Coins of 17th century found near Kangeyam

By Our Staff Reporter

COIMBATORE, AUG. 26. Coins belonging to the 17th Century ``Veerarayar'' era have been unearthed from a spot near the Old Fort in Kangeyam taluk of Erode district.

The coins were found while digging a pit for construction of a house. On examination, an Archaeologist from the PSG College of Arts and Science here, Dr. S. Ravi traced the origin of the coins to the age of Veerarayar.

The coins were made of 60 per cent gold. They were 8 mm in diameter and weighed 870 mgms. Used by the people of the Kongu region, these were called ``Veerarayar coins''. Minting of these coins began as early as in the 2nd century, during the era of the Reddy rulers of Dharapuram. There were issued under the authority of Vijayanagar Rayars.

Since the coins were issued by kings who ruled tiny kingdoms after getting liberated from the Vijayanagar dynasty, the coins never bore the name of a king. Though there was no direct reference to these coins, a book on South Indian Coins by Ellis Waltair carried a reference to Kerala coins released by the Cameron kings and rulers of the Travancore dynasty, more or less belonging to the same age.

The coins had inscriptions of slant lines and marks on either side, but no words or any other discriptions. Hence till date details were not available about these inscriptions.

These coins reflected the astrological bent of mind of the people who lived during that age. Twelve asterisk marks indicated the stars and there were inscriptions of moon and sun. Hence these coins were also called `Raasi Kaasu''.

The coins bear testimony to the culture and religious practices of the people of that era. Coins traced to the Tranvancore region had the shape of a crocodile's mouth, while the coins which had the headgear of the king also had a big ``namam'' in the forehead of the king, which made the people call these coins ``Namakkasu''.

The bulge on part of the coin was considered a mark of the Vaishnavite era. While the two smaller curves facing upward and two broader curves downward resembled ``Garudavahanam'', giving an inkling of the religious mindset of the people of that age.

The star marks on the broader curves denoted the value of the coin. These types of coins earned different names over a period- ``Kaanam'', ``Kollukaasu'', ``chilly kaasu'' and ``Kaariyakasu''.

Ancient gold coins unearthed near Kangeyam.

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