Let's have some fish and chips!

[JayAg47]

Well I'm sorry for clickbaiting you into a niche topic, but I'd love to share my newest acquisition!

A rare Pandyan issue with some interesting elements, on the obverse there's the unassuming Chola style standing king, but the party is on the reverse with a couple of fishes in the middle surrounded by the legends Ellanthalaiyan. Most agree on the issuer being Jatavarman Sundara Pandya 1251 CE–1268 CE, however I think this belongs to his successor Maravarman Kulasekara Pandyan (1268 – c. 1308 CE) who in 1279 put an end to the Chola dynasty and further conquered the whole of south India,  and thus the title Ellanthalaiyan( Ellam (all/everyone) -thalaiyan (leader), meaning 'Leader of all'. 

Madurai mint?
4.05g

I have seen many pronunciation/spelling of this title varying from each auction houses and blogs, however I have traced the lettering to the best of my knowledge and got எல்லாந்தலையன் (Ellanthalaiyan), old Tamil script doesn't have dots, so while it reads Elalaanathalaiyana, people back in the day would've still read it as Ellanthalaiyan, but what's interesting is the letters ந் and த being retrograde (the ones near the tails of the fish), which is curious given how this coin types have used Boustrophedon in their lettering, as explained in detail by @quant.geek

Pandya empire at it's greatest extent after defeating their arch nemesis, the Cholas of Thanjavur.

Thanks for reading, and please post you fishes!

 

Edited February 15, 2023 by JayAg47

[jdmKY]

Ancient, but not a coin. Roman mosaic, 3rd-4th century AD, now displayed as a table at Chateau jdmKY 

 

[Ryro]