The book is a collection of thirty one chapters dealing with coins and currency from the earliest period of their appearance to the modern times. A new series of local early silver coins have been published here for the first time. The papers bring to light the first Kshudraka and Vrishni copper coins, new varieties of Kada and Arjunayana coins, the smallest coins of the Malavas and of Ala-ud-Din Khiljl, an unique coin of Shah’ Alam II and an unique bilingual commemorative medal of the time of Guru Gobind Singh, some interesting temple tokens, commemorative medals etc. Interesting pieces like Alexander’s tatradrachm, coins of Rudrila and the paper coins of the Bikaner state also find place in these pages. Neglected coins of the Rajanyas have been brought to the notice of the scholars and some wrongly attributed coins like those of the Audumbara-Mitras, Vidisagupta and ‘Thaka-pa’ are re-attributed. Punch-marked coins from Sugh and legends on Agacha coins have been studied afresh. The significance of Isvaradatta’s dated coin, re-struck and re-used Kushana and Yaudheya coins and the bearing of the Yaudheya coin moulds from Sunet on the sectional Yaudheya coins has been brought out adequately. A comprehensive study of the coin; of Somaladevl and seals anc sealings from Punjab has beer presented. The book thus bring to light not only fresh materia but also presents new interpretations of known coins and legends.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Devendra Handa
Shri Devendra Handa holds Post-Graduate degrees in Sanskrit, History and Education-all in First class and with top positions in the University. He obtained his Post-Graduate Diploma in Archaeology from the School of Archaeology (ASI, New Delhi) in 1964 with Credit (Distinction). He is the recipient of Maulana Azad and Archaeological Centenary Commemoration Medals, Sir Mortimer Wheeler Prize and various other awards. He is known to the indologists through more than three hundred research papers and the following books and monographs: 1 Osian: History, Archaeology, Art & Architecture, Delhi, 1984; 2 Studies in Indian Coins and Seals, Delhi, 1985; 3 Indological Studies: Essays in Memory of Shri S.P. Singhal, Delhi, 1987 (Ed.); 4 Ajaya-Sri: Recent Studies in Indology (Prof. Ajay Mitra Shastri Felicitation Volume), 2 Vols., Delhi, 1989 (Ed.); 5 Praci-Prabha: Perspectives in Indololgy (Essays in honour of Prof. B.N. Mukherjee), New Delhi, 1989 (Ed. Jointly with Prof. D.C. Bhattacharyya); 6 Ratna-Chandrika: Panorama of Oriental Studies (Shri R.C. Agrawala Festschrift), New Delhi, 1989 (Ed. Jointly with Prof. Ashvini Agrawal); 7 Heritage of Haryana: Buddhist Remains, Chandigarh, 1989; 8 Vishvambhara: Probings in Orientology (Prof. V.S. Pathak Festschrift), 2 Vols. New Delhi, 1995 (Ed. Jointly with Prof. Ajay Mitra Shastri and C.S. Gupta); 9 Numismatic Studies, Vols. 1-3 (1991-93), New Delhi (Ed.); 10 Oriental Numismatic Studies, Vols. 1-2 (1994 & 1996), Delhi (Ed.). He has attended numerous national and international conferences and delivered lectures in various institutions. In 1992, he got the Lowick Memorial Grant of the Royal Numismatic Society, London for studying the tribal coins of India. In 1993, he visited Sri Lanka on the invitation of the Sri Lanka Numismatic Society. He was honoured for his contributions to the science of numismatics at Calcutta in 1994. After a teaching career of more than thirty years, he finally retired from the Panjab University, Chandigarh in 1999. After his retirement from the Panjab University, Chandigarh, he was a Fellow at the Indian Institute of Advanced Study at Shimla (2000-2003) and Senior Fellow of the Ministry of Culture, GOPI, New Delhi (2003-2005). He presided over the 88th Annual Conference of the Numismatic Society of India at Nagpur in 2004 and Seminar on Coinage of the North West India at Chandigarh in 2005.
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