The Coinage of the Gupta Empire and its Imitations c17.s4: 4. Hoards and Finds

The Coinage of the Gupta Empire and its Imitations c17.s4

Language: English

4. Hoards and Finds

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We shall give in this section a brief account of the hoards and finds of Gupta coins discovered so far. All of them are hoards of gold coins. A few hoards of silver Gupta coins are known to have been found in Western India, but no detailed accounts of theirs have been preserved.

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1. The Kālighāṭ hoard¹ found in 1783 at Kālighāṭ on the eastern bank of the Hugli near Calcutta is the earliest recorded hoard of Gupta coins. No information is available about the exact contents of this hoard, but Nab Kishen, its discoverer, seems to have presented about 200 of its coins to Warren Hastings, the then Governor-General of India. These coins were later sent to the Directors of the East India Company London, who presented 24 of them to the British Museum, nearly an equal number to the Museum of Mr. Hunter, and some pieces to the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford and to the Public Library at Cambridge. The remaining pieces were eventually melted down by the Directors in a mercenary fit. To judge from the extant specimens of this hoard, it appears that it consisted mostly of the issues of the later Gupta emperors.

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¹ B.M.C., G.D., pp. cxxiv; B.H., pp. iv-v.

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2. The Bharsar hoard,² discovered in 1851 near Banaras, consisted of 160 coins; but we have an account of only 32 of them. Coins of the emperors from Samudragupta to Skandagupta were found in the hoard. Prakāśāditya was the last king represented in it. The analysis of these 32 coins is as follows:—

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² B.M.C., G.D., cxxvi-vii; J.A.S.B. 1852, pp. 390-400., B.H., p. v.

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| Samudragupta | : Standard type | ... 3 |
| " | Archer type | ... 2 |
| " | Lyrist type | ... 2 |
| Chandragupta II | : Archer type | ... 8 |
| " | Horseman type | ... 2 |
| Kumāragupta I | : Archer type | ... 2 |
| " | Horseman type | ... 4 |
| " | Tiger-slayer type | ... 1 |
| " | Peacock (Kārtikeya type)... | 1 |
| Skandagupta | : Archer type | ... 6 |
| Prakāśāditya | : Horseman-lion-slayer type | ... 2 |
| | Total | 32 |

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3. The Hugli hoard,¹ found near Hugli in 1883, consisted of 13 coins, classified as follows:

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¹ *J.A.S.B.*, 1884, p. 152; *B.H.*, p. vi.

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| Samudragupta | : Standard type | ... | 1 |
| Chandragupta II | : Archer type | ... | 5 |
| Kumāragupta I | : Archer type | ... | 3 |
| ” | Horseman type | ... | 3 |
| ” | Lion-slayer type | ... | 1 |
| | Total | | 13 |

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4. The Tanda hoard² was found in Fyzabad district in Uttar Pradesh in 1885, but its contents were not carefully noted. The hoard seems to have had the following coins:—

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² *Proc. A.S.B.*, 1886, p. 68; *B.M.C., G.D.*, cxxviii. *B.H.*, p. vi.

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5. The Kotwā hoard³ was found in Gorakhpur district in Uttar Pradesh in 1886, scattered below some bricks in a *dih*. The following kings and types were represented in it:—

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³ *J.R.A.S.*, 1893, p. 47.

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| Chandragupta II | : Archer type, } | | |
| | Lotus reverse } | ... | 5 |
| ” | Lion-slayer type | ... | 1 |
| Kumāragupta I | : Archer type with *Ku* | ... | 1 |
| ” | Kārtikeya type | ... | 2 |
| ” | Horseman type | ... | 6 |
| ” | Lion-trampler type | ... | 1 |
| ” | Unidentified | ... | 1 |
| | Total | | 17 |

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6. The Basti hoard⁴ of 11 coins was found near the jail of that town in Uttar Pradesh in 1887. The 10 coins, which could be recovered, were the issues of Chandragupta II, nine of the Archer type, Lotus reverse, and one of the Chhatra type.

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⁴ *Pr. A.S.B.*, 1887, p. 221.

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7. The Hajipur hoard¹ was discovered near the bazar of the town of that name in Bihar. It contained 22 coins, but only 14 could be recovered. They were as follows:—

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¹ Proc. A.S.B., 1894, p. 57; B.H., p. vii.

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| Chandragupta I | : | King-and-Queen type | ... 1 |
| Samudragupta | : | Standard type | ... 2 |
| | | Archer type | ... 1 |
| | | Battle-axe type | ... 1 |
| Chandragupta II | : | Archer type | ... 3 |
| | | Chhatra type | ... 3 |
| | | Lion-combatant type | ... 3 |
| | | **Total** | **14** |

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8. The Tekri Debra hoard² was found in the Mirzapur district of Uttar Pradesh in 1912. It consisted of 40 coins:—

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² Num. Ch. 1910, pp. 398-408.

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| Samudragupta | : | Standard type | ... 2 |
| | | Battle-axe type | ... 1 |
| Chandragupta II | : | Archer type | ... 15 |
| | | Lion-slayer type | ... 9 |
| | | Lion-retreating type | ... 1 |
| | | Horseman type | ... 8 |
| Kumāragupta I | : | Archer type | ... 1 |
| | | Lion-slayer type | ... 1 |
| | | Horseman type | ... 2 |
| | | **Total** | **40** |

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9. The Kasarva hoard,³ found in the Ballia district of Uttar Pradesh, consisted of the following coins:—

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³ J.A.S.B., 1914, p. 174.

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| Samudragupta | : | Standard type | ... 12 |
| | | Aśvamedha type | ... 3 |
| | | Battle-axe type | ... 1 |
| Kācha | : | Chakradhvaja type | ... 1 |
| | | **Total** | **17** |

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10. The Mithathal hoard¹ was found in 1915 in the Hissar district of the Punjab. It consisted both of the coins of the Guptas and of the later Kushāṇas. Unfortunately its contents could not be properly noted. It contained 86 coins, of which 26 were melted down. Of the remaining, 33 were the issues of Samudragupta and 27 of the later Kushāṇas. Among the former was a rare coin of the Battle-axe type, showing the king on the left and the attendant on the right.

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¹ A.S.I., A.R., 1915-16, Part I, p. 19; Ibid, 1926-27, pp. 233-4.

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11. Kumarkhan hoard² of 9 Gupta gold coins was found in that village in Viramgaon Taluka of Ahmadabad district in Gujarat in 1953. It consisted of one coin of the Battle-axe type of Samudragupta, two coins of Kācha and seven Archer type coins of Chandragupta II. Among the latter, one had Throne reverse and on one the king was holding the bow by the middle.

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² J.N.S.I., XV., p. 195.

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12. Sakori hoard, discovered at Sakori in Damoh district of M. P. in 1914 and now preserved in the Central Museum, Nagpur, consisted of the following 24 coins³:—

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³ According to the information supplied by the Museum authorities.

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| Samudragupta | : Standard type | 7 |
| Kācha | : Chakradhvaja type | 1 |
| Chandragupta II | : Archer type | 11 |
| ” | Horseman type | 1 |
| ” | Chhatra type | 1 |
| ” | Lion-slayer type | 2 |
| Skandagupta | : Archer type, light weight | 1 |
| | Total | 24 |

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13. Before referring to the biggest hoard of the Gupta coins,—the Bayana hoard, we may dismiss a few hoards and finds/of which only meagre details have been handed down.

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(a) A hoard was found at Jaunpur in U. P. in a building popularly known as Jai Chandra’s Mahal; it consisted of a small number of coins; no further details are known.⁴ (b) Gopalpur hoard found in Gorakhpur district of U. P. consisted of 20 pieces, of which 7 were of Chandragupta II.¹

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⁴ J.A.S.B., 1884, p. 150.

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¹ *J.A.S.B.*, p. 152; *J.R.A.S.*, 1893; p. 49.

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(c) Jhusi hoard found at Jhusi opposite Allahabad is said to have consisted of about 20 or 30 pieces, of which two were of the Archer and 8 of the Kārtikeya type of Kumāragupta II.²

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² *J.A.S.B.*, 1884; p. 152; *J.R.A.S.*, 1893; p. 49.

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(d) At Banka in Bhagalpur district of Bihar 4 Gupta coins were discovered in 1912, which were later acquired for the Indian Museum, Calcutta. Two of them belonged to Chandragupta II and two to Kumāragupta I. Their types are not known.

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(e) A hoard of Gupta coins was found in a mound on the bank of the Rapti; some of the coins in the collection of Hoey, which is now with Mr. D. G. Hamilton, were apparently from that hoard, according to the information supplied by the latter gentleman.

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(f) At Pattan in Baitul district of M. P. a hoard was apparently discovered at an unrecorded date; one of its coins is now in the Central Museum, Nagpur.³

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³ From information supplied by the Nagpur Museum authorities.

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(g) At Devattha village in Ballia district of U. P. a big hoard was reported to have been found in *c.* 1940 A.D. consisting of more than a thousand Gupta gold coins. No coins however could be recovered; they were either melted down or concealed and later sold in the market.

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14. The Bayana hoard was discovered under the embankment of a field in the village of Hullanpur near the town of Bayana in Rajasthan on the 17th of February, 1946. It apparently consisted of about 2,100 coins, but only 1821 of them could be recovered. These have been described by me in a detailed manner in *The Catalogue of the Gupta Gold Coins of the Bayana Hoard*, published in 1954. The hoard, as recovered, consisted of the following coins:—

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Chandragupta I : 10 coins

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KING-AND-QUEEN TYPE ... 10

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Samudragupta : 183 coins

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| STANDARD TYPE, | var. A, legend beginning from I and *Samudra* under l. arm.. | 77 |
| " | var. B, as above but with a crescent on obverse | 16 |
| " | var. C, small and neat fabric... | 18 |
| " | var. D, as in variety A, but legend beginning at VIII | 25 |
| " | var. E, as above, but with *Samudra* under l. arm and *gupta* outside | 7 |
| AŚVAMEDHA TYPE | ... | 20 |
| BATTLE-AXE TYPE, | var. A, with *Samudra* under left arm.. | 7 |
| " | var. B, with *Kri* under l. arm... | 2 |
| ARCHER TYPE, | var. A, legend ending with *sucharitairdivaṃ jayati* | 2 |
| " | var. B, legend ending with *avaniśo divaṃ jayati* | 1 |
| LYRIST TYPE, | var. A, large size, without symbol and with foot-stool. | 2 |
| " | var. B, small size, with symbol but without foot-stool... | 4 |
| TIGER-SLAYER T., | var. A, different legends on both sides | 1 |
| " | var. B, with *Vyāghraparākramaḥ* on both sides.. | 1 |

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Kācha : 16 coins

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CHAKRADHVAJA T., var. A, without *Garuḍadhvaja* on the obv. ... 15

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CHAKRADHVAJA T., var. B, with *Garuda* and *Chakra-dhvajas* on the obv. ... 1

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Chandragupta II : 983 coins

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ARCHER TYPE, class I; Throne reverse Var. A, with *Chandra* under l. arm ... ... 25 Var. B, with *Chandra* between the bow and the bow-string.. ... ... ... 7 Var. C, bow-string outside... ... ... 1 Var. D, bow held at the middle ... ... 8

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ARCHER TYPE, class II; Lotus rev. Var. A, *Chandra* under l. arm, bow held at the top, string outside .. ... ... 700 Var. B, as above, but king with whip also by his side . . . . . 18 Var. C, as in var. A, but with sword.. ... 10 Var. D, obv. as in var. A, but goddess on rev. with l. foot tucked up ... ... 4 Var. E, obv. as in var. A, but no *Chandra* under l. arm . . . . . 1 Var. F, obv. as in var. A, but legend *Chandra-gupta* on rev. ... ... ... 1 Var. G, bow in r. hand and arrow in l., king looking l . . . . . 2 Var. H, bow in l. hand, but king looking r. ... 17 Var. I, king standing r., bow in l. hand, held by the middle ... ... ... 4

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HORSEMAN TYPE, class I, king to l. Var. A, king without any weapons ... ... 29 Var. B, king with sword ... ... ... 13 Var. C, king with bow ... ... ... 10

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HORSEMAN TYPE, class II. king to r. king without any weapons ... ... 30

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CHHATRA TYPE, class I, with legend, *Mahārājādhirāja-śrī-Chandraguptaḥ* ... 5

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CHHATRA TYPE, class II, with legend, *Kshiti-mava-jitya sucharitairdivam jayati Vikramādityaḥ*. Var. A, goddess standing facing on lotus ... 16 Var. B, goddess standing on pedestal ... 2 Var. C, goddess standing on mat, three-fourths to l. ... ... ... 17 Var. D, goddess walking to l. ... ... 16 Var. E, goddess double-marching ... ... 1

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LION-SLAYER TYPE, class I, lion-combatant Var. A, king facing l. and goddess holding lotus and noose ... ... ... 6 Var. B, king to r., and goddess with noose and lotus ... ... ... 10 Var. C, king to r., and goddess with lotus in l. hand, r. hand being empty ... 4 Var. D, king as above, but not stringing the bow ... ... ... 1

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LION-SLAYER TYPE; class II, lion-trampling Var. A, lion to l., goddess seated astride the lion 1 Var. B, king to l. and lion on rev. walking to r. ... ... ... 1 Var. C, king to l. and lion on rev. couchant ... 3 Var. D, king to l. with legend, *deva-śrīmahārāja...śrī-Chandraguptaḥ*; goddess sitting on lion walking to r.... ... ... 1 Var. E, king to r., and goddess seated facing on lion couchart, holding noose in r. hand and cornucopiæ in l. ... ... 2 Var. F, king to r.; goddess holds lotus in l. hand with r. hand empty ... 4 Var. G, king to r.; goddess seated astride on lion to l.... ... ... 5 Var. H, king to r.; goddess holds noose in right hand and lotus in l., and lion walking to l . . . . .

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LION-SLAYER TYPE, class III, lion-retreating ... 1 COUCH TYPE Var. A, king to l., and offering a lotus bud ... 1 Var. B, king holding flower in r. hand; r. hand of goddess empty ... ... ... 1 Var. C, king holding flower in r. hand and goddess holding noose in r. hand ... 1 CHAKRAVIKRAMA TYPE ... ... ... 1

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Kumāragupta I : 628 coins

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ARCHER TYPE, class I; *Kumāra* in field Var. A, bow held at the top and *Kumāra* under l. arm ... ... ... 14 Var. B, bow held at the middle and *Kumāra* outside the bow-string ... ... 58 Var. C, same as var. B, but with legend *Guṇeśo mahītalam*... ... ... 10 ARCHER TYPE, class II, with *Ku* under l. arm Var. A, with legend *Vijitāvaniravanipatiḥ Kumāragupto divam jayati* ... ... 33 Var. B, with legend, *Jayati mahītalamekaḥ śrī-Kumāraguptaḥ sudhanvī* ... 34 Var. C, with legend *Jayati mahītalam śrī-Kumāraguptaḥ* ... ... ... 6 ARCHER TYPE, class III, with neither *Kumāra* nor *Ku* in field Var. A, with legend *Parama-rājādhirāja-śrī-Kumāraguptaḥ* ... ... 27 Var. B, with legend, *Jayati mahītalam śrī-Kumāraguptaḥ* ... ... 1 SWORDSMAN TYPE ... ... ... 10 HORSEMAN TYPE, class I, goddess alone on rev. Var. A, with legend, *Pṛthivītalāmbaraśaśī Kumāragupto jayatyajitaḥ* ... 9 Var. B, with legend, *Jayati nṛporibhirajitaḥ* ... 1

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Var. C, with legend, *Kṣitipatirajito vijayī Kumāragupto divaṃ jayati* ... ... ... 37 HORSEMAN T., cl. II, goddess feeding peacock Var. A, with legend, *Guptakulavyomaśaśī jayatyajeyo jitamahendraḥ* ... ... ... 97 Var. B, with legend, *Guptakulāmalachandro mahendrakarmājito jayati*... ... ... 83 Var. C, with legend, *Kṣitipatirajito vijayī Kumāragupto jayatyajitaḥ* ... ... ... 69 Var. D, with legend as in var. C, but ending with *divaṃ jayati* ... ... ... 1 Var. E, with legend *Pṛthivitaleśvarendraḥ Kumāragupto jayatyajitaḥ* ... ... ... 8

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KARTIKEYA TYPE Var. A, Kārtikeya three-fourths to l... ... 10 Var. B, Kārtikeya facing ... ... ... 3 CHHATRA TYPE . . . . . 2

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TIGER-SLAYER TYPE Var. A, with *Ku* in field ... ... ... 83 Var. B, without *Ku* in field... ... ... 3

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LION-SLAYER TYPE, class I, lion-combatant Var. A, with legend *Kumāragupto yudhi siṃhavikramaḥ* ... ... ... 13 Var. B, with incomplete legend beginning with *Kumāra* ... ... ... 6 Var. C, with incomplete legend beginning with *Kṣitipati*... ... ... 3 Var. D, king to l. and lion to r. ... ... 1

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LION-SLAYER TYPE, class II, lion-trampler Var. A, with legend, *Sākṣādiva narasiṃhaḥ siṃhamahendro jayatyaniśam* ... ... 19 Var. B, legend beginning with *Kumāra* but incomplete; goddess holding a garland... 11

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ELEPHANT-RIDER LION-SLAYER TYPE ... ... 4

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AŚVAMEDHA TYPE Var. A, caparisoned horse to r. ... ... ... 2 Var. B, bare horse to l. ... ... ... 2 ELEPHANT-RIDER TYPE. ... ... ... 3 LYRIST TYPE . . . . . 2 APRATIGHA TYPE . . . . . 8 KING-AND-QUEEN TYPE ... ... ... 1 [Skandagupta] Kramāditya : 1 coin CHHATRA TYPE . . . . . 1

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THE HOARD AT A GLANCE

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The Bayana hoard is the biggest hoard of Gupta gold coins found and recovered so far, and we have the benefit of having its scientific catalogue, describing in minute detail each coin of the hoard, and giving its size, weight and legend. The plates publish the photographs of the obverse and reverse of 459 select coins of the hoard, beautifully reproduced in collotype plates. The lengthy introduction of the book discusses a number of important historical and technical points.

The Coinage of the Gupta Empire and its Imitations c17.s4: 4. Hoards and Finds

4. Hoards and Finds

Cites (5)