86 



Numismatic Gleanings. [No. 7, new series. 



oldest specimens of which weigh upwards of 50 grains, and judg- 

 ing from its present nominal value the ancient pon could not have 

 weighed more than 20 to 25 grains. 



The inference I draw from this fact, is, that the normal stand- 

 ard coin was a piece equal to the modern half pagoda, the pagoda 

 itself being the double pon, which ultimately became the varaha. 



This view is strengthened by the similarity of terms in the Ca- 

 narese language, in which the following denominations of the pre- 

 sent coinage are found : 



2 gunjas=l dugala. 



2 dugalas or 4 gunjas— 1 chavala or chavile.* 



2 chavala s or 8 gunjas=l d'harana. 



2 d'haranas or 16 gunjas=l honna. 



2 honnas or 32 gunjas=l varaha. 

 Here the word honna is the exact equivalent of pon, the p in 

 the Hala Kannada dialect being always replaced by h, in the 

 modern dialect. 



It appears, therefore, that a similar confusion must have taken 

 place, between the honna and varaha of the Canarese, as has been 

 shown to exist between the pon and vardgan of the Tamils, hence 

 the Mohammedans who first came in contact with the Canarese 

 people in their progress from the north, adopted the word hkn 

 ^ as the Dak'hani term for the standard coin of the country. 



The star pagoda is stated by Kelly to weigh grs. 52*56, but on 

 turning to the list of gold coins at p. 39 of Prinsep's Useful Ta- 

 bles, the weights of several of the modern pagodas, will be seen, 

 (excluding those struck at Mohammedan and British mints), to vary 

 from grs. 50 to 52*8. Examples of the older Hindu pagodas now 

 extant exhibit a still greater degree of variation. This may pro- 

 ceed either from the rudeness of the process pursued in the earlier 

 mints, — or from the carelessness of the workmen and their indif- 

 ference to accuracy,— -or it may be due to changes or depreciation 

 of the standard, arising from the caprice or the necessities of the 

 sovereign. 



* The same terms are also found in Telugu, with the exception of honna 

 which is replaced hy mdda. Chavala is also sometimes written chavile— Br. 

 Diet. 319-20. 



