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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: