Lectures on Ancient Indian Numismatics (Carmichael Lectures, 1921) c10.38

c10.38

A short while ago, I drew your attention to certain information contained in the later Smṛitis, which enables us to fix the ratio between gold and copper. You may now be curious to know whether we have any data to determine the ratio between gold and silver at any period in ancient India. While giving the history of the Suvarṇa coinage posterior to the time of Manu, I had occasion to tell you that there was one Nāsik cave inscription,¹ which contained a reference to this denomination. We are there informed of a certain grant of 70,000 Kārshāpaṇas, which, we are expressly told, were equal to 2000 Suvarṇas, at the rate of 35 (silver) Kārshāpaṇas to 1 Suvarṇa. All these items of information have been given in so many words, leaving no scope at all for any surmise. Of course, the Kārshāpaṇas here referred to are the silver coins of that name. The weight of a silver Kārshāpaṇa or Purāṇa, we know, is 58·5 and that of Suvarṇa is 146·4 grains. And as the exchange rate between Kārshāpaṇa and Suvarṇa was 35 : 1, we get the following calculation : 58·5 × 35 : 146·4 = 14 : 1 approximately. The ratio of gold to silver was thus 14:1 in the second century A.D.¹ which comes very nearly to that of the modern times.