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Auction 16041 27 September 2016
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Tripura, Ratna Manikya (1464-89), Tanka, 10.43g, mint of Ratnapura, Sk.1386, lion facing left within circle, legend around, Śrī Nārāyana Charana Para Ratnapure 1386, rev. human-faced winged animal facing left, probably representing Narasimha, within a circular toothed border (RB. 7, KM. -), extremely fine, and of the utmost rarity, never before offered at auction.
As Ratna Manikya was the first ruler of Tripura to issue coins much of his currency appear to be experimental in nature. Much of his standard currency reflected the time he spent at Gaur, an area ruled by the Bengal Sultans, and mirrors the coinage they were producing at the time of his visit. However this Tanka appears to be of entirely local inspiration. The human faced winged dragon being a version of the Hindu god Narasimha, the fearsome lion incarnation of the god Vishnu. The obverse depicts a lion that was to become the standard emblem on the majority of coins of Tripura from that date onwards.As this is the first and only time such a coin has been offered to the market it is likely to be hotly contested among collectors of this series
Estimate: £5,000.00 - £10,000.00
As Ratna Manikya was the first ruler of Tripura to issue coins much of his currency appear to be experimental in nature. Much of his standard currency reflected the time he spent at Gaur, an area ruled by the Bengal Sultans, and mirrors the coinage they were producing at the time of his visit. However this Tanka appears to be of entirely local inspiration. The human faced winged dragon being a version of the Hindu god Narasimha, the fearsome lion incarnation of the god Vishnu. The obverse depicts a lion that was to become the standard emblem on the majority of coins of Tripura from that date onwards.As this is the first and only time such a coin has been offered to the market it is likely to be hotly contested among collectors of this series
Estimate: £5,000.00 - £10,000.00