id: 143312 accession number: 1967.243.a share license status: CC0 url: https://clevelandart.org/art/1967.243.a updated: 2023-08-23 22:08:55.661000 Punch-Marked Coin, 400–300 BC. India, Rajasthan, Maurya Period (322-185 BC). Silver; overall: 1.4 x 1.2 cm (9/16 x 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Sri B. D. Dwivedi 1967.243.a title: Punch-Marked Coin title in original language: series: series in original language: creation date: 400–300 BC creation date earliest: -400 creation date latest: -300 current location: creditline: Gift of Sri B. D. Dwivedi copyright: --- culture: India, Rajasthan, Maurya Period (322-185 BC) technique: silver department: Indian and Southeast Asian Art collection: Indian Art - Maurya type: Coins find spot: catalogue raisonne: --- CREATORS --- measurements: Overall: 1.4 x 1.2 cm (9/16 x 1/2 in.) state of the work: edition of the work: support materials: inscriptions: --- CURRENT EXHIBITIONS --- LEGACY EXHIBITIONS --- PROVENANCE Sri B. D. Dwivedi given to the Cleveland Museum of Art date: ?-1967 footnotes: citations: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH date: 1967- footnotes: citations: --- fun fact: Early Indian coins were cut in irregular shapes and punched with a wide range of marks. The deep punches would prove that the coin was pure silver all the way through. digital description: wall description: After Alexander of Macedon succeeded in conquering Egypt and Persia in 331 BC, his ambition to rule the known world led him further east across Bactria in Afghanistan, through the Hindu Kush mountain pass, and into India. There he succeeded in defeating all the local kings of the region until his men, on the brink of mutiny, insisted that they return to Greece. Alexander left governors in charge of his territories, and after his death in 323 BC, his governors became independent kings, establishing Hellenistic cities and a Greek cultural base in the region, which lasted for almost 200 years. Native Indian coinage was marked with symbols associated with the place where they were issued. --- RELATED WORKS --- CITATIONS --- IMAGES web: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1967.243.a/1967.243.a_web.jpg print: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1967.243.a/1967.243.a_print.jpg full: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1967.243.a/1967.243.a_full.tif