Kolkata:Coins of the Gupta dynasty were first found in Kalighat area of Kolkata. But, the City of Joy no longer has these ancient coins. Some of these have found place in the Bharat Kala Kendra in Varanasi, 24 coins travelled to the British Museum in London and the rest to other countries.
A huge crowd gathered at the Indian Museum to learn about the journey of the Gupta dynasty coins from Prof. Sushmita Basu Majumdar, head of the department of ancient Indian history and culture, University of Calcutta (CU). Indian Museum holds weekly talk series named, 'Tuesday Tales: Myths, Memories and Masterpieces'. This Tuesday, Prof. Majumdar discussed about the history of coins.
Journey from mint to museum:
According to Prof. Majumdar, not all coins that are made in the mint find a place in the museum as some land up at with the numismatists.
She told ETV Bharat, "If there are coins in the museum, many people and researchers can see it. Again, if coins are with numismatists then it increases enthusiasm among people." She then went on to share the history behind recovery of Gupta period coins from Kalighat.
History of Gupta dynasty coins
Prof. Majumdar said more than 200 coins were found from a plot of land owned by Nabakrishna Dev in Kolkata. These coins were handed over to the then Governor Warren Hastings. Later, Warren Hastings sent 172 coins to London and kept a handful of 30 coins with him. He later distributed these coins as gifts. In this way, coins travelled to Varanasi's Bharat Kala Kendra. Varanasi is the only place in the country that has coins from the Gupta period. At the time when the coins were found, it was not understood that those belonged to the Gupta Empire.