NUMISMATICS IN KARNATAKA

NUMISMATICS IN KARNATAKA

Numismatics is one among the important disciplines that help the historians in reconstructing the history of a particular region or a dynasty. A systematic study of metallic coins is an integral part of historical studies. Most of the dynasties that ruled in Karnataka have minted coins made of different metals and of different denominations, with appropriate drawings and words. Many coins minted abroad, but found in various archaeological sites have helped in research related to the transoceanic contacts of Karnataka. M.H.Krishna, Hawkes, Walter Elliott, G.Bidie, Edgar Thurston, R.H.C Tufnel, B.L. Rice, R.P.Jackson, Henderson, R.Narasimhachar, Altekar, M.M. Parabhu, A.V. Narasimha Murthy, H. Khandoba Rao and Girijapati are some of the important numismatists of Karnataka. Most of the books and articles on any important historical period or royal dynasty contain some information about the relevant coins. Important mints such as lokkigundi (lakkundi) are usually mentioned in relevant literature. Some important coins minted and circulated in Karnataka are described here in a tabular form:

1	Chutu: Maharathis and Anandas	a.Sadakana Kalyana Maharathi b.Chatakanha Maharathi c.Chutukulananda d. Mudananda	Lead coins, circular and thick.	Maharathi: Bull and writing on one side and arched hill, hill tree and tree on the other. Ananada: Arched hills and legend on one side and a tree with in railings on the obverse.
2.	Satavahanas	a.Gautamiputra Satakarni b.Vasisthiputra Satakarni Yajna Sri Satakarni	Lead coins found at Banavasi, Chitradurga and Chandravalli	Elephant and legends on one side and Ujjain symbol on the obverse.
3.	Kadamba	a. Ravivarman b.Kangavarman c. Bhagiratha	padmaTanka gold coins found at Banavasi, Sunda and Satara in Maharashtra	Central punch mark of a lotus surrounded by small punches of lions on one side and scroll ornamentations and small flowers on the obverse.
4	Gangas of Talkad	Not certain, Sri Purusha?	Gold and copper. Five types according to M.H.Krishna.	Not many coins. Elephant with floral decoration on one side and floral designs and legend on the reverse.
5.	Chalukyas of Badami	Vikramaditya-1 and others who names are not inscribed.	Gold and electrum (gold-silver) coins. cup shaped and circular	Varaaha (Boar) on one side and a person or floral details on the other. Minor details vary from coin to coin. The coins were called ‘varaha’
6.	Rashtrakuta	Krishna-1 and karka-2	dramma, suvarNa, gadyANa, kaLanju and kAsu were some coins made of gold and silver	Not much can be said with any degree of certainty
7.	Chalukays and Kalachuris of Kalyani	Jayasimha-2, Jagadeka Malla, Trailokamalla Someshvara-1, Bhuvanaika Malla Someshvara-2 and Sovideva of Kalachuris.	Gold, Silver and copper. dramma, gadyANa, paNa, honnu, hAga, kAgini, vIsa, guLike and bELe.	Some drawings, names of the kings and other letterings
8.	Hoysala Dynasty	Vinayaditya, Vishnuvardhana, Narasimha-1, Narasimha-2, Someshvra Narasimha-3 and Ballala-3	gadyANa, paNa, hAga, vIsa. (Different in shape and weight from those of Kalyani Chalukyas. Gold coins.	Lion/Lions/Durga/ other Gods on one side and writings on the other.
9.	Sevunas of Devagiri	Bhillama-5 Singhana-2 Krishna Mahadeva Ramachandra	gadyANa, paNa, hAga, vIsa, bELe. Cup shaped Punch marks at the sides and centre..	Central punch of lotus and garuDa. (once) Name of the king in nAgari script. ‘srI’ in Kannada script.
10.	Kadambas of Goa and Hangal	Jayakeshi 1,2, 3. Sivachitta Permadi Soyideva Shastadeva	Gold and silver	Lion in various postures on one side and names of the kings on the reverse, usually surrounded by a circle of dots. Hanumaan on the coins minted by the Kadambas of Hangal.
11.	Alupa dynasty	Kundana Soyideva Alupendradeva (Pandya Dhananjaya was the title assumed by them.	Gold coins. Many references However very few coins are found.	Fish/Fishes on one side and the legend, ‘pAnDya dhananjaya’ on the reverse in nAgari/kannaDa
12.	Vijayanagara Empire	Harihara-1 Bukkaraja-1 Immadi Harihara Immadi Bukkaraja Devaraya-2 Krishnadevaraya Achyutaraya Immadi Srirangaraya	varaha, paNa, hAga, (Gold) tAra (silver) paNa, chital and kAsu (copper) Kannada, Nagari and Telugu scripts.	Figures of hanumanta, garuDa, sarasvati, brahma, nandi, nArAyaNa-lakshmi venkaTeshvara etc. Occasionally figures of birds, elephants and daggers.
13.	Bahmani	Alauddin Bahman Shah, Muhammed Shah-1,2,3, Mujahid Shah Ghiyasuddin Shamsudin Firoze Shah Ahmad Shah 1,2,3 Mehmud Shah	Gold, Silver and copper. Tankaa and dinAr Usually Circular.	Legends written in Arabic on both sides of the coins. Name, titles and the place and the date of minting.
14.	Adilshahi	Ali Adil Shah-1, Ibrahim Adil Shah-2, Muhammad Adil Shah, Ali Adil Shah-2 Sikandar Adil Shah	Gold, Silver and copper. muhar, hon, dharan, partab. Square, circle and just a silver piece. (lArin)	No figures. Only line drawings and words. Names of the kings and places like Nauraspur
15.	Baridshahi	Ibrahim Barid Kasim Barid-2	Only copper coins	The regal title of the king rather than their personal names. ‘alsultan Amir Barid Shah’ rather than Ibrahim. Hence the king can be identified only by the year of minting.
16.	Keladi, Chitradurga, Bangalore, Chikkaballapura and nagire chiefs	Sadashiva Nayaka, Sivappa Nayaka, Kempegowda and others.	Gold, Silver and copper. Various denominations.	Different figures such as Siva-Parvati, Durgaa, bull, cobra and tiger. Name of the king. IKKERI varaha is well known.
17.	Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan	Hyder Ali established a mint in Nagara (Bidanur) and circulated coins with the Hindu deities in tact. Some of them have tigers.	Gold and copper coins pagODa, half pagODa, paNam and half paNam	Initials of Hyder Ali. Numerals in Kannada and Arabic For the coins of Tipu Sultan see the note given below.
18.	Wodeyars of Mysore	Kantheerava Narasaraja, Chikadevaraja, Mummadi Krishnraja	Gold and Copper. agala kanThiraaya haNa, giDDa kanThiraaya haNa, varaha, rupee, half rupee, kAsu etc.	Figures of Narasimha and Lakshmi, narasimha, Balakrishna, Chamundi, Shiva-Parvati, elephant etc. The writing is in Kannada, Nagari, English and Arabic. The name of the king and the value of the coin are inscribed.
19.	Roman coins	Augustus Tiberius	Found at Chandravalli, Bangalore and Yashvantpur near Bangalore Silver coins	The figure of the emperor on one side and a seated woman or two standing figures on the other. The legend is in Latin
No.	Dynasty	Kings	Details	Description

The numismatic wealth of Karnataka is full of variety, even though the number of coins associated with many dynasties is less. However they have helped in tracing the evolution of Kannada script, gleaning information about kings and also from an artistic point of view.