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The Present work strives to reflect-through the prisms of numismatical sources-the forces at work in the fields of religion, society, art and culture during the pre-Christian and post-Christian period upto the end of the rule of the Gupta Kings in Northern India. It also delves into the epigraphic, literary and other sources as and when necessary.

The first chapter contains a history of coinage, the evolution of coins right from the early crude pieces to artistic Gupta coins, to coins of alien rulers and a large range of silver and copper cast variety. The second records the manifestations on coins of different religious traditions held sacred during different periods. While the third attempts to highlight social growth, the fourth accommodates an interpretation of the artistic impulses of those times. The fifth and the concluding chapter is as much a homage to as a retrospective study of the cultural past of India.

No facet of study has been left unexplored in this tantalizing study of facets of coins.