The Coinage of the Gupta Empire and its Imitations c17.s2.4

c17.s2.4

We have shown already how Gupta gold coinage was considerably influenced by the Kushāṇa prototype, and its metrology was no exception. The traditional weight of the ancient Indian gold coin (*suvarṇa*) was 80 *rattis* or about 144 grains. Chandragupta I, who started the Gupta coinage, did not care to revive this ancient standrad, but contented himself by following the Kushāṇa standard of 120 or 121 grains, which in its turn was based upon the weight of the Roman gold coin *aureus*, normally weighing 121 grains. All well-preserved coins of Chandragupta I weigh between 120 and 121 grains. The vast majority of the coins of Samudragupta follow the same standard.