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R. Raised Swastika. Vase to r., with shoots each ending in a flower or leaf.

41. 1.31 in. by 74 in.; weight unknown.

O. Seated figure in same attitude, but r. leg doubled under body, and 1. leg doubled under r. one. Two bangles on 1. wrist, and one or two on r. one. A bead on each side of waist. Hand raised to shoulder level on r. A curved band seems to pass round head. Upright pole near 1. edge of coin, ends invisible.

42. 1.50 in. by 79 in.; weight 74 grains.

O. Seated figure with wider waist, in usual attitude. Hand on r. holds flower at shoulder level. A bar passes down from 1. knee and is then turned horizontally to r. toes; it may represent the outer side of a throne, or the side of the dress.

R. Opposed to O. Raised Swastika, turning 1., rising from a waved base line, below which, and separated from it by a wide channel, is a straight horizontal band. To 1., the vase with two round flowers or leaves above it. An emblem to r., like a bull's head looking downwards.

43. 1-43 in. by 72 in.; weight 75 grains.

O. Standing deity, facing f., as usual; one or two bangles on r. wrist, and anklets on r. leg; other hand and foot not visible. Upright pole on r. Lines are incised, curling from the top of the head upward and outward, evidently to indicate loose hair.

R.

Raised Swastika, turned 1., on strong stem which springs from a wide straight base line, below which is a flat channel. The short basal uprights are pointed. To 1. the vase. To r. no emblem visible.

44. 142 in. by 72 in.; weight 64 grains. A hole is drilled near the top for suspending the coin on a string.

O. Standing deity, with very long narrow waist, facing f. An armlet on r. upper arm, bangles on each wrist, and anklets on legs, two being on 1. leg. Opposite the hips the hands grasp two upright poles; that on 1. ends at level of head, apparently in a trident. Top of the other uncertain. A symbol on each side of legs; that on 1. may have been a bead or disk on a post, but the bead is not now visible.

R. Raised Swastika, turned r. The short basal uprights on 1. are pointed; those on 1. have square ends. Vase to r., out of which grow incised leaves on stems, one having shape of a Bō-leaf. Under the vase is a wide bar curved into an arch. To 1., an indistinct symbol, resembling a bird with raised wing,1 facing Swastika.

45. 1.21 in. by 70 in.; weight 58 grains.

O. Middle part of design gone, and rest fragmentary. The details appear to differ from those on other coins, and it is doubtful if a deity was represented. Two curved bands ending in curls are on 1., and perhaps a vase below them.

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46. 145 in. by 76 in.; weight 82 grains. A hole is drilled near the top for suspending the coin on a thread or fine string. O. Standing deity, facing f. crown, or raised cover on head. over head from shoulders. upright pole which appears to end in a bident or trident. On 1. of legs an upright design.

There may be a helmet, or A wide broken line passes On each side the hands hold an

R. A raised border, excepting on r. Swastika turned r. A horizontal bar separated from base line of Swastika and border by two channels. To r., probably a smaller Swastika turned r.; to 1., a rectangular raised line like early letter u. 47. 1.53 in. by 65 in.; weight 126 grains. A hole is drilled near the top for suspending the coin on a thin string.

O. Standing deity (? female) with wasp-like waist and hanging arms; hands hold upright pole at each side of coin. That on 1. ends in cross-bar at level of shoulder, above which are four flowers, lower two being circular and upper two trumpet-mouthed. The pole on r. winds slightly and ends in a thick curl at level of neck. Above this a relief like a standing deer; but lower part may be intended for a flower and the rest part of a band passing over head. Thin transverse bar above it, separated from border by a channel.

R. Large raised Swastika, turned r. Under its base line a transverse band separated from border by a narrow channel. 1 A bird with raised wings is carved in false relief on a pillar at the Abhayagiri dāgaba, and on one at the Dakuņu dāgaba.

To r. a clear Aum monogram, with straight sides. To 1. side view of flower resting on a thick cross-bar, bud on r. of it.

48 to 51. Four other thin coins, averaging 13 grains in weight, have the following dimensions:-101 in. by ·45 in.; 1.05 in. by 50 in.; 1.05 in. by 50 in.; and 1.10 in. by 50 in. All much worn on both sides.

52. An additional coin of this type found by Mr. Bell at Anuradhapura,1 at the site with the 'Buddhist railing,' measured 80 in. by 62 in., and weighed 44 grains.

O.

Standing deity, facing f., holding shaft of trident in his r. hand, and perhaps another in 1. hand, which is indistinct. Mr. Bell thought that irregular upright lines near these were the edges of his dress.

R. Raised Swastika, turned r.; plant on 1., of three stems, springing from a cross bar. Indistinct marks on r.

The mean dimensions of the Tissa and heavier Mulleittivu coins are :

Tissa coins, 1.18 in. by 49 in.; weight 46 grains (mean of 3). Mulleittīvu coins. 1.13 in. by 67 in.; weight 50 grains (mean of II).

The Anuradhapura coins differ greatly in weight, which varies from 13 grains to 126 grains.

Sir A. Cunningham has given two scales of the weights of ancient Indian money, one for copper coins and the other for silver coins.2 These are as follows:

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copper and silver This is seen in

coinage following the same copper scale. the following table, which gives the mean weights of some of the ordinary 'Massa' coins in my possession, taken

1 Arch. Survey of Ceylon. Fourth Progress Report, pp. 4 and 13. 2 Coins of Ancient India, pp. 46 and 47.

without selection. I annex for comparison the weight of some coins of the south Indian king Raja-Raja, purchased by me in Madura, from which I have excluded only coins that are evidently cut away at the edges.

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The oblong money can be divided only into a larger and a smaller type, as shown in Fig. 155. The former includes the Mulleittivu and the larger Anuradhapura coins, and has a mean width of 70 in.; the rest of the coins average ⚫50 in. in width. Whether these sizes indicated different values is doubtful.

The great variation in the weights proves that no special scale was followed in them; the plaques were tokens rather than money. Yet they may have answered all the purposes of money in being used as mediums of exchange which probably had fixed values in the country.

Histories and inscriptions alike prove that coins called kahāpanas existed in countless numbers in Ceylon in very early times; yet no other coin which could possibly represent this money has been discovered. That such coins were made of copper is rendered certain by the discovery of the circular coin described below (p. 503), which appears to be a double kahāpana, as Mr. Still stated. Necessarily, this must have been preceded by the single kahāpana and its subdivisions, which could not be formed of a more valuable metal than the money of higher value, and therefore must have been copper coins. Thus, until some other form of copper money of suitable weights has been found it appears to me that

these oblong plaques must be accepted as partly filling the gap. Mr. Bell's spurious oblong Purana, with a figure on the obverse like those on the plaques, strongly supports

this view.

Cast coins of the same size and shape occur in southern India (see p. 506). The slight amount of wear in most of the plaques may be due to their being hoarded as amulets; some are considerably eroded on their faces. In the irregu larity of the weights the coins only followed the example of the Purānas found in Ceylon, the weights of which show that while all probably had the same value as mediums of exchange they were in reality tokens, that is, they did not circulate in Ceylon at their intrinsic value. The surprise which the Sinhalese king expressed to the freedman of Annius Plocamus at the exact weights of the Roman coinage is a proof that all the local money varied greatly in this respect.

That the oblong type of coin continued to be issued up to the third or fourth century A.D. is clearly proved by the form of the 'Aum' monogram on the coin numbered 47, the m of which is of a type which is found in some inscriptions of that period. I met with a similar letter cut on the faces of two stones inside the valve-pit or bisōkoṭuwa' of a sluice at Hurulla, a tank constructed by King Mahā-Sēna (277-304 A.D.). Large coins of a circular shape made their appearance at about this time, having a similar Aum' monogram on them, and it may be assumed that the issue of the oblong money then either ceased or was of less importance than before.

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As all probably had a two-fold value as coins and also as protective amulets the discovery of a few isolated specimens about religious edifices of a later date does not quite prove that they continued to be issued up to that time.

Two years ago Mr. Still mentioned that he had examined some 200 specimens, among which were three cast ones with outward-curving sides, found near the Thūpārāma. Another cast one was found in the excavation inside the Kiribat dāgaba, and a fourth near the Thūpārāma. (Journal, R.A.S., Ceylon, 1907, p. 199 ff.).

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