The Coinage of the Gupta Empire and its Imitations c14.s1.11

c14.s1.11

The coins of this class bear the closest resemblance to the silver coinage of Chandragupta II and may be presumed to be their immediate successors, probably issued from the same mint. As, however, the find-spots of the coins are not noted, we cannot identify the mint; but most probably it was in Kathiawar, where the Kshatrapa numismatic influence may be presumed to have been the strongest. Class I of the silver coinage of Skandagupta also shows these features and may have been issued from the same mint or district. The nose, the moustaches and the collar of the bust on the coins of the class are in close imitation of those on the later Kshatrapa coins; see Pl. XVI. 1-2. Traces of corrupt Greek letters also make their appearance on the obverse. The date was intended to be given behind the king's bust, where sometimes the word, *varsha* (year) is to be seen. The year, however, is rarely given. The reverse shows Garuḍa, the imperial insignia (*lāñchhana*) of the dynasty. There is a cluster of dots above it to right. The legend is *Paramabhāgavata-mahārājādhirāja-śrī* Kumāragupta-Mahendrādityaḥ¹ (Pl. XXV. 8).