The Age of the Imperial Guptas c10.13

c10.13

Allan’s contention that the coins bearing the names of Candragupta I and his wife Kumāradevī were memorial medals struck by Samudragupta receives support from other coins’ types of Samudragupta, *e.g.*, the Lyrist, Tiger, Aśvamedha, and Kāca types. Of these types the Aśvamedha is also a memorial medal, having been struck on the occasion of the great sacrifice performed by Samudragupta after his campaigns in the north and the south. The Tiger, the Lyrist, the Archer, and the Battle-axe are similarly freak types, struck on special occasions in addition to ordinary Standard type issued for ordinary circulation. Like the Candragupta I type, the Kāca type still remains unexplained and may be taken to have been struck as a memorial medal in memory of a near relative or a very dear friend.