Ancient Deccan, Pre-Satavahana, North West Maharashtra, c.200-150BC, Die struck Alloyed Copper, 4.49g, Obv: Six-arched hill, a rectangle with dots above, traces of Brahmi letters “Na” and “Ke” to left, Rev: Two spoon like objects in a rectangle, three-arched hill below, open cross to left (Unpublished in major sources). Extremely fine, extremely rare. There is a chance that the full legend on coins of this enigmatic type, which shows similarity in fabric and metal to city-state issues of Mahishmati and Tripuri, might be ‘Nasike’. If this is the case, the coin becomes extremely significant as the first ever city-state issue from Western Maharashtra. Nasik is regarded as a town of great religious significance and the early evidence of its urban phase has been found in excavations conducted on the banks of the Godavari River at a mound called ‘Matichi Gadhi’ in 1956-57.