Silver drachm of Kumaragupta (c.407-451 CE), Kathiawari mint 3, Gupta Empire, India (F/T G23a)

Bust of king, right, completely corrupt Greek inscription around / Formalized Garuda standing facing with spread wings. In Brahmi Parama-bhagavata rajahiraja Sri Kumaragupta Mahendraditya ("Absolutely holy King of Kings Lord Kumaragupta Mahendraditya"). The early Gupta drachmas were derived from the earlier coins of Kshatrapas (obverse was practically unchanged, while the mountain on reverse was replaced with the image of Garuda). 12mm, 2.18 grams. Mint 3 in northern (?) Kathiawar. Todd/Fishman "The Silver Coinage of the Gupta Empire and Associated States in Western India" (2024) #G23a.

The silver coinage of the Gupta Empire is notoriously complex, with numerous issues bearing similar legends yet struck to varying standards of weight and metal content. In their recent work The Silver Coinage of the Gupta Empire and Associated States in Western India (2024), Todd and Fishman undertook a comprehensive reclassification of the series, bringing much-needed order to this challenging field of study. The present coin is attributed in accordance with the system set out in their catalogue.

Kumaragupta I (Mahendraditya) was a ruler of the Gupta Empire in 415-455 CE. Like his father and predecessor, Chandragupta II, Kumaragupta was an able ruler. He retained, intact, the vast empire, which extended from Bengal to Kathiawar and from the Himalayas to the Narmada. He issued silver coins in the style of the newly conquered Western Kshatrapas, though the Kshatrapa symbols on the reverse were replaced with the Gupta symbol Garuda.