Tradition · Kushan gold coinage · India
Kushan gold dīnāra
Also known as Kushan dinar, Kaniska coin
Kushan gold dīnāra (8.0 g standard, matched to the Roman aureus) struck at Peshawar, Taxila and probably Mathurā from the reign of Vima Kadphises onwards. The series is the earliest sustained gold coinage of India and the most religiously eclectic Indian issue ever struck — the reverses carry Oesho (Śiva), Buddha, Ardoxsho, Nana, Mithra, Mao and Pharro, in Greek-letter legends. Kaniṣka's two Buddha-reverse coins are the earliest surviving dated images of the Buddha in metal. The dīnāra standard was later adopted by the Guptas.
- Periods
- Second Urbanisation, Classical and Puranic Age
- Function
- Trade & production
- Confidence
- Established / referenced
Connections (1)
- Minted herePurushapura / Peshawar
Kaniṣka's capital at Puruṣapura (modern Peshawar) was the chief mint of the Kuṣāṇa gold dīnāra, struck to the 8-gram Roman aureus standard from Vima Kadphises onward. The reverses carry Oesho, Buddha, Ardoxsho, Nana, Mithra, Mao and Pharro in Greek-letter legends — the most religiously eclectic coinage ever struck anywhere in the Indian subcontinent.
On these journeys
Sources
Standard reference; Wikipedia Coinage of India.
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