1852.] Memo, on some ancient gold coins. 39! 



One of the coins reads §<V£o "H * "Sri Skanda Gupta" very dis- 

 tinctly — the name under the left arm is also clearly + " Skanda," 



so that there can be no doubt of this specimen. 



I must ever regret my inability, through press of other work to 

 make accurate drawings of these coins, many of which are varieties 

 not published hitherto in our Journal. 



I would invite the attention of numismatologists to the variations in 

 form of some of the letters of the Gupta alphabet, and to that of the 

 letter " m" (^) in particular, which in later times was changed to w; 



for instance, X Samudra is written *f which has been read as )\ xj 



"asa." The letter rb "s" changes to *J, which has also been mis- 

 taken for }\ "a," and wrong readings and deductions consequently 

 have resulted. The use of this form of the m and s (*f and *v) * s 

 indicative of the later date of the coins on which found. 



I am happy to place here on record that the result of following the 

 plan proposed by me, of Government giving the bullion value of 

 all coins thus found, has already proved beneficial, for a trove of silver 

 coinage of the early Mogul Emperors was readily delivered up shortly 

 after this collection of gold was paid for ; and at the moment of writing 

 these remarks I have before me twenty-one silver coins (Budhist) 

 of a very early date, which will reach the Society in due course. 



I would therefore suggest to the Society to address the Supreme 

 Government upon this important matter, and obtain if possible deci- 

 sive orders to all Revenue Officers and others to make known in their 

 several districts that full value will be given for all troves of coinage 

 — for it is lamentable to think what a vast number of such antiquities 

 find their way into the melting pots of the village Sonars. 



At the same time some inducement might be devised and held out 

 for the due delivery in like manner of copper and brass plates, " Tamba 

 pattra," which are often either kept concealed under the supposition 

 that they are " beejucs" or keys to hidden treasure, or sold to brasiers 

 and melted down. I know of two plates in the Benares Division both 

 of which I have failed in procuring. The one at Kapia near Gorruck- 

 pore, the other about 30 miles hence near the Soane river ; the latter 

 was broken in two through the ploughman, who found it, doubling it 

 up. The former I believe was uninjured. M. K. 



3 d 2 



