While the coins of Ancient India have been a subject of several studies, the techniques involved have received scant attention. In this book an attempt has been made to bridge this gap in our knowledge by describing some of the modes of casting coins in ancient India. The author was accidentally introduced to the field of numismatics due to a chance discovery at Rohtak of an ancient mint site of pre-Christian era. Among other relics it included thousands of terracotta moulds, a few virgin coins still lying within their moulds, etc. The book covers materials discovered such as Bronze dies from Eran (third century bc), Rohtak moulds (100 bc), Taxila moulds (eleventh-fourteen centuries ad), Kadkal moulds (fifteenth century bc), Mathura moulds (first century ad [ad 388]), Kashi moulds (ad 375-417) and the techniques involved in casting them. The book also abounds in sketches of moulds, coins and excavation sites.
About the Author
Birbal Sahni (1891-1949) was an Indian palaeobotanist. He was also the founder of the Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeobotany at Lucknow and served as the President of the National Academy of Sciences.