Punch Marked, Upper Krishna valley, Wai-Sultanpur region of Western Maharashtra, attributed to Ashmaka-Kuntala Janapada, Silver 1/2 Unit or 3 Shana, 3.33g, Uniface, Pulley’-like symbol without ‘treskelis’ symbol between the prongs on obverse (Rajgor series 30). With original patina deep punch. Extremely fine for type, very rare.
The ‘pulley’-type punch-marked coinage is perhaps the earliest coinage in Deccan, mainly known from three large hoards found in the vicinity of Wai, Western Maharashtra. The most recent of these hoards was found in 1990s. Nearly all coins found in the hoard were cleaned to reveal a clean silver appearance. Hardly any survive preserving the original patina of the hoard. This is one such piece and therefore of exceptional rarity.