India as Known to Panini: A Study of the Cultural Material in the Ashtadhyayi c9.s6.t1.35

c9.s6.t1.35

*RŪPA* (Punch-marked symbols)—A large number of symbols are found stamped on ancient *kārshāpaṇa* coins,¹ on account of which they have been called punch-marked, corresponding to *signati argenti* of the Greek historian Quintius Curtius. 'The mode of manufacturing these coins was first to get ready a hammered sheet, which was then cut into strips, and sub-divided into lengths of approximately the desired weight, which was adjusted by clipping the corners when necessary.’ (Smith, *Cat. of the Coins in the Indian Museum*. p. 134). After this the metallic pieces were subjected to the process of stamping symbols on them by means of a separate punch for each symbol. It is this particular stage in the process of manufacture to which Pāṇini refers in the following *sūtra* :