Coins. 



1895.] E. A. Gait — TlUtorical Research in Assam, 99 



(2) Historical documents drawn np at or about the period to which 

 they relate. 



(3) Qiiasi-historic9i\ putliis written long after the events with which 

 they deal. 



(4) Stray historical references in religious works. 



(6) Traditions unwritten, but still current amongst the people. 

 I will deal with each of these sources of information separately. 



2 We know the coins of the following 

 dynasties : 



(a) Aliom kings. (c) Kings of Jaintia. 



{h) Koch „ (d) „ „ Manipur. 



(e) Kings of Tippera. 



In the Vamgdvali of Laksini Narayan, it is stated that the king of 

 Khairam had a mint, but no coins of his have yet come to light. It is 

 not improbable that the Khyeu kings, who preceded the Koch, also coin- 

 ed money, but here again we have at present no definite knowledge ; nor 

 do we know anything about the coinage of the kings of Cachar. 



3. Tlie Ahom coins, which are octagonal in shape, are of two 

 classes : those inscribed with the old Ahom character, and those on 

 which the characters are a kind of modern Nagari. Coins of the second 

 class are well known ; many of them have been described by Marsden, 

 and large numbers can still be obtained. In regard to them, all that 

 seems to be needed is to catalogue all known coins with their inscrip- 

 tions and dates, and to examine as many private collections as possible 

 and describe all not already mentioned in Marsden or other numismati- 

 cal works. The other class of coins, on the other hand, requires a good 

 deal more attention. Until recently, when some deodhais deciphered one 

 for me, none of these coins had been read. The Asiatic Society of Bengal 

 now propose to send up all the coins of this class in their collection for 

 examination and decipherment, but I do not yet know how many they 

 have got. Moreover, as they have been collected without reference to 

 their ( unknown) mintage, it is doubtful how far they are representative 

 of the different monarchs in whose reigns such coins were struck. 

 After we have obtained readings of the Asiatic Society's coins, I think 

 we should at once institute a search for the coins of any kings not found 

 in the Society's collection. Of the two coins of which I have obtained 



readings, one relates to Chuklenmung* 



belJstlSsoit"'""" (1539 A.D.-1552 A.D.), and the other 



to Chupatpha, alias Gadadhar Simha 

 (1681 — 1695 A.D.). The latter must be one of the last coins struck in 



