1852.] Note on three ancient coins. 401 



Note on three ancient Coins found at Mohammadpur, in the Jessore 

 district. By Babu Rajendralal Mittra. {Communicated by 

 Cecil Beadon, Esq.) 



In the preceding plate (PI. xii. figs. 10,11,12) I have given figures 

 of three coins found along with several others near the Arunkhali river 

 at Mohammadpur, in the district of Jessore, and presented to the 

 Asiatic Society by Mr. F. L. Beaufort. It appears they had been 

 buried in an earthen pot which was accidently discovered by a man 

 digging a well.* The coins, which were found along with those 

 now under notice, are all of the Gupta kings of Kanouj, and comprise 

 specimens of the silver coinage of Chandra Gupta, Kumara Gupta 

 and Skanda Gupta. The metal of these coins is very impure, and were 

 the fact of their coins being frequently discovered in Bengal a sufficient 

 evidence to conclude that the Gupta kings of Kanouj once held the 

 sovereignty of this country, it would strengthen an opinion started by 

 James Prinsep that the provincial currency of the Guptas was of an 

 inferior metal to what was used in their metropolitan towns. 



No. 1. (Fig. 10) is a gold coin, weighing 85 grains. On the 

 obverse it has a female with a bow, a standard, a deer looking towards 

 the left, and a border round the margin, with the monogram ^, 

 Sri in the Gupta character. Reverse, a winged victory to the right, 

 with an undeciphered Arian ? inscription in the margin. 



The reverse is very unlike that of the Gupta coins, but the mono- 

 gram induces me to assign it to Sri Gupta, the founder of the Gupta 

 dynasty of Kanouj, who is the only king of that line whose coins have 

 not yet been discovered, and this conjecture is somewhat strengthened 

 by the fact that it is only in the coinage of the Guptas that we 

 observe the practice of using initial letters instead of, or conjointly 

 with, the names of the kings in full, and it might, not very unreasonably, 

 be supposed that the founder of the dynasty was the first who intro- 

 duced this practice as well as the figure of victory, which last, his 

 successors changed into a Lakshmi. 



* Unfortunately Mr. B. has been unsuccessful in preserving any of the frag- 

 ments of this pot. — Eds. 



