________________
Economic Conditions
311
symbol was originally intended to denote the Solar origin of the dynasty of the issuer, and when once it had become popular, it may have been mechanically copied on the coinage of other dynasties as well. This is also the tone of the coins bearing an elephant and a bull as symbols
The symbols had probably some conventional, local or religious significance. The bull may denote Vatsa dynasty of Kośāmbi. The hill and tank marks in their different varieties may be different places or region marks.
On most of the punchmarked coins, there are five symbols on the obverse which have occasioned a number of conjectures to explain them. Two of these symbols, the Sun and the six-armed symbol, are constant and do not carry much significance. DURGA Prasad had suggested that the third symbol probably changed with the king, the fourth with the year, and the fifth with the locality. According to D.D. KOSAMBI, they may refer to the names of the ruling king, his father, and his grandfather. It is equally possible that one of the symbols may have stood for the Governor, the other for the mint master and the third for the place or province of issuc.
D.D. KOSAMBI has also suggested that the symbol of the hill may denote descent. Thus the peacock and the elephant on the hill would denote descent of the dynasty of the issuer from the peacock or elephant or gods, having them as their mounts. G.H.C. WALSH has suggested that all coins having elephants upon them may be taken to have been issued by kings as distinguished from those issued by Samghas. Elcplants are almost universally associated with royalty.. PRICES
In carly Buddhist literature, we find the prices of cvery vendiblc commodity mentioned, prices of a dead mouse too as well as fees, pensions, fincs, loans, stored treasures and incomes stated in figures of a certain coin or its fractions. In most cases, prices given are fantastic and fabulous. Only a few references may be regarded as mentioning the actual marketprice of certain commodities. It appears that articles of food were cheap. According to the l'inay'a texts, il small quantity 1. For details of prices, see JRAS, 1901, pp. 882 .
