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THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY.
SEPTEMBER, 1888.
1171, as the real English equivalent. This date, names well known in all matters connected with however, is one that might advantageously be antiquarian and archæological studies in Madras, subjected to further examination.
designed to promote the "systematic cataloguing No. 17.
of private collections of the ancient coins of In the Dégâmve stone inscription of the South India." Kadamba king Permadi-Sivachitta, from "Private collectors," of course, vary, from the the Belgaum District, published by me in learned numismatist, who has made coins the the Jour. Bo. Br. R. As. Soc. Vol. IX. study of the leisure of a lifetime, to the gentleman pp. 262, 264ff., 287ff., the date (line 33f. in the who collects coins as he collects everything else version in Någari characters, and line 42ff. in that is curious and that comes within his reach. the version in Old-Kanarese characters) is - Such dilettante antiquarians as this last are much panchasaptaty-adhika-dvisat-ottara-chatuh-saha- more common than many suppose, and much more Broshu Kaliyuga-samvatsarēslu paravritteshu frequent than might be expected. They possess pravartamînê cha éri-Kadamba-Sivachitta. treasures of the real value of which they have no Vira-Permadidêvasya pravardhamina-vijaya- conception. If the gentlemen above-mentioned rajya-samvatsarê ashtävimse Jay-ahvayê Márga- can manage to get the collections of such persons sirshê amavasyam Bhaumavåré suryagrahaņa- sufficiently within their grasp to be able to cataparvani," when there have expired four thousand logue and publish them, they will have conferred years of the Kaliyuga, increased by two hundred a real benefit op numismatology. raised by seventy-five; and while there is current The dilettante collector may be properly styled the twenty-eighth year, having the appellation of an enemy to coins; but coins have, widely Jaya, of the augmenting victorious reign of the spread all over India, much worse foes. We glorious Kâdamba Sivachitta-Vira-Permadidêva; mean those ladies and gentlemen who delight in in the month) Mârgasirsha; on the new-moon wearing "funny old coins" as personal adorntithi; on Tuesday; at the conjunction of an ments. In this Journal (ante, Vol. XIV. p. 325) eclipse of the sun." And the inscription goes on there has been published a coin found on a sleeve. to record a grant of the village of Dêgarve by link (1); and the present writer on one occasion Permadideva's chief queen, Kamaladevi, in this discovered a valuable coin on a watch-chain, twenty-eighth year of his reign.
However, try as they may, it is to be feared This gives us, as the basis of the calculation, that the promoters of the scheme under conKaliyuga-Samvat 4275 expired, which by the sideration will succeed in capturing but very Tables is equivalent to Saka-Samvat 1096 ex. few of this class of " collector!” pired; and the details of the Jaya samvatsara, Messrs. Sewell, Thurston, and Tufnell, have set current, of the Sixty-Year Cycle; the month about their business in a thoroughly systematic Margasiraba (ordinarily November December); manner, and have accompanied their appeal to the new-moon tithi, i.e. the fifteenth tithi of the collectors of coins by an intelligible and simple dark fortnight; Bhaumavåra, or Tuesday; and form to fill in, together with a very practical paper an eclipse of the sun.
of "instructions," from which we take the followBy the Southern System of the Cycle, the ing easy method of taking a rough rubbing - Jaya samvatsara did coincide with the indi. - Circular holes a little larger than the coin should cated current year, Kaliyuga-Samvat 4276, equiva- be cut in strong cardboard. A piece of strong lent to Saka-Sarhvat 1097 (A.D. 1174-75). And thin paper should then be placed over the coin and with the basis of Saka-Samvat 1096 expired, pressed down tight by means of the card. The and by the Amanta southern arrangement, I paper should then be gently rubbed with a hard find that the given tithi, Margasiraha krishna blacklead pencil, not cut to a point, but just 15, ended, as required, on Tuesday, the 26th rounded of" November, A.D. 1174, at about 13 ghatls, 12 The only point in the scheme that we would palas, after mean sunrise (for Bombay); and on deprecate being carried out, is the proposal to this day there was an eclipse of the sun, start a new periodical devoted to this work. which was visible in India.
There are plenty of widely circulated magazines J. F. FLEET.
and journals of Societies in existence already, that
would gladly publish whatever the promoters CATALOGUE OF COINS OF SOUTHERN INDIA. might send them as the result of their efforts.
We have received a very interesting circular, Indeed, so great are the calls on the purses of signed by Messrs. Sewell, Thurston, and Tufnell, the scientific men of the day in the matter of
* See von Oppolzer's Canon der Finsternisse, pp. 228, 229, and Plate 114.
