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Mashakas (or Masakas) are a form of ancient Indian punch-marked coins.[1]
Overview
editMashaka is a very small denomination of a silver coin. They weighted approximately 0.1g – 0.14g in silver, and were stamped by a single device to add a Mauryan (or other) symbol.[1] Mashakas made of copper did also exist.[2]
Mashakas were worth one-sixteenth of the value of a karshapana.[2]
History
editMichael Mitchiner held a belief that some mashakas were already in circulation at the time of Janapadas. However, no coin hoard or other material evidence has been found to support this claim.[1]
Widespread use of mashakas in the northern and central India supports the idea that they were the small money used in the Maurya and Shunga Empires.[1]
Analysis of the symbols and hoards suggests that masakas were an official subsidiary silver currency in the Mauryan empire. They seem to have come into existence around 320 BC.[1]
Early masakas were made of purer silver but worse issues appeared soon. Some debased masakas feature a copper core coated with silver. Debased specimens are found abundantly.[1]
Mashakas have been found by gold washers in the various tributaries of the great rivers of northern and central India.[1]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g Wilfried Pieper (2013). Ancient Indian Coins Revisited. Classical Numismatic Group. pp. 30–31. ISBN 978-0-9837652-6-4.
- ^ a b Indian History. Allied Publishers. 1988. p. 267. ISBN 978-81-8424-568-4.
External links
edit- [[]]
Category:Ancient currencies Category:Coins of India Category:Ancient India