Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
Drachm
| Issuer | Maitraka dynasty |
|---|---|
| Year | 470-788 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Highly schematized and degraded bust of a ruler facing right, derived from late Sasanian prototypes, wearing a distinctive winged or crested crown with a horizontal bar across the brow. The facial features are rendered in a highly stylized manner, with bold curved strokes representing the beard and mustache below. Pellets and crescent-like ornaments appear in the lower field. The overall design reflects the progressive abstraction of the original Sasanian royal effigy as it was adapted by Maitraka die-cutters over successive generations. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Plain |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
The Maitrakas ruled from Valabhi in present-day Gujarat, establishing one of western India's most durable post-Gupta kingdoms after breaking from Gupta authority around 470 CE. Their silver drachms derive directly from late Gupta coinage conventions, themselves adaptations of Western Kshatrapa issues — a lineage of imitation stretching back through multiple centuries of regional monetary habit. Valabhi's destruction, traditionally dated to around 788 CE and attributed to an Arab raid, effectively ends the dynasty and closes the series.