Archaic Punch Marked Coinage, Ghagra– Gandak river basin, Silver, 354.96g, Uniface, A highly unusual and unique silver ingot with cardinal divisions marked and small bankers’ marks applied. Unique, exceedingly rare. This piece was reportedly found in a mixed hoard of punch-marked coins attributed to the Kosala and Shakya/ Malla series of archaic punch-marked coins. The hoard is said to have been found in the late 1980s in the vicinity of the town of Dumariyaganj, located near Gorakhpur in the Indo-Nepal border tract. The coins of this hoard were dispersed through dealer-networks in Mumbai and Delhi. They all shared distinct ‘sigmoid ‘S’ within dotted border’ bankers’ mark suggesting they were circulating as a group when the hoard was deposited. This ingot also has similar marks. Rajgor was aware of the existence of this piece but not being privy to a photograph or exact details, he illustrated it in his book only as a schematic line drawing. The most interesting aspect of the ingot is its weight, which roughly corresponds to an aggregate weight of 100 Karshapanas, making this a ‘Shatamana’ or a ‘hundred-weight’ piece as per the Karshapana weight standard. The Karshapana as a coin-name finds a mention in early Buddhist texts such as the Dhammapada. The ingot is fabricated from molten metal poured out as a cake and then fashioned into correct weight by chiselling the corners. The cardinal markings perhaps suggest that it was to be further divided into four smaller units. The metalworking most likely prompted a verification, which is indicated by the Shroff marks. It is plausible that this ingot was used as a store of value for 100 Karshapanas or 80 Vimshatikas. The practice of using metallic ingots as multiple units of circulating currency to be used as a store of wealth is well-known and attested in other ancient cultures of the World. The purported find-spot of the ingot and the hoard it came from suggests a circulation well within the Shakya territory of ancient India. Shakya were one of the sixteen states comprising of ‘great peoples’ (Mahajanapadas) mentioned in Buddhist literature and inhabited a people of the same name. The clan is famous because the Buddha was born as a Shakya prince. Other coins found in the hoard suggest a monetary aggregate composed of metallic exchange media that was being traded along the river systems of the region, which were made by the Ghagra, Gandak and Rapti valleys. Exchange networks facilitated by riverine connections formed an important backbone for emergence and spread of the most ancient of Indian monetary systems. The ingot is thus a very significant find and throws a very important light on how metallic exchange media were fabricated, circulated and consumed at the very beginning of advent of coinage in the Gangetic plains. Whether this happened in response to spread of issue and use of money from the North-west, where the Achaemenians are first credited with limited coin use, or whether it developed on the back of indigenous trading systems, is a question that yet remains to be answered. Perhaps, an analysis of the metallic contents of this ingot will provide some answers.