Indian coins

All Collectors face a time in their life when, willingly or forced by circumstances, they have to sell their coins or entire collection. The Indian Income Tax Act requires income beyond a certain threshold to be reported and capital gains tax to be paid.

This article outlines the various salient features of taxation; the sources by which coins are acquired and the related tax treatment upon its disposal; and the power of indexation to reduce tax on capital gains.

The dating of sculpture from Gandhāra and its related regions is a dif cult thing. As there are only a handful of sculptures bearing dates, all in unspeci ed eras, any attempts at dating have to rely on a series of understandings, based on archaeological context, material and stylistic analysis, and iconographic development. What is often presumed without comment is the underlying chronological structure which gives such dating a relationship with the eras in use today. This structure has largely been constructed from four sources of evidence: dated inscriptions, numismatic sequences, the scarce references in historical texts, and attempts to match the era used by the Kushans with other Indian eras. Unfortunately the underlying chronological structure built from these has been in a state of  ux since it was  rst attempted. The proposal made in 2001 by Harry Falk that Kaniṣka I’s  rst year was in AD 127, based on the information about the relationship between the Kushan and Śaka eras in an astrological text, the Yavanajātaka by Sphujiddhvaja (Falk 2001), was the  rst to call on a relatively contemporary source with concrete evidence. This proposal has become widely accepted, even though its implications have not yet been fully assimilated into the discourse on Gandhāran art. This date has also not yet been applied to the broader chronological structure, as it comes from a different form of evidence. So parts of the chronological structures are still attached to earlier solutions, based on different resolutions of the evidence. This paper attempts to show that the solution reached by Falk from the astrological text can also be demonstrated by recourse to the use of numismatic and inscriptional evidence, thereby suggesting that Falk’s proposal has important implications for solving the problem of Gandhāran chronology and accordingly that of Gandhāran art too.

The Joe Cribb's article "First Coin of Ancient Khmer Kingdom Discovered" published in Numismatique Asiatique Nr 6, 2013, brings up new materials for the history of the Khmer civilisation. Nevertheless the author's analysis, partly based on ancient sources, does not cover certain aspects. A new approach of the archaeological, iconographic and cultural context is the opportunity to discuss some points and to precise some details.

The article is on a fractional tanka an unpublished type from the Bengal Sultanate period in the FINT Collection at the Department of Islamic Numismatics (FINT) at the University of Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany. The article was published on the website of the FINT as 'COIN OF THE MONTH' in March 2022.

A group of zinc coins in the British Museum are classified and an attempt is made to attribute them on the basis of types, shape and find spots and known sources of zinc ore and evidence of zinc distillation. They appear to relate to the Himalayan kingdom of Kangra in the fourteenth century or later.

Lord Mahakal is worshipped in most parts of Central India including Malwa, Nimar etc since centuries in his various forms as well as through his depictions, symbols. Appearance of Lord Mahakal is well knon on ancient coins also including famous coins of Ujjain. Later Lord Mahakal's symbols, various depictions and forms also appeared on Princely State Coins like Dewas, Indore in form of Shivling, Jaladhari with or without Nandi. Shivling on the counter marked coins of Dewas Princely State was already discussed but another symbol which is seen on countermarked coins of Dewas Princely State is still a riddle. Some experts claimed it as "Man in the Moon" figure. I have observed it and found that this may be the representation of Lord Mahakal's or Lord Shiva's fierce form "Kalbhairva". Reason for this is obvious from the series of Shivling Countermarked coins of Dewas State and also the figure somewhat resembles with sketches and depiction of Lord Kalbhairav.

This seventh installment of the SCP project catalogue includes coins of the Song and Western Xia, plus copies of Song types cast in Japan, one specifically for trade to Viet Nam; a probably modern copy of a Gangaveda fanam; the Venad Chera and Tomara Rajas in India; anonymous Bull and Horse-rider types from uncertain mints and regimes in India or Pakistan; a Gadhaiya paisa probably issued by Jain merchants, in India; Kathmandu in Nepal; the Kashmir Kingdom in India or Pakistan; the Yaminid (Ghaznavid) Sultanate in Pakistan and Afghanistan; the Shansabanid (Ghurid) Sultanate in Afghanistan; Qarakhanids, the Eastern Qaghanate of the Qarakhanids, probably in China, and the Western, in Uzbekistan; a Fatimid Imam from somewhere in Egypt or the Levant; a Zangid Atabeg in Syria; a Seljuq Sultan of Rum in Turkey; the Romaion (Byzantine) Empire in Turkey, with one specimen possibly countermarked by a Muslim regime in the Jazira; and Lucca in Italy in the name of the Holy Roman Emperor, or possibly an imitation struck in the Levant for the Crusaders.

For long, no coins were known or, more correctly, identified of the Rashtrakutas, one of the most powerful dynasties of early medieval Deccan. While this was an enigma for many, others like the proponents of the theories of feudalism and paucity of coins in early medieval Deccan used this to support their arguments. It was only in 1996 that the first Rashtrakuta coins were convincingly identified, and since then, many types of Rashtrakuta coins have come to light in the public domain and private collections. It was therefore a desideratum that a catalogue of the coins of this important dynasty be published.

The images on gold coins of Kumāragupta I feeding a peacock and of Kārttikeya riding his peacock appear part of a ‘programme’, traceable in coin imagery, coin legends and inscriptions, to glorify the king by reference to Kārttikeya’s youth, heroism and glory. The enigmatic Apratigha Type coins fit into the pattern as well.

Key words:
Guptas; gold coins; Kumāragupta I; Kārttikeya Type; Apratigha Type; peacock emblem; titles; mahendra; royal iconography; Gupta period

Attributing the coins of the Eastern Gangas is a difficult task because the coins do not name the ruler, but only are dated in what are thought to be regnal years. Many authors in the past have tended to attribute the coins to the most prominent king of the dynasty, Anantavarman Chodaganga (1078-1147) (hereafter AC), but without any real justification. 2 In a recent paper, I proposed a method of attribution, based on the regnal lengths of the different kings, which would assign a sizable group of the known coins to the last four kings of the dynasty. 3 Coins attributable on a sound basis to AC remained unknown. In this brief note, I present some coins that I believe can be attributed quite firmly to AC. The coins consist of a group of ten coins I acquired at a Spink auction in 2014. 4 As I will show, four of these coins can be attributed to this king because of the dates they contain and, by extension, the rest of the lot can therefore be attributed to him as well. In what follows, I will present the ten coins first and then follow up with my argument for why the coins can be attributed to AC.

Attributing the coins of the Eastern Gangas is a difficult task because the coins do not name the ruler, but only are dated in what are thought to be regnal years. Many authors in the past have tended to attribute the coins to the most prominent king of the dynasty, Anantavarman Chodaganga (1078-1147) (hereafter AC), but without any real justification. 2 In a recent paper, I proposed a method of attribution, based on the regnal lengths of the different kings, which would assign a sizable group of the known coins to the last four kings of the dynasty. 3 Coins attributable on a sound basis to AC remained unknown.

Numismatics is an essential part of studying history of a particular area under the reign of a particular ruler. When studied in relation to each other, coinage can also bring forth the social, political, religious and economic changes occurring within the same dynasty, under successive rulers.

The Oxford Dictionary defines a coin as a piece of metal (gold, silver, copper etc.) of definite weight and value, usually a circular disc, made into money by being stamped with an officially authorised device. For the purpose of this essay, coins of Queen Victoria and King Edward VII from three private collections were studied. Our purpose is to study the existing comparisons between the Indian coins of Queen Victoria (later Empress) and King and Emperor Edward VII about differences in motifs, metal of make and weight existed and determine what they imply.

Lord Mahakal is worshipped in most parts of Central India including Malwa, Nimar etc since centuries in his various forms as well as through his depictions, symbols. Appearance of Lord Mahakal is well knon on ancient coins also including famous coins of Ujjain. Later Lord Mahakal's symbols, various depictions and forms also appeared on Princely State Coins like Dewas, Indore in form of Shivling, Jaladhari with or without Nandi. Shivling on the counter marked coins of Dewas Princely State was already discussed but another symbol which is seen on countermarked coins of Dewas Princely State is still a riddle. Some experts claimed it as "Man in the Moon" figure. I have observed it and found that this may be the representation of Lord Mahakal's or Lord Shiva's fierce form "Kalbhairva". Reason for this is obvious from the series of Shivling Countermarked coins of Dewas State and also the figure somewhat resembles with sketches and depiction of Lord Kalbhairav.