AR
c. 414-455 CE
North India
CSMVS
Details
Culture/Civilisation
Ancient India, India
Theme
Writing
Subtheme
India and China – Language and Society
Display Location
Coomaraswamy Hall
Measurements
Diameter. 15mm Weight. 2.11gm
Accession Number
22691
Description
Obv: Bust of king wearing a flat cap to right; traces of corrupt meaningless Greek letter around
Rev: Garuda with outstretched wings standing facing; river below; sun on left; crescent on right; dotted sun in the centre on right; Brahmi inscription (3) Parama bhagavata maharajadhiraja Sri Kumaragupta Mahendraditya
Curators Comments
Ancient coins (and stone inscriptions) show that India has been a multilingual society for several thousand years. These coins combine both official and local languages – Indian and foreign – written in different scripts on the same coin.