The Coinage of the Gupta Empire and its Imitations c17.s2.9

c17.s2.9

There is no doubt that the heavy weight standard of the later Guptas was intended to conform to the *suvarṇa* standard. But what was given by one hand was cleverly taken away by the other. The coins of the early Guptas contained an alloy of 10%, as has been observed by Cunnigham. A coin of 125 grains would thus contain about 113 grains of pure gold. The coins of Skandagupta, Budhgupta, Prakāśāditya, Narasimhagupta and Kumāragupta II (of the purer varieties) contain an alloy of about 25%. So their coins weighing about 150 grains also contained only 113 grains of pure gold.