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History Optional PYQ Master Pack · Model answer

Give an account of the use of gold coins by commoners in the Gupta Period.

  • UPSC 2009
  • Guptas, Vakatakas and Vardhanas

The Gupta dinara is remembered chiefly as a masterpiece of ancient Indian numismatic art — kings shown hunting lions, playing the veena, or performing the ashvamedha, and queens rendered with striking grace on the reverse. Because these coins are so closely associated with royal self-representation, it is tempting to treat them purely as instruments of…

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What the full answer covers

  • The Gupta gold coinage
  • Evidence for commoner use
  • A necessary qualification
  • Reconciling the two pictures

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