Ujjain-Malwa Region Ancient India Anonymous Civic Issue Copper Fractional Unit Square Shape Coin

Ancient India, Ujjain-Malwa Region, Anonymous Civic Issue, c. 200 BCE – 1st Century CE, Denomination: AE Karshapana (Fractional Unit), Metal: Copper, Weight: 1.17 grams, Diameter: 10 mm, Square Shape, About Very Fine, Very Scarce.

Obverse: A prominent swastika, followed by a radiate sun/wheel motif (chakra), neatly placed in the field in traditional early Central Indian symbolic style.

Reverse: A well-formed Double Ujjaini symbol enclosed within a distinct concentric circular border.

This diminutive fractional copper karshapana belongs to the anonymous civic coinage of the Ujjaini (Ujjain) region, one of ancient Central India’s most significant urban, religious, and commercial centers. Issued in the late post-Mauryan to early historical period, these coins reflect a phase when local urban authorities, guilds, and regional polities produced symbolic rather than royal portrait coinage. The double Ujjaini symbol functioned as a civic emblem of the city, while the swastika and wheel/sun motif on the obverse carried auspicious and cosmological associations widely used in early Indian material culture. The very small module and lightweight fabric indicate use in everyday petty transactions within local markets, complementing larger copper denominations in circulation.

Square and rectangular copper pieces of this type are characteristic of late punch-marked and early cast traditions, yet their fragile nature makes well-preserved examples uncommon. The clear preservation of the double Ujjaini symbol with associated devices renders this specimen particularly desirable for collectors of Central Indian proto-historic coinage and for scholars studying early urban monetary systems in the Malwa region.