Vol. VI, No. 4.] History and Ethnology of N.-E. India— I. 165 

 [N.S.-] 



Mr. Botham writes as follows regarding this coin: "I 

 am also sending what was sold to me as a "Gahuri" Muhur 

 (Gahuri being Assamese for a pig), rumours of which I have 

 heard ever since I began to collect. All I could learn of it was 



that it had a rough r L r . o , 



were very chary of parting with it, as it was considered lucky. 

 The coin I have got seems to be a casting — but even if it is not 

 genuine, it is I fancy likely to be a casting of the genuine coin. 

 The inscription might be Sri Sri Gahuri Nipra (?). I cannot 

 learn what king is supposed to have struck these coins." 



The coin itself furnishes no indication of its origin, but 



another similar coin enables this to be stated. 



No. 16. — Octagonal silver coin; (in the cabinet of Mr. J. C. 



Higgins). 



Weight 190-4 grains. Size 1-0*. 



Obverse : — Unsymmetrical floral Reverse : — Animal as in Mr. 

 arrangement of lines similar Both am' s coin, 



to the pattern on the reverse 

 of the coin of Ava dating 

 from 1796, of which an en- 

 graving is given by Marsden 

 (op. cit., Plate LIII). 



The coin is struck — not cast — and only the animal is in 

 relief. In the plate, by an optical illusion, the floral design also 

 appears in relief, though in reality the lines are incused. Mars- 

 den, on page 805 of his Numismata Orientalia, states that no 

 coinage of Ava then existed, and explains the coin he illustrates 

 as follows : — " When Symes, however, was taking his departure 

 from the court of Ava, to which he had been sent on a public 

 mission, he was desired by that Government to procure dies to 

 be engraved at Calcutta and pieces of silver representing the 

 Tycal 1 to be struck for its use, according to a pattern with 

 which he was furnished. With a specimen of these he favoured 

 me.... There is no evidence of its having been put into 

 circulation in Burmese dominions.' ' 



very 



as 



Sundry Coins on page 333, Vol. I, of the I.M. Catalog 



Marsden does not give any measurements 

 weight of the symbolical coin is 142*7 grains. 



Assam 



widely varying weights show, these 



actual 



coinage. Their production, however, may account to some 



I On the previous page Marsden had referred to the Arakanese 

 coins as being current at the trading ports of Arakan and Pegu under the 

 denomination of Tikal, their average weight being about 152 grains. 



