Context: Recently, Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) Madurai launched replicas of a Pandya coin as souvenirs.
Replicated coins

• It is done to promote understanding and learning of ancient Tamil life, culture and people.
• Antiquated coins contain a lot of history and are a means to understand how civilizations flourished in the past.
• The idea of using the replica of a coin is used as teaching tool.
• Coin replicas are usually done by collectors, out of commercial interests.
• This is perhaps the first time that an INTACH chapter has replicated a coin, in the size of a tablet that also makes a nice souvenir for locals and tourists alike.

Replica model

• A square-shaped copper coin weighing 10.6 grams was chosen as the replica model that was traded under the rule of the Pandya kings in Madurai during 1 BC.
• There is no clear explanation of the value of each coin.
• But what can be broadly understood is that bigger the coin, the more value it had.

Pandya Coins

It consists of the six symbols along with

• An elephant, a trident and the divine carved on one side
• A stylized fish symbol, the royal insignia of the Pandya’s, on the other
• The particular characteristics, as interpreted in various books, have been compiled in a small note that comes with the souvenir.
• The elephant had a place of honour in ancient Tamil life, and the trident was a prominent weapon of the times.
• Auspicious symbols lined on top include a fenced tree and a lucky four-leaf plant, and the inference is drawn from the literary work Agananooru, that mentions a clay wall built around a banyan tree was the temple.
• The crescent symbolizes the knowledge of the Tamils, who studied the impact of phases of the moon on nature and human body.
• The musical instrument drum was widely used to make important announcements.
• The sea farers held the conch as a sacred object in rituals.
• The women loved to wear anklets in the shape of a golden tube embedded with pearls and semi-precious stones.

What currency tells us?

• The numismatics of Tamil Nadu are as vast as an ocean. 
• Items of antiquity have a lot to do with people of that era.