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Gadhaiya Paisa - Chavadas of Gujarat
| Issuer | Chavada Dynasty of Gujarat |
|---|---|
| Year | 760-950 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1 Drachm |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Highly stylized and degenerate bust derived from the Sasanian royal effigy, facing right, rendered in a schematic Indo-Sasanian artistic tradition. The head is surmounted by a prominent crescent-and-pellet headdress, with the facial features reduced to abstract pellets and curves. A beaded arc frames the left side of the bust, while a series of horizontal bar-and-pellet elements fills the right field, representing a highly conventionalized form of the Sasanian fire altar attendant. The entire design is executed in bold relief with a surrounding border of pellets, characteristic of the Gadhaiya Paisa coinage. |
|---|---|
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
The Gadhaiya Paisa tradition began as a direct imitation of Sasanian silver drachms — specifically the issues of Khusro II — which had flooded northwestern India through trade and conquest. Over successive generations of copying, the original fire-altar and portrait designs degraded through mechanical repetition into near-abstraction, a process so gradual that no single mint can be credited with the transformation. The Chavadas, ruling Gujarat before their displacement by the Solankis in the mid-10th century, issued these among the most stylistically degenerated of the type.
Billon composition reflects the dynasty's limited access to pure silver rather than a deliberate monetary policy.