No. 27. — 1884.] tissamahIkAma archaeology. 



49 



On the left half of the coin there are some indistinct 

 marks or letters in relief, which may be presumed to be the 

 name of the sovereign, but I am unable to decipher them. 

 The lowest letter seems to be the anusvdra dot or bead. 



2. An oblong copper coin, 1*18 inch long, -46 inch broad, 

 and weighing 44 grains. 



Obverse. A standing full-length figure of a man, look- 

 ing to the front. The figure is in fictitious relief by the 

 background's being sunk, as though stamped ; no part of 

 the coin, however, rises above the general level of the edges. 

 Round, and over the head, is a circlet, as in the last coin. 

 The arms hang down on each side, and the legs are slightly 

 apart, with the feet turn outwards. The two triangular 

 spaces at each side of the head — between that and the arms 

 and the side of the coin— are filled with an ornamental 

 winding design. Filling up the space between the feet is 

 a small triangular relief. A horizontal bar runs below the 

 feet. There is something which I am unable to distinguish 

 on each side of the legs. The figure is not quite so graceful 

 as the former, and the arms are less natural in appearance ; 

 the shoulders are also narrow, but in other respects the 

 figure is well proportioned. 



Reverse, The same symbol as on the last coin. In the 

 spaces to left and right of it, between the horizontal arms 

 and the verticle side-bars, there are four (or perhaps five) 

 letters in relief, which appear to form the name of the king. 

 Two are on each side of the central vertical bar, those on 

 the left being written vertically, and those on the right 

 horizontally. The characters are clearly those of the Asoka 

 inscriptions, and they seem to have been well made, and 

 very distinct ; but, owing to the wearing away of the coin, 

 and to its bending near them, it is difficult to decipher 

 them. I doubtfully identified those on the left as Raja, 

 and those on the right as Aba. If so, the left ones read 

 from the bottom upwards, and the others from left to 

 right. We know that the lettering was very irregular on 

 the most ancient coins. On the inscribed coins found at 

 Eran by General Cunningham, the letters read in one case 

 from right to left, and in two others from left to right. 



3. An oblong copper coin 3 1 22 inch long, '50 inch 

 wide, and weighing at present 41 grains. A small flake, 



28—85 d 



