Tradition · Śaka silver coinage · India
Western Kṣatrapa silver drachm
Also known as Kshatrapa drachm, Kshaharata coin
The Western Kṣatrapas of Ujjain and Saurashtra struck a continuous silver drachm series from the 1st to the 4th century CE on the Indo-Greek weight standard they inherited (2.2 g), with the ruler's bust and a Greek-letter legend on the obverse and the Ujjain crescent-and-arches symbol with a Brāhmī legend on the reverse. The series ran under more than thirty rulers from Chastana to Rudrasimha III and is the most densely dated numismatic sequence of early historic India — every coin carries a Śaka-era regnal year, allowing dynasties and their issues to be dated to within a year. The Guptas suppressed it in 409 CE.
- Periods
- Second Urbanisation, Classical and Puranic Age
- Function
- Trade & production
- Confidence
- Established / referenced
Connections (1)
- Historical linkAgra Fort
The Western Kṣatrapas' Ujjain mint used the Indo-Greek 2.2-g drachm standard; Chandragupta II of the Guptas suppressed the series in 409 CE.
On these journeys
Sources
Standard reference; Wikipedia Coinage of India.
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