India - 1799-1831 - Mysore
Gold Krishna Raja Pagoda

The Mysore Krishna Raja Pagoda classified by Codrington as Two-Swami Pagoda was struck in Mysore in 1800 by Krishna Raja Wodeyar and known as new Ikkeri.

SPECIFICATIONS
DenominationOne Pagoda
LegalGold Au.???
Metal XRF Gold Au.845
Alloy Ag%Cu 0.79
TypeStruck
Diameter11.2 mm
Thickness3.0 mm
Weight Legal3.406 gms
Weight3.42 gms
ShapeRound
EdgePlain
DieAxis
krishnaraja_pagoda_obverse krishnaraja_pagoda_reverse
KM Mysore #210

Obverse : Siva and Parvati seated, trident and deer in hands; sun and moon above. Parvati sitting with her left leg stretching forward on the lap of Siva with his right leg stretched forward.
Reverse : engraved with Name of ruler Sri Krishnaraja. The Nagari legend divided by two horizontal lines.

When Krishna Raja Wodeyar was installed on the throne post 1799, Dewan Purnaiya, the regent overhauled the currency system. He revived the old Ikkeri design but substituted the name Sri Krishna Raja in the same fashion as the Sadashiva Nayaka's. They came to be known as new Ikkeri.

I find it curious that Siva is depicted in a form which appears to be feminine like that of Parvati.

Krause notes that the Fanam and half Pagoda of this type are recent fabrications.

Text from
* Ceylon Coins and Currency By H. W. Codrington. Colombo 1924
  Page 172 Chapter XIII Miscellaneous: VI - Pagodas and Fanams.

The coin was scanned at 600dpi and the images are displayed at 500dpi.
The BU condition coins were purchased in October 2001 on ebay from WCNC a leading ANA-dealer in US who guarantees its Authenticity with no time limit.