The Dawn of Indian Coinage

Chapter 7 of the c

Jee Francis Therattil

The Dawn of Indian CoinageExcerpts from

of the completed monograph

Jee Francis Therattil

The Dawn of Indian Coinage

onograph

The heaviest of the coins [# 2046, 12.25 g, page 670, Ancient Trade and Early

Coinage, Michael Mitchiner, Hawkins Publications, London, 2004] considered as of

local origin are silver dumpy circular coins with three small punch marks on one

side. The other side is not clear in this specimen, but its look-alike [# 2058, 6 g, page

674, Ancient Trade and Early Coinage, Michael Mitchiner, Hawkins Publications,

London, 2004], considerable to be its half denomination, displays a likeness of Union

Jack [national flag of United Kingdom] on one side. The weight standard the above

silver coins from Chaman Hazouri Hoard represent is definitely not comparable

with Persian Siglos. Michael Mitchiner is of the opinion that these coins, like others

in the group [coin # 2046 to 2061], follow the Aeginetic silver standard of 12.4 g.

It is clear from the coins from Chaman Hazouri, to which these coins

predate, that the ‘inspiration’ for several aspects of Gāndhāran coinage is Ionian. In

this context, we have to read along, the presence of silver coins from Aegina dating

back from 6th century BC onwards, in the Chaman Hazouri Hoard, which also

produced 33 Athenian Tetradrahms of the first half of the 5th century BC.

This proves beyond doubt that coins got introduced in to Gāndhāra at least

by the second quarter of the 6th century BC and started accumulating at Chaman

Hazouri. This tradition of exposure to foreign coins must have been the source of

‘inspiration’ we have just now discussed. Based on the weight standard of the

original coin specimens recovered, we can see that the Gāndhārans started minting

their own coins even before the time of Darius the Great, when only Persia started

minting their own coinage.

The coins in the group of which we were discussing [coin #s 2046 to 2061 of

Mitchiner] display a range of weight from 12.25 g to 11.5 g.

Based on the weight of the actual coins we could recover and the actual

weight units found to have existed in those times, it is possible to arrive at a

conclusion, on the weight standards followed by Gāndhāra, Sindhu and even

Magadha for their coinage.

The very first stage of Gāndhāran coinage, which we have just now

discussed, is not confining to the weight standard, which was introduced by Darius.

We have already found the weight-standard introduced by Darius, and on that basis,

we can categorise the coins broadly as: