Recent Researches in Epigraphy and Numismatics

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About The Book Recent Researches in Epigraphy and Numismatics is a collection of twenty one latest research papers in the field of Indian Numismatics and Epigraphy by young and upcoming scholars in memory of Dr. Parmeshwari Lal Gupta (1914-2001), the doyen of Indian Numismatics.

These papers were presented at Nat Num Conf 2016 held on 24 and 25 December 2016 at Sathaye College, Mumbai by Centre for History Archaeology Epigraphy & Numismatics (CHAEN) in association with the Ancient Indian Culture Department, Sathaye College. These articles, with notes, references and bibliography are well illustrated and are grouped into four sections, viz. Section-I: Ancient Indian Numismatic; Section-II: Medieval Indian Numismatic; Section-III: Modern Numismatic; and Section-IV: Epigraphy.

About the Authors Dr. Mahesh A. Kalra is a numismatic researcher of international repute. He has been actively involved with various national and international Museums and research bodies for research on Indian Numismatics. He is currently Convenor, Centre for History, Archaeology Epigraphy and Numismatics (CHAEN). He is also the Director, Centre for Numismatic Information and Studies (CENNUMIS) and Former Regional Secretary, Oriental Numismatic Society, U. K. for South Asia.

Dr. Suraj A. Pandit is a trend archaeologist and who has worked in the fields of Buddhist Archaeology, Urban Archaeology and Epigraphy. He is presently Head of the Department of Ancient Indian Culture and the Department of Buddhist Studies at Sathaye College, Mumbai. His specialization is 'Western Indian Rock Cut Architecture'. He is known for his research on Kanheri Caves. He has completed several research projects and also working as a consultant for Heritage Conservation projects.

Preface This book is dedicated to the revered memory of Dr. Parmeshwari Lal Gupta (1914 2001), the doyen of Indian Numismatics who pioneered the study of Indian Numismatics in independent India with his book, 'COINS' published for the first time in 1969 by the National Book Trust of India as a befitting tribute to the two-and-half millennia of Indian Coinage from 6 century B.C.E. till modern period with unbroken continuity.

Dr. P. L. Gupta's unique contribution to Indian Numismatics was to string various coin series together for the first time since the study of Indian Numismatics began in the colonial period by the great orientalists from British civil and military cadre beginning with James Prinsep, Alexander Cunningham and in succession by numerous other Indian and British orientalists till India's independence in the middle of the twentieth century. However, most numismatists studied Indian numismatics as a set of series classified as local or imperial series, ancient, medieval or modern or based on dynasties of various periods of India's long history. It was Dr. P. L. Gupta's unique contribution of connecting these heterogenous series as pearls with a string to form the necklace of Indian Numismatics Another major contribution of Dr. P. L. Gupta was to mentor a whole generation of numismatic researchers with focus on only academic study of Indian coinages with a firm emphasis on mastering scripts, coin types and various other features of Indian coin series.

Dr. P. L. Gupta's book 'COINS' has been a beacon of light to many generations of students of History and Numismatics, usually serving a first work of introduction to a subject of gigantic proportions related to India's tradition of continuous issuing of coins of different types for over two-and-half-millennia. Though termed as 'outdated' in some quarters, the book is yet to be replaced by another standard work of reference despite almost five decades since it first appeared. Its continued publication and popularity remains undented and yet it is a very simplistic work on a subject easily understood by the uninitiated.

**Contents and Sample Pages**