Way back in the late 1960’s through early 1970’s I was dealing in foreign coins and paper money, specializing in the Asiatic areas. As coins of British India and the Indian Princely States were a favorite, including the many varieties of temple tokens, I became rather familiar with their various gods and goddesses.

My favorite is Ganesha, sometimes referred to as Ganapati, who is the best-known, beloved representation of God and most worshipped divinity in India. It is widely believed that, “wherever Ganesha is, there will be success and propriety.” He is quoted as “the Lord of Obstacles,” or Vignesha. He is considered to be the eldest son of Shiva and Parvati. How he ended up with an elephant’s head is indeed a very interesting story that can easily be searched through various sites.

Not too long ago I was given a bronze fantasy ½ Anna token purporting to be an issue of the British East India Company dated 1839. Measuring 32mm with reeded edge, it weighs 12.81 grams and obviously was struck for religious and perhaps the tourist trade.

Following shortly after, a contact in India sent me an actual bronze coin weighing 3.4 grams and measuring 16.4 x 15.5mm. The obverse depicts Ganesha seated facing, while the reverse has a lattice design that is rather common to certain areas of India, but I have been unable to pin down the origin or era of issue.

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Recently while trying to locate another coin in my “accumulation,” I ran across a modern silver bullion piece portraying Ganesha seated, measuring 23.85mm and weighing 4.95 grams. This piece is very typical of the gold and silver bullion struck for jewelry, gifts and storing wealth in modern-day India. Naturally, a very nice premium is included in the price as these are usually struck in 0.999 fineness.