Minerals and Metals in Ancient India v1.c25.s3.7

v1.c25.s3.7

The punch-marked silver coins of Taxila again report lead, and also very significantly sulphur (Table 17.3), conclusively proving argentiferous galena to be the source of silver metal in the coins. Copper must have been added (13-25%) to debase the coins. The items 5 and 6 in Table 17.3 clearly show positive correlations between Ag, Pb and S and negative correlation between the three elements on the one hand and Cu on the other, indicating the extraneous nature of copper separately added to the silver matrix.