Lot 67

Ancient, City State Issue, Vedisasa (modern name Vidisha), Copper Unit, 6.21 gms, 17.53 x 28.26 mm, Obv: Tree-in-railing vertically placed on top, on bottom three arched hill (partly visible) and Brahmi legend four characters from right to left ‘Vedisasa’, Uniface, Vidisha, also spelled Vidisa, lies just east of the Betwa River, about 32 km northeast of Bhopal. The city, was originally called Besnagar and later dubbed Bhilsa (or Bhelsa). Vidisha is of great antiquity, being mentioned in the Sanskrit epics Mahabharata and Ramayana. Under the Mauryan and Gupta empires the city was a great religious, commercial, and political centre. Near the present day remains of this famous ancient  city are numerous remains of Buddhist stupas, commonly called Bhilsa Topes, dating from between the 3rd century BCE and the 1st century CE and including the Sanchi group (designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1989. To the north lies the site of Besnagar, the remains of the ancient city, with a 1st-century-BCE monolithic pillar. Nearby, on Udayagiri Hill to the northwest, are 20 cave temples dating from the Gupta period (4th–6th century CE). Extremely Fine. Exceedingly rare.