Copper Jital of Vijayanagara

A copper Jital from the Vijayanagara Kingdom, struck during the reign of Krishnadevaraya. The obverse features a design of Garuda, the divine bird said to be the mount of Vishnu. In the same era when coin faces in the north were being given over to inscriptions, in this southern kingdom, the divine bird still spread its wings. While silver and gold carried the authority of the dynasty, it was copper coins like this that circulated for daily transactions.