This little book has been written as an introduction to the study
of the subject with which it deals, and is intended primarily for
Indian readers. At the same time the writer trusts it may be of some
service to students and collectors, in India and elsewhere, as giving
a general conspectus of all the more important series of Indian coins.
Two objects have been kept prominently in view: (1) to describe
the evolution of the coinage itself, (2) to show its importance as
a source of history, or as a commentary upon economic, social and
political movements. In attempting this, certain limits have naturally
imposed themselves. Coins purely foreign in fabric, as those of the
Græco-Bactrian kings, of the Portuguese, and of the various European
trading companies, even when struck and current in India, have been
rigidly excluded: this exclusion does not, however, extend to money
issued by resident foreigners with the permission and in the style of
Indian rulers. For a cognate reason the year 1857 has been fixed as
the downward limit in this survey. Again, for the sake of simplicity,
technical topics, such as weight-standards and metallurgy, have only
been touched upon where discussion appeared unavoidable.
The chief desire of the writer has been to arouse in Indians an
interest in their country’s coinage, in the study of which so many
fields of research lie as yet almost untouched. Although India has
no coins to show comparable to the supreme artistic conceptions of
the Sicilian Greeks, the study of her coinage, in addition to its
exceptional importance as a source of history, is attended by peculiar
advantages, not the least of which is the fact that materials for study
lie, as it were, almost at one’s door. In nearly every Indian bazar,
even the smallest, in the shops of the _Sarrafs_ or money-changers,
gold, silver and copper coins are to be had, sometimes in plenty, and
can be bought cheaply, often at little more than the metal value. There
is even the chance of obtaining for a few coppers, and—a far more
important consideration—saving from the melting pot, a coin which may
add a new fact, or a name, or a date to history.
A detailed description will be found opposite each of the plates,
giving transliterations and translations of the coin legends; and
these, with the list of selected authorities at the end of the book,
should provide the key to a fuller knowledge of the subject. To almost
all the works mentioned in the latter the writer is indebted, although
it has been impossible to acknowledge all obligations in detail.
Mention must also be made of Dr. George Macdonald’s fascinating little
study, _The Evolution of Coinage_ (The Cambridge Manuals of Science
and Literature), as well as of the late Dr. Vincent Smith’s _Oxford
History of India_, which has in general been accepted as the authority
for the historical facts and dates, somewhat plentifully incorporated
throughout the book.
In conclusion, I am under special obligation to Mr. John Allan, of
the Department of Coins and Medals, British Museum, for continual
assistance, for kindly reading through my manuscript and offering
numerous useful suggestions, and particularly for his help in getting
casts prepared for the plates, all of which have been taken from coins
in the British Museum; to Mr. H. Nelson Wright, I.C.S., who also
kindly read through the manuscript, gave me invaluable assistance
in the transliteration of the coin legends, and freely placed at my
disposal his exact and extensive knowledge of the Muhammadan coins of
India. To Mr. J. H. Waller, Secretary of the Association Press, I am
also considerably indebted for the infinite trouble he has taken in
supervising the preparation of the blocks for both figures and plates
which illustrate this little volume.
C. J. BROWN.
_Ranikhet,
May, 1921._
NOTE.—_The Cambridge History of India_, Volume I, Ancient
India, appeared while this book was in the press.
Fortunately, it has been possible to incorporate the
conclusions arrived at in that work, which have been
accepted for the period which it covers. The view of the
Indo-Greek and later coinages taken by Professor Rapson in
Chapters XXII and XXIII has also been generally accepted
as a working hypothesis.