140 Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. [N.S., XII, 1916.] 

 In other words, it may be predicated with confidence that 



nine 



a pucca seer, nor a tolah, but 4 mashas and If surkhs or 



63i 



very 



grains. I 



the known weights of the Tanki pieces in our Museums 'which 



range from a maximum of 60f grs. to a minimum of 5(5 grs. 



In fact, the Tanki appears to have been issued to provide a 

 fractional currency of which the basis was the fifth part of the 

 Dam or rather the tenth part of the Tanka of about 640 grs. 

 Of the Dam and the Tanka there were already in existence the 

 halves, the quarters and the eighth parts. The idea appears to 

 have occurred to some one of adopting the decimal system of 

 division. The traditional weight of the Tank happened to be 

 exactly the tenth part of the heavy Akbari Tanka, and so 

 pieces were issued which might serve equally well as the fifth 

 part of the Dam or the tenth of the Tanka, the two-fifths of the 

 Dam or the one fifth of the Tanka and the four- fifths of the Dam 

 or two-fifths of the Tanka. 



S. H. HODIVALA. 



