A History of South India from Prehistoric Times to the Fall of Vijayanagar c6.36

c6.36

During the early centuries of the Christian era Roman imperial coins of gold and silver were imported in considerable quantity in the course of trade and circulated freely in the country; the small copper coins bearing Roman devices and legends might have been locally produced by foreign settlers. The Sātavāhanas used lead for many of their issues, and their coins bear legends of the names of kings which confirm the Purāṇic lists of these names. One of the most interesting types of these coins is that bearing a two-masted ship on the obverse, an indication of the maritime power and activity of the Andhras; the same design is found on some copper coins of about the same date or a little later from farther south.