An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v1.c8.s1.t1.3

v1.c8.s1.t1.3

A major difficulty in the study of die-struck techniques is the lack of actual coin dies. However, using the analogy of ancient Indian seals [3.2] and ancient and medieval dies of the W. it is possible to reconstruct the ancient Indian technique in outline. The dies used would have been hardened bronze, iron or steel. The upper die must have been a cylindrical bar having at the end a device cut in intaglio. The lower die likewise must have been a bar but more complicated in shape. It ended below in a point so that it could be forced into a block of wood and would stay in position without the hammer driving it further and further in. The die face, bearing in intaglio, a mirror image of the design which was ultimately seen on one of the two surfaces of the coin, would have been made with the help of graving tools and punches, the former used for die-cutting and the latter for die-sinking. The dies seem usually to have been cut freehand and working by eye alone may have been the general practice. A complicated pattern in high relief, like that on many Gupta gold coins, would involve many hours of work, whereas a less complicated design could be engraved in a matter of minutes. It is possible that most dies were made directly, so that each one differed from its fellows slightly, but hubbed and cast dies were sometimes made. In a large mint operating under an imperial authority die-sinking would be entrusted to one or more experts. Sometimes dies made at a central mint would have been distributed to provincial mints. Dies once made could be repaired and altered. The type and inscription on a worn-out die could be recut, the outlines of the design and the letter being sharpened by the use of a graving tool; a cracked die would be strengthened and in part repaired. Since the upper die wears out more quickly than the lower one it is possible that they were supplied in sets rather than in pairs, two or more upper dies being associated with each lower one. When dies wore out or when the coin type was replaced by another, the old dies would be formally defaced, as seals were defaced on the death of their owners. Ultimately the old dies would be melted down.