The Coinage of the Gupta Empire and its Imitations c12.11

c12.11

In their type, fabric, size and weight, the coins of Rāmagupta bear a striking resemblance to the small currency in copper, popularised in Mālwā by the Mālavas and the Nāgas. They are quite small in size; they follow a similar weight system, and their shape is roughly circular or oval, as is the case with some types of the copper coins issued by the Mālavas and the Nāgas. On the Mālava coins issued by Mapaya and Magojava, the obverse is entirely covered by the legend and the reverse has the device of a lion, as is the case with the coins of Rāmagupta, which we are discussing here. Some of them are round in shape and some irregular; see *I.M.C.*, Vol. I, Pl. XXI. 1-4. The legend on these Mālava coins is written in a straight line, as is the case with the coins of Rāmagupta. The resemblance of the coins of Rāmagupta with the Nāga currency is not so close. The size and weight system are also the same, but the animal on the Nāga coins is usually the Bull and not the Lion. The legend is generally circular and rarely in a straight line.