverse above which the legend appears as Siri Bhaligasa. One copper coin bears the full legend "Rano Siri Bhaligasa"

Coins of Sivamagha

I am not averse to placing Sivamagha in around the 1st half of 2nd Century AD as for as I could visualize from the palaeography on his coin issues. Among the Magha rulers, we find Sivamagha bringing out coins in all conceivable shapes. We come across square, oblong, round as well as octagonal coins in lead and copper. Interestingly, the penultimate (with a crack) coin appearing above, has traces of Gold. The second coin on this page is superb in the sence it has a very clear legend Rano Siva Magha Sirisa starting from 9' O Clockto 3'O Clock. His coin issues are quite different from what we have seen with earlier rulers. A peacock has invariably been depicted on the reverse of all his coins with or without a pedestral.

(The first coin is not a part of my collection)

Coins of Maghasiri - the founder of Magha Dynasty

Maghasiri was the founder of Magha Dynasty sometimes during the 1st Century AD as discussed in my earlier page on Maghas. All his coin issues are in lead. In few of them we find tree in railing as the reverse symbol. The topmost coin is not rectangular. It is broader and thinner at the top. This gives an impression that perhaps the name ‘Maghasirisa’ was impressed with some device. In that case the original coin could have belonged to some other ruler.
Maghashri is considered to have been succeeded by a ruler named Siriya Magha whose coin appears alongside. The legend has been read as “Siri Yamagha” by some scholars. This seems absurd, devoid of any meaning. I am inclined to go for “Siriya Magha” as explained by P.L. Gupa (Numismatic Digest Vol 14, pp. 10-11). In that case the issuer would be “Maghasiri” with the honorific prefix of “Siriya”. If we consider “Siriya” as part of the name, the issuer of the coin would be a different ruler. We leave it at that for further numismatic evidence to come up.

Coins of Dharmabhadra

After Achadasiri, we find a ruler named Dharmabhadra or Dhamabhada (as per the coin legend). The typography of Brahmi characters are almost similar to that of Achadasiri and he too could have belonged to 1st Century BC. There are only two coins found so far. Both of them are in copper with a tree in railing on the reverse. There is however a tiny symbol at the corner resembling a square within which a + mark is placed.

Coins of Achadasiri

After Silalusiri, the reigns appear to have been taken over by Achadasiri. The advent of Malhar symbol "" could be seen on his issues. The coins are in lead and copper (1, 2, 4 and 6). All copper issues have a Tree in railing on the reverse while on most of the lead coins the reverse is blank.

Coins of Silalu Siri (Earliest Inscribed Coins)

(Double click over the photograph for an enlargement)

The earliest inscribed coins found at Malhar belong to a ruler named Silalu Siri. Palaeographically, his coins are placed in the 1st Century BC. Initially the reading on the coin was confusing and appeared as if it is Salapusa but later, addition of more coins made the legend clear. Few of his coins are overstruck with the typical Malhar Symbol "" (Device) and it appears within an incuse. All coins are in lead and do not bear any symbol on the reverse.

Mysterious Malhar Symbol

After having traced the Magha’s origin at Malhar, it would be pertinent to dwell on the mysterious “Angular Nandipada” or the Malhar Symbol. This is purely native to South Kosala as indicated by coin finds. Occurrence of this device had been rare elsewhere excepting perhaps on coins from Kausabi reported by Altekar (JNSI IV p.1 & JNSI VII p.7). The coins reported have been counter struck with Nandipada symbol. This is indicative of the period during which Maghas gained control over Kausambi. The ruler named ‘Pothamitra’ could have preceded Maghas thereat. Coming down to Malhar, we find coins of a king named Silalusiri (who could have been a Saka chief) immediately before the advent of Raja Maghashri (Ranjo Maghasirisa).We come across lead coins of the former king counter struck with the Malhar Device. We have one copper and four lead coins of Silalusiri with and without the so called mint mark. Instead of considering this device as a mint mark for Malhar, we could assume that, to begin with the Magha ruler used his initial letter ‘Ma’ for stamping the coins of the erstwhile rulers to indicate his suzerinity and used the same device for his own issues for smaller denominations.

This symbol is seen in all the coins from Malhar being used by (different or may be by the same dynasty) issues upto the 4th century AD.

A friend of mine, after examining my coins, was in favour of calling it a religious symbol – a Fire Altar. This can not, however, be ruled out. The rulers could have been fire worshippers