I am Rajeev Sharma, a retired Major General of the Indian Army and an avid collector of old coins, stamps, first-day covers, world currency and postal history. I believe ancient coins, like stamps and covers, offer another form of evidence that can help us reconstruct history.
This blog is an attempt to display my rare ancient coins, stamp and currency collection with the aim of generating interest, sharing knowledge and understanding the history of the period these were minted or printed in.
Showing posts with label ancient india coins. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ancient india coins. Show all posts
Till date, innumerable stamps of Mahatma Gandhi have been issued by many countries worldwide, but the series of four stamps issued on 15th August 1948 have a popularity that is unmatched. They are collected in India and abroad equally with the same passion. These were the first commemorative stamps of Independent India issued in four denominations: one and a half annas: three and a half annas: twelve annas and ten rupees. Incidentally, the only set of stamps printed outside India after Independence in Geneva. These stamps are also known as "mourning stamps" as Gandhi died on 30th January 1948.
These stamps were meant to be sold till the 15th of November 1948, but then the date was extended till 31st December 1948 and were withdrawn from sale on 1st January 1949.
The one and a half annas and three and a half annas stamps were demonetized on 1st October 1959 and were allowed to be exchanged at Post Offices till 30th November 1959, however, the twelve annas and ten rupees stamps remained valid as postage stamps.
Mahatma Gandhi 10 Rs overprint SERVICE
Gandhi Memorial Stamps: 15 August 1949
The one and a half annas, sepia brown stamps printed were quantity 25,000,000.
The three and a half annas, bluish purple stamps printed were 02,500,000.
The twelve annas, dark green stamps printed were 03,750,000.
The ten rupees, reddish brown stamps printed were 00250,000
The total number of stamps printed were quantity 31,500,000.
Overprinted Specimen ✧
Very few sets of all values were overprinted "Specimen" These were affixed in a black velvet folder with a golden card inside and given to the delegates attending the conference at France. probably just a couple of hundred were overprinted.
SERVICE Overprint ✧
According to Jal Cooper
The one and a half annas stamps, quantity 15,950 stamps were printed.
The three and a half annas stamps, quantity 1350 stamps were printed.
The twelve annas stamps, quantity 250 stamps were printed.
The ten rupees stamps, quantity 100 stamps were printed.
The multiple mint examples of these issues are known to exist for one and a half annas and twelve annas only. Multiple mint examples of three and a half annas are not seen. The Ten rupees "SERVICE" is extremely difficult to find. These ten rupees and three and a half annas are extremely rare.
The complete sheet of Ten Rupees "SERVICE" in the National Philatelic Museum, New Delhi
Ujjain was the capital of Avanti Mahajanapada during the Vedic period. Even after Avanti was no longer an independent kingdom, it remained the capital of the western provinces during the Mauryan and Gupta times. Along with Varanasi it seems to have been a great centre of learning, especially in astronomy in ancient times.
One of the earliest available texts on Indian astronomy, the 'Surya Siddhanta', dated to the 4th century BC, explains with clarity that the earth is a sphere. It also describes the scientific methods for determining the Prime Meridian. From the text, it is seen that these methods were thousands of years old, even at the time of its composition and indicated that the "Prime Meridian" passed through the historic city of Ujjain.
Aryabhata in AD 499 said " when it is morning in Lanka, it is sunset at Siddhapura, noon at Yavakotya and midnight in Romakdesh "
Please see this video
Ujjain is a zero point for both time and geographical calculations and in the ancient and medieval world, the " Greenwich" line was always drawn through Ujjain. Since 'time'in Sanskrit is called "kala" the main Shiva temple located exactly there, is called as "Mahakala temple". All Indian traditional calendars and all sacred time is calculated even now from this line (Ujjain time which is roughly 29 minutes behind the Indian Standard Time) including birth charts in astrology.It was only in 1884 that the present " Greenwich" was agreed to in the International Meridian Conference to determine a common zero meridian, probably due to the political and economic conditions of that time.
Additionally, it was here in Ujjain that the legendary king Vikramaditya drove away the Sakas and started a new era, the Vikram Samvat or the Ujjain calendar around 58-56 BC.
Ujjaini Symbol
The Ujjaini symbol is common to Indian numismatics. It consists of a cross connecting four circles/orbs. There are various types even for the orbs, they are either hollow or filled with pellets or swastika symbols. A single or double ring also appears inside the orbs. Amongst the various theories about this symbol, the most likely one is that the Ujjaini symbol represents the occurrence of a phenomena that the equator passes through Ujjain and the tropic of cancer cuts the equator just in the middle of Ujjain city, thus forming a cross at Ujjain.
There are a few who believe that it represents the junction of four roads to the city of Ujjain as it was an important trade centre or some who believe it represents " Damru" of Lord Shiva, whereas some say it represents four gates of Ujjain.
There are various ancient dynasties and kingdoms of ancient India that used "Ujjaini symbol" on their coinage. It is seen on coins of Satavahanas, Vidharba , coins from Eran, Bhadra Mitra, Kaushambi, Erikachha etc. This was a symbol accepted on coins by the traders of Ujjain.
Bronze 1/4th karshapna, 200 BC, weight 2.4 gm.
Obverse:Three headed standing Shiva holding Danda and kamandalu, railed tree on right and chakra above fish tank on left
Obverse: Shiv Parvati holding hands, Parvati's right hand raised to her head, Shiv's left akimbo, hair decorations on side of head, river at the bottom.
Reverse: Ujjaini symbol with a taurine in each orb.
Obverse: Lakshmi seated with feet parallel to each other, right rests on her belly and her left on her leg: Lakshmi is flanked by two elephants which are sprinkling water on her head.
Reverse: Ujjaini symbol.
3/8th Karshapna, 200 BC, weight 3.3 gm, elephant type
Obverse: Elephant with raised trunk to right with chakra on top left, railed tree on right
Reverse: Ujjaini symbol with a taurine in each angle.
