“These coins bear a symbol of a lion standing to the right on the obverse, with letters reading ‘Ja’, ‘Ga’, ‘Ka’, ‘Ta’, ‘Be’ on the reverse side in Kannada script,” Chary and Dr E. Sivanagi Reddy said.
Hyderabad: Gold coins of the Kalyani Chalukyas dynasty, found for the first time from the Godavari river bed at Dharmapuri, have filled a gap in the numismatic history of Telangana, experts said. The coins were acquired recently by R. Vaikuntha Chary, a numismatist from Dharmapuri in Jagtial district.
The find includes 200 ‘fanams’ gold coins of lower denominations measuring 4 to 6 mm in diameter and weighing 80 mg, and and the 120-mg quarter fanams.
Chary and Dr E. Sivanagi Reddy, senior archaeologist, presented the details at the 107th conference of Numismatic Society of India here. “These coins bear a symbol of a lion standing to the right on the obverse, with letters reading ‘Ja’, ‘Ga’, ‘Ka’, ‘Ta’, ‘Be’ on the reverse side in Kannada script,” they said.
“Based on the title Jagadekamalla borne by the Kalyani Chalukya Emperor Jayasimha II (1015-1042 CE), the single letters found on the coins make us believe that they were issued by the same emperor, who ruled the northern Telangana region,” said Dr Sivanagi Reddy.
They added no such finds are reported elsewhere. The Kalyani Chalukyas ruled from 973-1158 CE over what is today’s Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Their inscriptions are widely found but no coins had been confirmed earlier. Dr Sivanagi Reddy told Deccan Chronicle that some archaeologists had reported findings of coins of the empire but they turned out to belong to the Kakatiya period.
“Coins from the ancient times can be often found in riverbeds, because of the religious traditions in which people offer to river goddess as a tribute while passing across the river,” he explained.
