Lectures on Ancient Indian Numismatics (Carmichael Lectures, 1921) c9.65

c9.65

It is thus quite conceivable that the Rūpasūtra of ancient India treated of various subjects connected with coinage, such as (1) the metals and other substances out of which coins were made, (2) their shape and technique, (3) the different devices on them and how to find out therefrom at what different places they were manufactured, (4) the running of a mint, (5) the various officers connected not only with the manufacture but also with the regulation of traffic in coined money, (6) the methods of differentiating genuine from counterfeit coins, and, (7) above all, the modes of multiplying currency mostly, I am afraid, by cunning sophistication. It is also quite conceivable that this Rūpa-sūtra can be an object of serious study not only to a private individual for his avocation but also to a prince for the purposes of administration.