1855.] On the Coins of the Gupta Dynasty. 517 



of Taramana's imitation of the Gupta Peacock coins places the 

 matter beyond a question, and would leave me no alternative but to 

 conclude that Tov&m&Yia, follovjed Buddha Gupta, after some incon- 

 siderable interval — 'but my late admission of Buddha Gupta into 

 the direct succession of the Gupta kings, which has been freely 

 conceded on the absolute identity of the style of his silver money 

 with that of the newly deciphered pieces of Kumara and Skanda 

 Gupta, has already sanctioned the result claimed by the present 

 discovery. 



But this unique specimen of Toramana's mintage furnishes us 

 with further matter of speculation, in such portion of the date as 

 still remains on its surface. The cipher for hundreds, which should 

 appear opposite the forehead of the profile, seems to have been worn 

 away in the course of the ordinary currency of the piece. The 

 decimal figure is sufficiently well preserved, and though it would be 

 possible to read it as the s for one hundred, yet both its position and 

 its outline alike claim for it the value of eighty ; lowest in order 

 appears a symbol which equally suggests a remote doubt, and were 

 there any figure or portion of a figure in the space below, it might 

 be taken for a 0, but not only is there no cross-bar to complete that 

 sign, but there is a semblance of an up-stroke beyond the second 

 vertical line, which assimilates it with the Gupta unit entered last 

 in the line in the plate of facsimiles. 



If these interpretations be correct, we have Budha Gupta dating 

 up to 165, and Toramana issuing coin in what we may fairly con- 

 clude to be one hundred and eighty odd, or about the very period 

 that might have been selected for his epoch under other grounds. 



The style of the coin legend also demands brief notice. It will be 

 seen that the Gupta numismatic practice of arranging both the 

 short and long vowel i above the line of matras, (or more fre- 

 quently omitting them altogether) is here so far modernized that 

 the short "pis brought down before, and the longl" after the conso- 

 nant to which it is attached. The Budha Gupta Inscription at 

 Erun like the Skanda Gupta writing at Kuhaon still continues to 

 use the old form of the long vowel, while the Toramana record sym- 

 bolizes the sound by a character similar to that on the coin. 



3 Y 2 



