Malwa, City state of Nadinagara, Alloyed Copper, 8.29g, Brahmi legend “(Na)dinagar(ra)” in Ashokan characters, traces of arched-hill to bottom right and a Swastika to bottom left on obverse. Very fine, exceedingly rare. The ancient city-state of ‘Nadinagara’ has been identified with Nadner, a site located on the Narmada River. The palaeography of the characters in Brahmi on the coin is evidently early. It is plausible that these issues are perhaps some of the earliest inscribed indigenous coins in mainland India. Most likely the coins were struck when the city rose to prominence as a trade and logistical point on the North-South trade route immediately after the fragmentation of Mauryan authority.