Happy New Year 2016

Legend coins of Thanjavur Raghunatha Nayak

Raghunatha Nayak was the third ruler of Thanjavur, southern India, from the Nayak dynasty. He ruled from 1600 to 1634 and is considered to be the greatest of the Thanjavur Nayak kings. His reign is noted for the attainments of Thanjavur in literature, art and Carnatic music.

Raghunatha has won many battles. He patronized Carnatic music in his kingdom. The Nayak himself composed a number of Yakshaganas and was a good veena player. Kshetrayya, the composer from Muvva, visited Thanjavur and composed padas during his reign.

There are many varieties of coins in Nagari, Telugu & Tamil languages:

Following are the Nagari legend coins of Raghunatha Nayak:

Aurangazeb Machilipatnam mint Paisa

Machilipatnam was a Mughal mint which was later came into control of the British East India Company.

However during the reign of Aurangzeb, it is regarded as a Mughal controlled mint.

 1. AH 1113 / RY46

2. AH 1114 / RY47

The Fish Coins of Arcot Nawab

The Mughal emperor, Aurangazeb, appointed a Nawab as the governor for the provinces of North and South Arcot in Tamil Nadu. Thirteen years after Aurangazeb's death, the Nawab claimed to be an independent ruler and founded the dynasty of the Nawab of Arcot. The important Arcot Nawabs were Sadat-uulah Khan I, Muhammad Ali also known as Walajah and Umdat-ul Umara. In the 19th Century, the English captured their territory.

Following are the fish coins of Arcot nawabs from my collection:

The Copper massa coins of Srilanka

The copper massa coins from srilanka:

Obverse: Traditional Lankan massa design of seated king.

Head and crown as on obverse. Arm is raised upwards and the hand holds a conch shell. On right Nagari legend as shown below

Reverse: Traditional Lankan massa design of standing king.
The head consists of an irregular oblong, the right side being a vertical line, from which projects three horizontal stokes representing the nose, mouth and chin. The crown bulging outwards at the back. The two curved lines on either side of the legs slightly turned upwards at the end indicate a person wearing a 'dhoti', and standing on a lotus stalk with flower to the right. The forearm is bent sharply down; the hand grasps the hanging lamp. The right side elbow is curved down with the arm turned upwards holds a flower presumed to be a jasmine blossom. To the right are five dots or spheres. A rim of 40 to 43 beads.

Sri Alagiri coin of Thanjavur Nayaka Kingdom

Alagiri is the last king of the Thanjavur Nayaks kingdom.

The rule of the Thanjavur Nayaks lasted until 1673 when Chokkanatha Nayak the ruler of Madurai invaded Thanjavur and killed the ruler Vijayaraghava. The dispute was due to the refusal of Vijaya Ragava to give his daughter in marriage to Chokkanatha Nayak.

Vijaya Raghava Nayak was defeated in battle by the Chokkanatha Nayak who captured and beheaded him.

Chokkanatha placed his foster-brother Alagiri in charge of the government of Tanjore, but within a year the latter threw off his allegiance, and Chokkanatha was forced to recognise the independence of Thanjavur.

Obv: Shiva & Parvathi

Rev: sri a/ la gar i in telugu legend

The Danish India Coins

The Danes made their first appearance in India in 1618, when the Dansk Ostindisk Compagni (Danish East India Company) started operating under a royal Danish charter. They reached an agreement with the Thanjavur Nayaks, receiving the port of Tranquebar and some surrounding area on an annual payment of 4,000 rupees.

By the following year the Danish castle of Dansborg had been built. Although the Danes subsequently did establish a few other settlements, Tranquebar remained their headquarters and their only mint operated there.

Ramayana series Coins of Raghunatha Nayak

Rama is regarded as the seventh avatara of Lord Vishnu and Ramayana is regarded as one of the greatest works of Indian Literature.

Tanjore king Raghunata Nayaka (1600-1634 AD) was a great devotee of Sri Rama. There is a story that once the king ordered to dig a tank in Darasuram and the idols of Rama and Sita were found here. Inspired by discovery, the king ordered to his minister Govinda Dikshitar to build three temples of Rama in three places - Kumbakonam, Srirangam and Rama Sethu.

Following is the Ramayana series coins set with image of king Raghunatha Nayaka in Anjali Mudra position on the Reverse.

Commemorative coin on Golden Jubilee of Indo-Pak War 1965

50 Years into the Glorious Past: A Tri-Service Hue In 1965

Honour, selfless service and the spirit of sacrifice are ingrained tenets of the Indian Armed Forces enabling them to acquit themselves commendably both in war and peace. In the face of grave personal danger, the Indian Soldier, Sailor and Air Warrior have never hesitated in making the supreme sacrifice in the line of duty. One such example of this ‘Glorious Saga’ was witnessed in 1965, wherein our Armed Forces exhibited tremendous grit, determination and fortitude; living up to the faith reposed in them by the Indian Nation and its leaders. It was in 1965, the Indian Armed Forces were put to test by Pakistan for a second time, wherein Pakistani forces attacked in the area of Kutch.  Subsequently skirmishes in the Kashmir valley and thereafter the armoured attacks in Chhamb area of Jammu Province were witnessed.

Commemorative coin on the 125th Anniversary of Dr B.R.. Ambedkar

India Government Mint Mumbai is pleased to announce the commencement of booking for “125^th Birth Anniversary of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar” commemorative coins. The booking period is from 10.12.2015 to 10.02.2016.

Shiva lingam coin varieties of Thanjavur

Following are some of the non-legend coins issued by the Thanjavur Nayaks.

The first coin is an uncommon one in this shiva lingam series were the obverse has Lord Murugan.

Arani Marathas Coins

Dasavatharams of lord vishnu on Coins

Vishnu is the second member of the Hindu triad (Brahma, Vishnu, and Maheswara). His principal function is that of the protector of the universe. He is worshiped in South-Indian temples in various forms and under various names.

The more popular forms of Vishnu are generally referred to his numerous avatars or incarnations. There are ten such avatars recognized as a primary importance:

1.    Varaha “the Boar incarnation”

2.    Narasimha “the Man-lion incarnation”

3.    Vamana “The Dwarf Brahmin incarnation, developing eventually into Trivikrama”

4.    Rama, the hero of Ramayana

5.    Krishna, the god and the radhasaradhi for arjuna in the great war of the Mahabharata.

6.    Fish - Matsyavathara

7.    Tortoise – Koormavathara

8.    Parasurama

9.    Buddha

10.  Kalki

Following are some of the dhasa avatar coins from my collection: