Art-Motifs on Ancient Indian Coins

The primary purpose of a coin is to facilitate economic transactions. At times, skilled artists were engaged to prepared dies and casts for manufacturing coins, and some of their creations can be classed as objects d’art. The present monograph is an attempt to study the art motifs on the coins of India from the earliest times to c 650 A.D. An Introduction in the beginning presents the features of art in ancient Indian coinage. The device of the royal hunt, so popular on Imperial Gupta coins, has been taken up in an appendix to the Introduction. Some beautifully struck coins, which may be termed as masterpieces of ancient Indian numismatic art have been illustrated, described and commented upon. This is followed by a Bibliography.