INDIA, Post-Gupta, "Gadhaiya Paisa" c.6-9th century? AR Drachm (3.88 g). Sasanian-style winged crowned bust right (Peroz?)/ Stylized fire altar and attendants. Hello friends, I just got the coin from a Chinese dealer some days ago. It seems like an post-Gupta Indian imitation of Peroz's silver drachm from Gujarat which is different from the normal Chalukyas types. I have tried to do some research but it's really a tough type for me so I choose to turning to you guys. The first thing I want to know is who issued the coin. The Hunnic tribes? The dynasty in Gujarat, north India like Pratihara or Chavda? I am also wondering its particular issued time. You are also welcomed to post your collections of this type of coins.
Doug has a nice write up on the type..... http://www.forumancientcoins.com/dougsmith/gadpaisa.html Here is my Gadhiya paisa , one from about 1000 AD...
Great coin! You probably already know this, but zeno.ru is another resource for these. The Gurjura kingdom of Sindh (570-712), the Imperial Pratiharas earlier coins (730-836), and some other later types are all possibilities, though it looks to me like your coin is from the Imperial Pratihara, 1st series, because of the less abstract fire altar. I hasten to add that I know practically nothing about these though! Here's my similar (but probably later) coin, which I've labeled as "Gurjura-Pratihara confederacy, issued c. 780-980."
Agree on the "Early Pratihara" as most likely classification for the opening post specimen. Here one of mine which comes close:
This is my wheelhouse! The type was probably issued by the Pratiharas, likely around 600-700 AD. This specific type is "Sri Ma" for the letters above the head and in front of the face, respectively. Sadly, not much is known with certainty about these coins. Indo Sassanian coinage can be grouped into three major and largely separate tracks. The first are straight imitations that soon drop the legends, then degrade into the "gadhaiya paisa" proper, as above. These are nearly all anepigraphic, are usually struck on dumpy flans, usually good silver (80%+) and always portray the korymbos (hair bun) as a globe or crescent. These are by far the most common--probably about 80% of all Indo Sassanian coins, and survived until about 1200 in Gujarat and 1350 in Malwa. Early (1.1) Later (1.4) The second track deviates from the first very early on, and is characterized by replacing the korymbos with the letter Sa. Soon legends are added, which become standardized as Sri Ha as the coin becomes more stylized, ultimately with the attendants degrading to "strings of pearls". These were probably made until about 800-900, and are mostly quite debased, around 20% fine. These make up most of the rest of the 20% of Indo Sassanians in the market in a given year, and probably 90-95% are of the Sri Ha type. Early Sri Ha Late Sri Ha (you can still see "Sa" above the head) The third and final track is the most confusing and is derived from early coins in Track 2. These are characterized first by replacing the Sa with the letter Sri, and adding a Ja or Ma before the bust before settling on Ma only. They go through a period of wacky degradation and come out on the other side as "Sri Vi" or "Sri Vigra" coins. These are on the whole quite scarce, with only the degenerate later Sri Vi coins and the posthumous Adivaraha types approaching "common". Early Intermediate "Praa Ja" - one of the many zany intermediate types Proto Sri Vigra Sri Vigra And then finally comes one of the very few coins with an anchor in actual history, the Adivaraha dramma of Bhoja I, 836 - 885. Thanks to this fact, we can probably date all preceding coins of Track 3 to prior to 850, at the latest.
An excellent panorama of these intriguing coins, thanks! And where should we place your avatar coin, @Finn235 ? Just before your second example?
Thanks @Pellinore! My avatar comes near the beginning of the "curved head" type - my personal favorite series and IMO some of the most aesthetically pleasing coins to come out of medieval India. @ominus1, that is actually one of the last coins to come of the main "gadhaiya" type. I call it 1.5 - they are dumpy, usually visibly debased, and about 90% don't show an eye at all in the portrait. Most importantly, the ribbon in front of the lips is different - the backwards S is still there, but it leads straight to the brim of the hat. The three horizontal bars are still present, just pushed to the right - you can see the tip of the upper bar on the edge of the flan, even with the tip of the nose. The best theory I have read about these is that *IF* the bulk of the Gadhaiya were minted by the Chaulukyas of Gujarat (and that is a pretty big if... Maheshwari's find spots indicate that many rajput states may have made these concurrently) then series 1.5 was probably made by the Vaghelas - a tributary state that rebelled against and overthrew the Chaulukyas, ruled just 60 years, then fell to the Muslims at the turn of the 14th century. That would correspond well to the coins, which all adhere to a tight weight standard of ~4.5g (.3g heavier than their predecessors), show little stylistic variance, and terminate abruptly with no subsequent iterations.
