Indian Art: A History of Indian Art from the Earliest Times up to the Third Century A.D. c7.s6.23

c7.s6.23

COPPER TABLETS—These are flat pieces of copper either rectangular (1.2" × ·5" to 1·5" × ·1"), or square (·92" × ·92"), the latter being rarer. They are incised with inscriptions and figures of animals or men. The majority of tablets are well made. They were first cast and then hammered smooth. In some cases they were trimmed remarkably true with smooth faces, sides and ends. In rare instances the ends are slightly rounded. In other cases they are rough and jagged at one end, which suggests that they were snapped off from a longer strip. All the above features hold good in the fabric of earlier Punch-marked coins also, and it is likely that these copper tablets were to be used as coins. Marshall was not certain about their purpose and suggested that they were amulets. But the numismatic purpose is much more probable, firstly because they were trimmed so carefully after casting and hammering, and secondly because the animals represented are mostly those occurring in groups or singly as symbols on Punch-marked coins.