Two-day exhibition of rare coins a treat for numismatic enthusiasts

Coinages issued in Maharashtra dating back to 2600 BCE on display

For history lovers: Visitors take a closer look at pre-historic coinages at Sathaye College in Vile Parle on Monday.

Coinages issued in the State from as far back as 2600 BCE right up to 2018 were on display at an exhibition in the city on Sunday of Monday.

The expansive exhibition, ‘Multifaced Coinages of Maharashtra’, was held on the occasion of the fourth National Numismatic Day, and to commemorate the birth anniversary of P. L. Gupta, the ‘Father of Indian Numismatics’, at Sathaye College in Vile Parle (East).

The first set of silver coins that was on display belonged to the pre-Mauryan period, during the existence of ancient Janapadas of Vidarbha, Kuntala and Andhras. The next set of coins belonged to the Imperial Mauryan period, and included silver coins known as Karshapanas along with coins of smaller denominations called Mashaka and Kakani.

Several coins of the pre-Satavahana period, belonging to various parts of Maharashtra, followed by Imperial Satavahanas and Shaka-Kshatrapas of Gujarat-Malwa in western Maharashtra were also exhibited. Islamic coinages of the Khalji dynasty and the Mughals were on display, as were those of the Marathas, East India Company, Portuguese and the Maratha princely states.

The exhibition also featured commemorative coinages that were issued by the Republic of India in the memory of Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Balgangadhar Tilak and other leaders.

Alongside the exhibition, the Centre for History, Archaeology, Epigraphy and Numismatics (CHAEN) had organised a conference called ‘Recent Researches in History, Archaeology, Epigraphy and Numismatics’. The conference is held every year on December 24. Students presented research papers, which were examined by experts in the field from various universities.

The experts included Dr. Manjiri Kamat, professor at the department of history, University of Mumbai; Dr. Amit Upadhyay, department of ancient Indian history, culture and archaeology of the Banaras Hindu University; Dr. G.K. Mane from the State Directorate of Archaeology and Museums; and Dr. Dilip Balsekar, executive editor and secretary of the State Cultural Affairs Department.

The two-day event ended with a farewell speech, while prizes were distributed to presenters of the research papers during the conference.