What type of coins are these
Answers
Primitive Coins, probably made and used extensively in the stone ages...
Answer:
Coins in Mauryan Dynasty
Explanation:
Ancient Indian coins became popular in the Mauryan Dynasty and were described in the famous Arthshastra by Kautilya. As per the Arthshastra, metals were first melted then purified with alkali and beaten into sheets and finally minted into coins after punching with the symbols.
In the earlier periods before Mauryan times several punches were used on the coins but the Mauryans, set the standard of the particular shape and size with fixed number of punch marks. The coins of the Mauryan Dynasty were round, oval or square with symbols punched on it. Various symbols used were of different floral patterns, with hills, birds, animals, reptiles, human figures where particular symbol represented particular place or area.
Mauryan Dynasty also introduced silver punch marked coins in four denominations as `pana`, `ardha-pana`, `pada` and `asta-bhaga` or `ardhapadika`. These coins were circulated beyond Mauryan borders.
Historical collections of the coins from Mauryan Dynasty also reveal few smaller coins which are assumed to be the cut parts of the full coins. According to historians, these small coins were considered half denominations and were accepted as legal tender. There were also some minute coins weighing between 2 and 3 grains which were generally used for transactions in the period. These minute coins were referred as ‘mashaka’ which was one sixteenth of the `pana`.