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Gupta Coins

The Gupta numismatic art is distinguished by its diverse and intricate designs, depicting various socio-political events and a range of deities, which were not replicated in later periods. Subsequent coins suffered from monotony and inferior quality due to internal conflicts, limited resources, and restrictions on imagery, particularly during the Islamic and British periods. This decline in artistic excellence and variety highlights the unique status of Gupta coins in the history of Indian numismatics.

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Ravi Kumar
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92 views2 pages

Gupta Coins

The Gupta numismatic art is distinguished by its diverse and intricate designs, depicting various socio-political events and a range of deities, which were not replicated in later periods. Subsequent coins suffered from monotony and inferior quality due to internal conflicts, limited resources, and restrictions on imagery, particularly during the Islamic and British periods. This decline in artistic excellence and variety highlights the unique status of Gupta coins in the history of Indian numismatics.

Uploaded by

Ravi Kumar
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Question: How do you justify the view that the level of the excellence of the

Gupta numismatic art is not at all noticeable in later times? (150 words)

Answer: The coins of the Gupta period were better than those produced in
earlier and later times:

 Unlike the predecessors, the Guptas did not confine the images of
emperors only in martial poses such as Archer, Lion-slayer or Horse-
rider. They also depicted socio-political events such as marriage of the
king and queen, king performing Ashvmedha yanga, king playing Veena
and involved in other leisure activities.

 The reverse sides of these coins depicted variety of Gods and Goddesses
including Durga, Lakshmi, Ganga, Garuda and Kartikeya.

 Gupta coins were usually minted in gold and silver. This further enhanced
the luster and premiumness of coins.

The coins minted after Gupta-period are usually monotonous and aesthetically
less interesting. Because:

 The continuous internal feuds among medieval kings had kept their
kingdoms fragmented and treasury in poor state. Hence coins were
minted in metal of inferior quality- usually nickel, copper and lead.
Dynastic coins were minted and demonetized in haste because of frequent
coups and succession. These factors left little time and little room for
grand imaginations, vivid designs and unique motifs. For example:

 Rajput coin designs were confined martial motifs of bull and horseman
type. Some of them had king’s name on obverse side and a Goddess on
the reverse side.

 South Indian coin designs were confined to dynastic crests– boar


(Chalukya), bull (Pallava), tiger (Chola), fish (Pandya), bow and arrow
(Cheras) and lion (Hoysala). Usually, the other side of the coin had image
of temple / Goddess or was simply left blank [e.g. Western Chaluykya].

 Prohibition of idolatry in Islam severely limited the scope of inscribing


motifs and images in the coins of Delhi sultanate and Mughal empire.
Usually these coins bore only textual information such as name of the
king and date of issue.

 The weakening of Mughal empire and subsequent fall of land revenue


had forced Aurangzeb to debase his coins. The subsequent reduction in
the content & quality of metal had further reduced the scope of border
designs, luster and premium look- even in the coins of highest
denomination. [Debasement means using less quantity of gold, silver and
using metal of inferior quality such as copper, nickle and lead to mints the
coins of same denomination.]

 British-Indian coins were monotonous in design as they had textual


information of coin denomination and year on obverse side and portrait of
the king or queen on the reverse side. After independence, the king’s
portrait was replaced by Lion Capital of the Ashoka Pillar and other
indigenous motifs of sovereignty and freedom.

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