V.A.Smith — Grmco-Moman influence [No. 3, 



The truth seems to be that, though all ancient Indian coinages with 

 the slightest pretensions to artistic merit are ultimately of Greek origin, 

 yet the idea of coining money, and a knowledge of the simple mechanical 

 processes necessary for the production of rude coins originated inde- 

 pendently in India, or, at the least, were not borrowed from the Greeks. 



Although I agree with Mr. Thomas and Sir A. Cunningham in 

 rejecting the theory of the Greek descent of all Indian coins without 

 exception, it must be admitted that it would be extremely difficult, if 

 not impossible, to prove that any particular ancient Indian coin now 

 extant is older than the time of Alexander the Great. Sir A. Cunning- 

 ham has ventured more than once on the bold assertion respecting the 

 so-called 'punch-marked' coins, that "many of them are as old as 

 1000 B. C, and perhaps even older."* 



_ When it is remembered that no stone building, sculpture, or in- 

 scription anywhere in India is known to exist which is older than the 

 reign of Asoka, some seventy years after the invasion of Alexander the 

 Great, it is clear that a claim on behalf of a coin to an antiquity of UlUO 

 B. C. is very difficult to substantiate. Nothing in India exists, which 

 can be compared with it, that is not seven and a half centuries later in 

 date. The supposition that any Indian coins are to be dated 1000 B. C. 

 is a mere guess, unsupported by a single fact. I cannot venture to 

 name any other date for the beginnings of Indian coinage, for the reason 

 that nothing really is known on the subject. It is possible that certain 

 coins may be very old, but they cannot be proved to bo so, and the 

 independent origin of Indian coinage cannot be demonstrated by showing 

 that any given extant piece is older than Alexander. I do not know of 

 the existence of any Indian coin which may not possibly be later than 

 his time. 



The really valid reason for denying the Greek origin of the art of 

 of coinage in India is that several classes of early Indian coins do not 

 exhibit a single clear trace of Greek influence, whereas they are plainly 

 marked by special Indian characteristics. 



The coinage of India in its most primitive form consisted of small, 

 oblong, roughly rectangular plates of silver, without any impression on 

 the surface, but struck to a definite standard of weight, namely, 32 m*w, 

 or 58| grains. A slight improvement was made when these littlo plates 

 of silver were stamped with rough devices of stars, trees, and so forth. 

 These devices were impressed by means of small punches, not covering 

 the face of the coin, and sometimes it appears that all the various 

 patterns on the surface of a single piece, were not executed at once, but 

 were impressed successively at different times by the aid of several 

 * Archaol. Rep., Vol. I, p. 70 ; II, pp. 229, 264, 288. 



