SKANDAGUPTA

The Gupta dynasty ruled over a vast expanse of northern India (AD 319–543) and produced a large coinage in gold, silver, copper, and lead. In 2017, Sanjeev Kumar published Treasures of the Gupta Empire, a comprehensive book discussing history, iconography, trade routes, hoards and findspots, metrology, metals, and weight analysis, as well as provided a substantial catalogue of over 6,400 coins. In 2020, Pankaj Tandon published a paper presenting a new attribution for certain Gupta coins. Through his analysis of ca.1,600 gold coins, Tandon questions some of Kumar’s attributions and proposes different ones. A response to Tandon’s assessment, this paper challenges his reattributions, which are based on a far smaller sample. Due to the complexity of this historic period and its coinage, a consideration of both scientific data and the full extent of iconographic content are integral to the study of Gupta coinage, especially for the purposes of attribution.

Kumaragupta I, Gupta Empire, circa 415 – 455 CE, Silver Drachma standard, Weight 2.1 grams, Obverse: King’s profile head towards right double struck, Reverse: Stylized Garuda in centre with wings spread, legend double struck, the full legend reads: Parambhagvata Maharajadhiraja Sri Kumaragupta Mahendraditya. Possibly, this is the unique error of Gupta Empire silver coin in existence!

There is considerable disagreement in the literature over the proper attribution of various types of Gupta gold coins. There are differences of opinion, for example, on the question of whether or not Candragupta I ever issued any coins. The attributions for some of the late Gupta coins are also contested; notably, different authors have different views on how many kings there were who were named Kumāragupta and how many were named Narasiṃhagupta. This paper is not principally concerned with any of these contentious issues, although the question of Candragupta I’s coinage will be discussed. Rather, the purpose of the paper is primarily to propose a reattribution of some coins that so far have been universally assigned to Candragupta II. In other words, it is to create controversy where none has hitherto existed.

This paper seeks to reattribute the so-called “Nameless Coins” of the Archer type, hitherto assumed by all to be Gupta issues, to the Huns. The Nameless Coins are Archer type coins that do not provide the ruler’s name on the obverse as do almost all other Archer type coins. At present, they are most plausibly attributed to the Gupta king Budhagupta, on account of their use of the epithet śrī vikrama on the reverse, an epithet used also by Budhagupta. The reattribution is inspired by the discovery of a Nameless coin that bears the epithet śrī prakāśa, the epithet used by the Hun king Toramāṇa on his Horseman Lionslayer coins. The paper shows that the Nameless coins, including the śrī prakāśa coin, share strong stylistic similarities with one another which differentiate them from attributable Gupta coins. Thus a strong case can be made that all the Nameless cons are Hun issues. A long-standing problem in Gupta numismatics is the attribution of the coins of the late period Archer type ...

It took scholars more than 150 years to develop a systematic interest in the styles of Gupta coin designs. Offers a historiography of the discovery of the importance of Gupta coins as art, and studies a particular styles as evident in coins of Kumaragupta I.

Chapter 9 from the book is provided here to researchers and scholars for easy reference. This chapter covers the metal analysis of the gold coins of the Kushanas (from the British Museum Collection), the gold & silver coins of the Gupta Kings, as well as the silver coins of the Kshatrapa kings (prior to, and upto their conquest by Kumaragupta I). 

The data provided herein references both the specific gravity analysis done by various scholars in the past, as well as new data based on an extensive XRF spectrographic analysis study for the gold and silver coins of the Gupta kings as well as the silver coins of the Western Kshatrapa kings.

The results shown from the analysis here, totally negate the theories put forth by past scholars and historians that starting with Skandagupta a debasement of the Gupta gold coins occured, caused invariably by invasions by three foreign powers - i.e.,  the Sassanians, the Kushana Śakas and the Hūṇas (Jayaswal 1934:34), a false premise, derived from wrong assumptions, leading to wrong conclusions which are then treated as 'facts' and continue to get repeated and quoted time and again by later scholars.