The Coinage of the Gupta Empire and its Imitations c7.2

c7.2

In the realm of Indian numismatics, the coinage of the Imperial Guptas occupies a place of great importance. Some of their predecessors like the Indo-Bactrians and the Kushāṇas had no doubt issued coins of high artistic beauty, but they were usually foreign in inspiration, with their legends written in non-indigenous scripts like the Greek or the Kharoshṭhī. Some Indian predecessors of the Guptas like the Mitras of Pañchāla and the Sātavāhanas of the Deccan had issued inscribed coins; they were, however, poor in artistic merit and irregular in size and weight. They also usually showed no portrait, bust or figure of the issuer. Gupta coins constitute the earliest indigenous coinage of India, which approximates most closely to the coins as we know them in the modern age. They are regular in size and weight and bear the figure and name of the issuer. For a few years they showed some foreign influence, but very soon they became thoroughly national in their art, motif and execution.