History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c14.s3.22

v1.c14.s3.22

The majority or even all of these conditions remained unfulfilled by the strikers of the greater number of series of specie in the post-Gupta age, when a large number of ruling families did not at all strike coins (Mukherjee, 1982, p.66, n.2) We even do not know of coins of all members of all the ruling families of this age, who are credited to have their own coinage.¹⁶ There are reasons to believe that coins were used to be minted by rulers of at least certain dynasties only when there was demand for them in market and then also new pieces were struck often with old familiar types (Mukherjee, 1982, pp. 66-67, n.3) and sometimes even with the names of dead rulers (whose coins had already become popular with the people). Private moneyers were also allowed to mint coins. They were understandably not at all keen to maintain the quality of coins and purity of metal. As a result, coins bearing the name of a ruler might have continued even after his death, to be imitated in gradually debased metal and technique (Mukherjee, 1982, pp. 49ff).