An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v1.c13.s5.2

v1.c13.s5.2

There are chance finds of Chinese, Sinhalese and Arab coins too. During the Pallava and Coḷa periods (7th to 13th centuries) there was trade contact between India and China, as a result of which Chinese coins flowed into India. As many as 20 coins, all of copper, with different weights ranging from 1·86 to 7·64 g, have been discovered at Vikraman, Dt Thanjavur. Among them three belong to the T’ang and the rest to the K’uang-yin period (713-42). Among the Thanjavur coins discovered recently there are 17 Chinese coins which represent the entire Sung period (960-1279). Along the Coramandel coast a number of perforated Chinese coins have been found. Gold and silver coins of the early Caliphate dynasties—Omayyad and Abbasid—have been found in Malabar. Their dates range from the 7th to the end of the 9th century. The find of these early Caliphate coins is a testimony to the early contact of the Arab traders with s. India.