Mauryan period:society , economy, administration, religion, arts and architecture
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This article gives you information on : The use of gold coins by commoners in the Gupta Period
The Gupta period is called the Golden Age of ancient India. This may not be true in the economic field because several towns in north India declined during this period.

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But the Guptas possessed a large amount of gold and they issued a large number of gold coins. An important feudal development that surfaced under the Guptas was the grant of fiscal and administrative concessions to priest and administrators.
The practice became a regular affair. Religious functionaries were granted land, free of tax for ever and they were authorized to collect taxes which could have gone to emperor. It was the beginning of feudalism. Whether state officials were paid by grants of land in Gupta times is not clear. Abundance of gold coins would suggest that higher officials continued to be paid in cash. The gold coins issued by Guptas were called dinars. Regular in size and weight, they appear in many types and sub types. But these gold coins were not as pure as Kushan ones. It shows that gold coins may not be used by commoners. These coins served to pay the officers in the army and administration but also to meet the needs of the sale and purchase of land.
After the conquest of Gujarat, the Guptas issued a good number of silver coins mainly for local exchange. With the decline of trade and commerce due to feudal set up brought out by land grants. It has been mentioned by several historians that common people were using cowry for exchange.
The Gupta period is called the Golden Age of ancient India. This may not be true in the economic field because several towns in north India declined during this period.

Image Courtesy : destinationinfinity.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/IMAGE_278.jpg
ADVERTISEMENTS:
But the Guptas possessed a large amount of gold and they issued a large number of gold coins. An important feudal development that surfaced under the Guptas was the grant of fiscal and administrative concessions to priest and administrators.
The practice became a regular affair. Religious functionaries were granted land, free of tax for ever and they were authorized to collect taxes which could have gone to emperor. It was the beginning of feudalism. Whether state officials were paid by grants of land in Gupta times is not clear. Abundance of gold coins would suggest that higher officials continued to be paid in cash. The gold coins issued by Guptas were called dinars. Regular in size and weight, they appear in many types and sub types. But these gold coins were not as pure as Kushan ones. It shows that gold coins may not be used by commoners. These coins served to pay the officers in the army and administration but also to meet the needs of the sale and purchase of land.
After the conquest of Gujarat, the Guptas issued a good number of silver coins mainly for local exchange. With the decline of trade and commerce due to feudal set up brought out by land grants. It has been mentioned by several historians that common people were using cowry for exchange.
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