298 
V. A. Smith— Numismatic Notes and Novelties. 
[No. 4, 
Numismatic Notes and Novelties , No. II. 1 Ancient and Mediaeval India .—• 
By Vincent A. Smith, I.C.S. 
(With Plate XXXVIII.) 
[Read November, 1897.] 
COINS OF ANCIENT INDIA. 
I. Punch-marked. 
The copper punch-marked coins are, as Cunningham correctly 
observes, (G . Anc. I. p. 59) much rarer than the silver coins. He gives 
figures of four specimens only, (op. cit. PI. I) and notes that the finest 
specimens he had seen came from Eran in Central India. 
The specimens figured by Cunningham are square or broadly 
oblong. Those which I now publish come from the eastern parts of 
the N.-W. Provinces and Oudh, and are of elongated form. They both 
have an extremely archaic appearance, and give me the impression of 
being probably older than the ordinary silver pieces. 
From the very ancient town Jais in the Rai Bareli District, Oudh. Length *80, 
breadth *55 inch, wt. 90 gr. Slightly convex, with the four-fingered symbol on the 
convex side. (Plate XXXVIII, fig. 1.) [V. A. Smith.] 
From the Balia District. Length 1*2, breadth *4 at one end, and *5 at the other 
wt. 108 gr. Edges rounded. Very obscure, indistinct symbols on both sides, 
including a dim ? horse. (Plate XXXVIII, fig. 2.) [V. A. Smith.] 
II. COINS OF TAXILA. 
(Coins of Ancient India , pp. 60-66, PI. II, III). 
Cunningham was unable to explain the legend Vatasvaha on one 
of the most remarkable coins of the series (op. cit ., PI. II, 17). The 
characters belong approximately to the A^oka period. I possess a fine 
specimen of this rare type, bought from the Stiilpnagel cabinet. 
Dr. Buhler has. ingeniously, and to my mind satisfactorily, inter¬ 
preted the legend. “ Vatasvalca corresponds to the Sanskrit Vatagvahah , 
and probably means the ‘ Vata-a^akas,’ or ‘ the A^vakas of the Vata 
or fig-tree division.’ It is well-known that there was an A<^vaka tribe 
1 Vide J. A. S. B., this Volume, 1897, page 1 ff. 
