Ancient Ruhuna, Lanka
2nd Century BCE. - 2nd Century CE
Lady and Svastika - Clockwise
A oblong copper-lead coin with a standing lady on obverse
and a railed svastika revolving to right (Clockwise) on the reverse.
SPECIFICATIONS |
Alloy | Cu-Pb? |
Type | Cast ? |
Height | 38.1 mm |
Width | 18.1 mm |
Thickness | 2.7 mm |
Weight | 10.14 gms |
Shape | Oblong |
DieAxis | 180° |
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OBRW #H.32
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Obverse : Standing nude lady with ear-rings, wearing a 7 bead neckless.
She stand on a large lotus and with her hands which are
pendent, grasps two stalks of the same plant, springing from
either side from beneath her feet and ending about level of
the shoulders in a small blossom, upon each of which stands a small
elephant holding a water pot in his upturned trunk. the two trunks
forming an arch over her head.
Reverse : A Railed svastika revolving to right (Clockwise).
Svastika mounted on a staff on horizontal line base with four vertical
lines rising from it, beneath are two horizontal lines. Worn
outline couchant bull facing up on left, and a lion facing left
between two lines on right of the staff.
Twenty Lakshmi and svastika lead coins (H.30
to H.49) with sizes 13 to 47 mm and weights from
0.5 to 16 grams that were found in Akurugoda are cataloged under
Local Coins in 1999 by Osmund Bopearachchi and Rajah Wickramasinhe
in the book Ruhuna. An Ancient Civilization Re-visited .
This coin is Plate Specimen H.32.
This is one variety of many coins of this type.
The coin was scanned at 600 dpi and displayed at 300 dpi.
ex: Raja Wickramasinghe, it is from part of Lalith Raddella's collection
I purchased in 2016 December.
Text edited from
* Ceylon Coins and Currency By H. W. Codrington. Colombo 1924
  Page 26-31 Chapter III - Appendix - Plaques - Pl 20 to Pl 25.
* Ruhuna. An Ancient Civilisation Re-visited by Bopearachchi and Wickramasinhe. 1999
  Page 91-93 Local coins - Lakshmi and Svastika - Pl H.30 to H.49.