Setu coins or Setu bull coins are found in large quantities in the northern part of

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

and in

Southern India South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union territ ...

. Codrington in his book ''Ceylon Coins and Currency'' published in 1924 and Mitchiner in his book ''Oriental Coins'' published in 1978 have clearly pointed out that the traditional design of Sri Lanka standing King Type Copper Massa (coins) of the

Jaffna Kingdom The Jaffna Kingdom ( ta, யாழ்ப்பாண அரசு, si, යාපනය රාජධානිය; 1215–1624 CE), also known as Kingdom of Aryachakravarti, was a historical kingdom of what today is northern Sri Lanka. It came i ...

s belongs to the

Aryacakravarti The Arya Chakravarti dynasty ( ta, ஆரியச் சக்கரவர்த்திகள் வம்சம், Sinhalese: ආර්ය චක්‍රවර්තී රාජවංශය) were kings of the Jaffna Kingdom in Sri Lanka ...

dynasty from 1284 AD to 1410 AD. Setu coins were previously attributed to the Setupati Princes of

Ramanathapuram Ramanathapuram (), also known as Ramnad, is a town and a municipality in Ramanathapuram district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the administrative headquarters of Ramanathapuram district and the second largest town (by population) i ...

South India South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the States and union territories of India, Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and T ...

. There are two series one in the issued from the 13th to the 15th centuries and the other after the brief loss of sovereignty to the rival Kotte kingdom from 1450 to 1467 and reconstitution of the Kingdom. Even during the rule of

Sapumal Kumaraya Bhuvanekabahu VI of Kotte (, ), also known as Sapumal Kumaraya and Chempaka Perumal, was an adopted son of Parakramabahu VI, whose principal achievement was the conquest of Jaffna Kingdom in 1447 or 1450.Gnanaprakasar, S ''A critical history of ...

coins were issued in Jaffna that was distinct. Three types of this series are illustrated below. The obverse of these coins have a human figure flanked by lamps and the reverse has the

Nandi (bull) Nandi ( sa, नन्दि), also known as Nandikeshwara or Nandideva, is the bull vahana of the Hindu god Shiva. He is also the guardian deity of Kailash, the abode of Shiva. Almost all Shiva temples display stone-images of a seated Nandi, ...

symbol, the legend ''Sethu'' in

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nati ...

with a crescent moon above. There are number of categories of these coins. I
type I (1)
is closely aligned with the

Chola The Chola dynasty was a Tamil thalassocratic empire of southern India and one of the longest-ruling dynasties in the history of the world. The earliest datable references to the Chola are from inscriptions dated to the 3rd century B ...

copper coins of the 13th century although slightly larger in size. The

Setu replaces the

Nāgarī script The Nāgarī script or Northern Nagari of Kashi is the ancestor of Devanagari, Nandinagari and other variants, and was first used to write Prakrit and Sanskrit. The term is sometimes used as a synonym for Devanagari script.Kathleen Kuiper (2010 ...

Rajaraja I Rajaraja I (947 CE – 1014 CE), born Arunmozhi Varman or Arulmozhi Varman and often described as Raja Raja the Great or Raja Raja Chozhan was a Chola emperor who reigned from 985 CE to 1014 CE. He was the most powerful Tamil king in South ...

in the cola coins. In type I (2) the blank is even broader but a recumbent bull appears obverse in a vertical position. In the coi
type II
the seated figure is replaced with a Bull.Coddrington, H., ''Ceylon Coins and Currency'', p74-75 Image:Setu_I_Obv.jpg, A Setu coin Image:Setu_I_Rev.jpg, The reverse of the Setu coin Image:Coin_Setu_Bull_Obv_a.jpg, A Setu Bull coin Image:Coin_Setu_Bull_Rev_a.jpg, The reverse of the Setu Bull coin Image:Coin_Setu_Bull_Obv.jpg, A Setu Bull coin Image:Coin_Setu_Bull_Rev.jpg, The reverse of the Setu Bull coin

Notes

References

External links

{{Historic Indian currency and coinage Jaffna kingdom Ancient currencies Coins of Sri Lanka Historical currencies of India Coins of India