Silver shatamana, Gandhara (c.600-500 BC), India - FIRST Indian coin issue every struck!

Medium concave silver bar, struck with a 6-armed Gandharan symbol on each end. 38mm long, 11.42 grams. Rajgor 540-545 var.

With an additional "V"-shaped mark.

These fascinating large coins, equal to about 3 karshapanas, are the most likely candidates to be the very first Indian coins ever struck. During the 6th century BC Gandhara was a subject of the Achaemenids, who probably introduced the native Gandharans to the idea of a struck coinage. The earliest Gandharan coins - shatamanas (=100 manas, also known as "bent bars"), were probably based on a Achaemenid siglos standard, since the average weight of these shatamanas equals to the weight of 2 sigloi. From Gandhara, the idea of struck, or punchmarked, coinage spread south and soon the punchmarked coins were produced in many other regions of northern and central India. 

Unconditionally guaranteed to be authentic.

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