Hello Olikara,
As you can see your post on coins is indeed very well placed, and it was very kind of you to acknowledge my comments. On the coins you posted, the one with the battle axe......it has been my impression that these crescent head axes had primarily ceremonial or parade weapon application and were of course symbols of authority . This would seem to be the case with the axe shown on a coin, the one shown corresponding to 18th century examples considered Rajput, often carrying Hindu decorative motif.
It has been suggested it seems that the crescent shape may have associations with the moon, and I have wondered if that symbolism may actually be considered valid in the case of the shape of this form of axe head. My curiosity of course doubles in the case of double crescent axe heads !
Spiral, great coins, and stamps you have added! While the stamps are of course a modern concept, these are very nice examples! Its most interesting to see weapons posted on stamps with all the P.C. paranoia of today! Can you imagine any kind of a weapon being shown on a stamp in the west?
Having said that, it comes to mind that the Roman fasces, which often appears of course in symbolism on coins, and many other key symbolic elements, was in fact a ceremonial axe attached to a bundle of reeds, and represented authority as well as political freedom.
Although most of what we are discussing here concerns the appearance of the images of weapon forms in the motif on coins, it is important to note that other motif from coins is often key in identifying markings on weapons. In one instance on an Afghan sword of latter 19th century carried a stamped arsenal cartouche which was the image of the mosque at Mazir i Sharif , and was identical to the same image found on coins minted in that period. In the weapons of regulation military, typically in the last few centuries, the royal cyphers, shapes of crowns and varied regalia etc. that are found on minted coins often assist in dating and identifying period of the weapon.
In an interesting turnabout, in the case of many ethnographic weapons, it is not unusual to see coins attached to the weapons. For example in Arabia coins are sometimes imbedded into repousse silver motif in the hilt of janbiyya. In Ethiopia there are often coins attached to the pommels of shotel and in associated regions similar practice occurs. In the latter 19th century it seems that pesos were sometimes nailed to the pommel of sabres carried by the Rurales (much in the same manner as seen on Ethiopian shotels).
This really has opened a fascinating perspective on the association between the study of antique weapons and nusimatics, and I really look forward to other examples!!
Thank you very much guys!
All best regards,
Jim