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Dinar - Kumaragupta I Lyrist Type
| Issuer | Gupta Empire (India (ancient)) |
|---|---|
| Year | 409-452 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Reference(s) | Mitchiner ACW 4848-4850; Gupta 562-565 |
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|---|---|
| Obverse script | Brahmi |
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| Reverse script | Brahmi |
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| Additional information |
Kumaragupta I ruled for roughly four decades — one of the longest reigns in Gupta history — and issued an unusually diverse range of gold dinar types, more than any other Gupta king. The Lyrist type is among the most personally specific of these, depicting the king engaged in music rather than conquest or ritual, an iconographic choice without close parallel in Indian dynastic coinage. Whether this reflects genuine royal patronage of music or a calculated association with Saraswati is debated, but the type was clearly intentional and not a minor variant.
Mitchiner's ACW range for this type spans three catalogue numbers, suggesting meaningful die variation exists across the series.