Question

Who were the earliest rulers of the subcontinent to issue gold coins?

Answer 1

Hint:
Gold coins were introduced in the Indian subcontinent around 100 CE.
The coins were an important tool to promote each ruler of the dynasty and their propagandas.

Complete answer:
The Kushan empire ruled in India in the 1st Century AD. They covered areas up to Afghanistan and the northern territories of the Indian Subcontinent. They were great patrons of Buddhism and Zoroastrianism. They played a very significant role in the establishment of Buddhism in the Indian Subcontinent. They also spread Buddhism to some parts of Central Asia and China.

Kushans were the earliest rulers of the Indian Subcontinent to issue gold coins. Kushan emperor ‘Vima Kadphises’ is believed to be the one who introduced gold coins to India, around 100 CE.

The Kushana coins were called ‘Dinara’. This name was derived from the Roman coins which were called ‘Denarius aureus’, which were standard Roman silver coins since 211 BC and the gold coins from 100 BC. The Kushana coins were an important tool to promote each Kushana ruler and their propagandas.

These coins were later copied in the Kushano-Sasanian regions in the west and in the Kingdom of Samatata in Bengal in the East. The coins of the Gupta dynasty (3rd to 5th Century) were derived from the coinage of the Kushan Empire. Even the standard weights, coining techniques and designs were very much similar to the Kushana coins.

Note:
‘Kadamba Dynasty’ issued the heaviest and the purest gold coins in ancient India.
The central symbol of the coins was mostly a lotus, hence these coins were called ‘lotus coins’.
A few coins had a lion on the face, rather than a lotus, with a Kannada inscription.