The Coinage of the Gupta Empire and its Imitations c11.s10.t5: Vase Type
The Coinage of the Gupta Empire and its Imitations c11.s10.t5
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Vase Type
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¹ *B.M.C. G.D.*, Pl. XI. 21-26; *J.R.A.S.*, 1889, p. 143; *J.R.A.S.*, 1894, p. 143, Pl. IV. 16.
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*Obv:* Within dotted border *Chandra* surmounted by a crescent. *Rev:* Within dotted border, *kalaśa* or vase, with flowers hanging down from its edge. (Pl. XVI. 19)
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Coins of this type are very tiny; many of them weigh under 10 grains and one is as light as 3.3 grains. As this type differs considerably from the other coins of Chandragupta II, Smith was inclined to think that they may have been issued by king Chandra of Mehrauli pillar inscription.² It is unfortunate that the findspot of the coins of this type are not recorded. It appears most likely that the coins were issued by Chandragupta II himself, the type being a copy of one of the types of the coinage of the Mālava-*gaṇa* (republic) current in Mālwa,³ which had the legend on one side and the *kalaśa* (vase) on the other. This type was most probably posterior to the conquest of Mālwa and may have been confined to that province. In the absence of a definite knowledge of the provenance, no definite theory can, however, be confidently proposed.
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² *J.R.A.S.*, 1889, p. 144. It now appears very probable that king Chandra of the above record is Chandragupta II himself.
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³ *I.M.C.*, Pl. XX. 15.