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Hephtalites Gupta INDIA
| Issuer | Gupta Empire |
|---|---|
| Year | 319-490 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | A highly stylized fire altar rendered in schematic form, depicted as a broad rectangular base surmounted by a stepped or barred structure, above which three prominent pellets or points are arranged horizontally. The altar motif is boldly struck and dominates the flan, executed in a crude but deliberate manner consistent with late Gupta imitative coinage. The surrounding field is plain and unadorned, with no surviving legend or border. |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
The Hephthalites — the "White Huns" — spent much of the fifth century dismantling Gupta imperial power from the northwest, and coinage from this period reflects the administrative chaos that followed. These small silver pieces were likely struck by regional successors or governors operating under increasingly nominal Gupta authority as central control fractured. By 490, the dynasty that had underwritten one of South Asia's most sophisticated monetary systems was effectively finished as a pan-Indian power.