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The Series I coins are the earliest issues of the Magadha janapada and are all very rare.
Gupta and Hardaker attribute all Series I coins to the kings Bimbisara and Ajatashatru, which would make them contemporary to the time of the Buddha. Indeed, Bimbisara offered his kingdom to the Buddha and the Buddha attained his enlightenment while living in Magadha.
This type was unknown when the Gupta-Hardaker catalogue was written; it has been included in the second edition of 2014. Hardaker has classified the type as a transitional type between Series I and II. Hardaker classifies it as VR. A SUPERB specimen with no distracting banker's marks.
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