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OCTOBER, 1927)
SOME SOUTH INDIAN GOLD COINS
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is similar to that found on coins struck at Pondicherry by the Dutch during their occupation of it from 1693 to 1698. It was thought by Colonel Pearse to be Kali or Suli of Tanjore. It is also stated that this design was found anterior to 1693 in the coins of Negapatam and the Dutch copied this design from them. He states without quoting any evidence that this design was extant as early as the second century of the Christian era during the period of the Guptas ; but from the existing literature on the coins of Guptas we do not find any such design on record. Therefore this appears to be a later design, but current in the Eastern Districts at the beginning of the seventeenth century, and the French, the Dutch and the Marathas have copied it from that earlier design.
II. Some Chola Coins. A treasure-trove consisting of twenty-one gold coins was found in survoy No. 169, Parla village, Kurnool District, on 2nd December 1918. These gold picces were discovered during the removal of stones from a tiell.
Under the provisions of the Treasure Trove Act, the find was declared ownerless and was acquired for the Government Museum, Madras.
The treasure comprises fourteen vardhas, six Kadamba fanams and one-quarter Kadamba faram. It is with these fourteen caráhas that the present paper deals.
The fourteen vardhas are all round and are of the well known Châļukyan type caller Padmatanka. They preserve their cup-shaped form in almost all cases. One of them is thinner and larger than the others. They show various punch marks on the surface, the most prominent of which are the two auspicious symbols. Sri' in old Telugu-Kannada script on either side of the periphery at the ends of the horizontal diameter. At one extre. mity of the vertical diameter is found in Telugu-Kannada character the name or title of the king who issued the coin, and at the other end is found a hook attached to a spear bearing the sun and moon. There is also a stroke below the hook. The other symbols are the figures of a lion or tiger with open mouth, raised paw and twisted tail, very crudely repre. sented by dots and lines. The central part is occupied by the figure of a lion. The reverse side of the coin is blank. Ten of the coins bear the legend ['nta)kaka,' one of them bears 'nnakiti 'another Aksha).' another kshada' or 'Ksha[pa'l and one na. 'The legends are incomplete.
These fourteen varahas are of five different types : Xo. 1. This comprises ten coins. They are round but slightly bulging ont on the four
sides. [Nos. 14, 15 & 16 in tho Plate.) Size. Varving froin 20/24 to 21/24 of an inch in diameter. Weight. Varics from 51.25 to 55.5 grains. Description. At the top of the vertical diameter is the legend 'Inta Jkaka' in Telugu.
Kannada script, and at the other end there is a spear with a hook turned towards its proper left. The handle of the spear is turned towards the centre of the coin. There are two dots on the proper right of the spear, which probably stand for the sun and moon. The symbols Sri' are found at the extremities of the horizontal diameter. The inter-spaces are tilled with pollets, dots or rows of dots which pro.
bably represent lions. Vo. 2. Number. There is only one coin of this kind. [No. 17 in the Plate.] Size. Round, 1 1/24 inches in diameter. Wcight. 54.5 grains. Description. It bears the Telugu Kannada nnakiti' at the top of the vertical dia.
ineter. Right below at the opposite extremity we find an ankusa. The symbols • Sri' are found at the uxtremities of the horizontal diameter. There is a standing lion in the centre and along the border, and the inter-spaces between the four punch marks already described are stamped with the figures of standing lions,
