Catalog
Drachm
| Issuer | Maitraka dynasty |
|---|---|
| Year | 475-767 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Stylized bust of the ruler facing right, derived from Sasanian prototypes, depicting a crowned or helmeted head with flowing hair rendered as schematic wavy lines descending from the nape. The facial features are highly abstracted, with a prominent eye indicated by a horizontal stroke. The design reflects the gradual degeneration of the original Sasanian royal portrait type as adopted by the Maitraka rulers of Valabhi. |
|---|---|
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| Mintage | ND (475-767) |
| Additional information |
The Maitrakas ruled from Valabhi in Saurashtra after breaking from the Gupta empire in the late 5th century, and their coinage directly inherits degraded Gupta silver conventions — each successive issue compressing and abstracting the original types until the imagery is barely legible. By the dynasty's later centuries, the drachm had become so stylized it functioned almost as a token, its Gupta origins visible only to specialists tracing the die evolution across generations of local minting.