Someone righty said “Old is gold”. There is something about old Indian Coins that makes them so fascinating. Let’s take a look at three interesting gold Coins of India from different time periods.

Gold Dinar of Chandragupta II

These beautiful coins of India were struck by the Gupta Empire during the reign of Chandragupta II somewhere between 375 AD and 415 AD. The round-shaped gold dinars weighed around 7 to 9 grams and had a diameter of 19 to 23 millimetres. These ancient Indian coins are considered to be very rare and belong to the Lion – Slayer type Class I variety. They were die-struck featuring the king facing right on the obverse. The legend on the obverse may vary from coin to coin and might include the Brahmi text “Chandra” on the left. The reverse of these wonderful coins of India featured a seated Goddess on a lion facing left, holding a fillet in her outstretched right hand, while a cornucopia in her left hand. Tamgha is different for different coins. The central design has a dotted border and a Brahmi legend reads “simhavikramah:”

Gold Double Pagoda of Tipu Sultan

This Indian coin was struck by Mysore state during the reign of Tipu Sultan in the year 1218. This round-shaped gold coin of India bore the denomination Sadiqi which is equal to two times the value of a Pagoda. It weighed around 6.8 to 6.9 grams and had a diameter of 18 millimetres. They are considered to be extremely rare coins of India and followed the Mauludi Year calendar system. They were die-struck at Pattan Mint in the Regnal Year 8. The obverse featured the Persian legend “Muhammad Ahmad Din Dar Jahan Ast Raushan Ze Fatah Haider He Sadiqi Zarb Pattan Saal Shita Sanah 1218”, while the reverse featured the Persian legend “Huwa As-Saltan Al-Waheed Al-adil Tarikh-i-Saal Sakh Seum Bahari Sanah 8 Julus”.

Gold Pagoda of Madras Presidency

These amazing colonial coins of India were die-struck in 2.97 grams of gold for Madras Presidency by East India Company between 1808 and 1815. This round-shaped Indian coin bore the denomination pagoda and had a diameter of 17.4 millimetres. They were produced at Madras Mint in the Regnal Year 6. The obverse side of these old Indian coins featured the denomination in English and Persian on a buckled garter around Gopuram PAGODA. The reverse featured the denomination in Tamil and Telugu on a ribbon around the deity Vishnu.

Hope you had fun learning about these three fabulous gold coins of India. Hope you acquire one of them soon!