Fifty Years of Numismatic Society of India - Numismatic Society of India

A.K. Narain

In 1961, we can look back to fifty years of the Numismatic Society of India, 1910-1960, with satisfaction for what has been achieved and with promise which its achievements hold for us in the future. Although the first notice on the subject of numismatic research occurs in India in the year 1790 when the discovery of Roman coins and medals was referred to in the 2^nd volume of Asiatic Researches and the whole of the 19^th century not only witnessed the solid the solid foundation of numismatic studies in the country but much progress was registered, it was only in the beginning of the present century that there sprang up a class of numismatists, who were not only very keen collectors of coins and ardent students but were also keen on the co-ordination of the results of these researches and on systematising the studies by affording a common platform for bringing together collectors and students of Indian Numismatics. With this end in view the six founders of this Society, viz. Mr. (later Sir) Richard Burn, I.C.S., H.R. Nevill, I.C.S., R.B. Whitehead, I.C.S., H.N. Wright, I.C.S., Framji Thanawala, and Rev. Dr. P. Taylor, D.D. Met together for the first time at Allahabad on 28^th December 1910 and brought into being a Society called ‘The Numismatic Society of India’ and invited Sir John Stanley, the chief Justice of Allahabad, to be the first president of the Society. Mr. R.B. whitehead was elected the first honorary secretary and the treasurer of the Society. The along with R.Burn, G.P. Taylor and H.N. Wright, formed the first Management Committee. The annual fee for membership was fixed at Rs. 5 and on the 8^th January 1911 an appeal was issued by the honorary secretary, wherein he stated :

“Coin-collecting in India up to the present has proceeded in a haphazard manner. A great deal has been done and is being done by government and by private collectors, but all have been independent of each other, and there has been no mean of co-ordinating the results. This has undoubtedly been attended with wasted efforts and loss. To take only one instance, that of the casual collector, who is interested in numismatics and aquires whatever coins happen to come in his way he may not know exactly what they are, but it is quite possible that some of them are unique and rare specimens. As a rule these will eventually be lost, and no record of them will even be made…”

“The Society is intended to be the co-ordinating body which will promote the knowledge and regulate the study of Indian Numismatics. Those interested in coins will know where they can obtain reference to books, readings of coins they may have picked up and general information on the subject. It is hoped that they will become members. Numismatics elsewhere also may be glad to keep in touch with modern development is Indian Numismatics by joining the Society.

“There is no intention at present publish any special periodical. Papers from members of the Society will be inserted in the Numismatic supplement of the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal and copies will be distributed to all members of the Numismatic Society of India.

“The objects of the Society will be attained if members will do what they can to promote and spread a lively interest in the old cons of India. It is hoped that they will themselves become regular collectors. At the least each members can do much in elucidating the Numismatic history of his locality, gathering information and looking out for coins, which if unable to acquire himself, he can enable the India Museums to secure. The Committee will be glad to receive contributions on numismatic subjects.”

This appeal resulted in the rallying of as many as 46 members round the standard of the society in the very first year of its inception. There were 13 Indian members.

Rev. G.P. Taylor became the second president of the Society. In his presidential address on the 24^th December 1912, he noted the membership of the Society at 67 and which was according to him largely due to the efforts of Mr. R.B. Whitehead. In 1913, Taylor was again the president and he emphasized the need of a Corpus Numismatum for the Mughal period, a Primer of Indian Numismatics and a book on Indian Coins on the pattern of Hill’s Historical Greek Coins and finally an Atlas of the Mughal Mind Towns of India. In the 1914 Annual Meeting of the Society, the president of the year, Nelson Wright, recorded a steady advance in the membership of the Society which reached to 82 and he declared with satisfaction that ‘we have now members from England, America, Russia, Austria and Holland as well as from Burma, Singapore and Ceylon.” The first memoir of this Society, on the Coins of Tipu Sultan, by G.P. Taylor was published. The President of the years, Mr. Nelson Wright, offered to the Society its first medal which is now know as the Nelson Wright Medal.

Since the most active members of the Society were drawn from amongst the Government officers, it appears that the first World War affected the Society too and all the presidential speeches made from 1914 to 1918 refer to it, but even dring that period the membership of the society increased and the activities of the society did not cease. The annual meeting of the society for 1915 held at Lucknow on the 28^th January, 1916 adopted the draft Rules submitted by Mr. R.B. Whitehead as the ‘Rules of the Society’. Richard Burn noted in his address, :The number of members continues to increase. Only one members has resigned while six new ones have been elected during the year and the total membership at the end of 1916 was 92″. Mr Camphell said in the presidential address of 1917, “the great war lasts; it is inevitable that less attention should be given to the non-essential sciences. Some of our members are actual combatants, and many of our members, most active numismatists, are wholly or partly engaged in war work. Nevertheless the Numismatic society of India carries on.” The war was over and as if the start a new life, the firs resolution passed at the original coin conference held at Allahabad on the 28^th December, 1910, was reprinted along with the Prospectus of the Society and the rules of it is in the proceedings of the Numismatic Society of India for the year 1919. Mr. Richard burn noted in his presidential address the total membership of the society as 94.

It 1921, R.B. Whitehead retired as secretary of the Society after a decade of most useful service to the cause of numismatic studies. In fact with the retirement of whitehead we can mark the close of the first phase in the history of the society- a Phase which witnessed the foundation and firm establishment of the society. Although there were six founder members of the society, I think for more than one reason, R.B. Whitehead along with Nelson Wright and Richard Burn may be regard as the three real founders of the Numismatic Society of India. It is interesting to note that in this phase of the history of the society, majority of the members were still non-Indians and most of them were either governments officers- civil as well as military- or men in high position or of affluent means who took to coins-collecting as hobby although a considerable number turned in course of time devoted students of numismatics.

Mr. Douglas succeeds Whitehead as the secretary but the died in 1926. The second decade in the history of the society was marked by gradual thinning away of the non-Indian members from the ranks of the society.

Already in 1926, we note from the presidential address of Mr. H.R. Nevill that the absence of the influence of those giants who formed the society in the beginning was felt. He noted, “who we may ask, have taken the place then held by Mr. Nelson Wright, Dr. Taylor, Mr. Whitehead and Sir Richard Burn… while our number shows no decline it is difficult to refrain from the feeling that the members who are doing active work, either in collection or in Numismatic research, are too few. I am well aware that under present condition coin-collecting is more arduous and more disappointing matter than former days.” On 31^st December 1926, there were 121 members in this society and about 23 were now Indians. The first Indian president of the society was Prof. S.H. Hodivala in 1922 in 1927, Hodiwala became the first Indian secretary of the society. From 1927 onward we not that most of the members who attended the annual meeting of Numismatic society of India were Indians. Most of the British officers and other Non-Indian members of the society had either retired or returned home and they were not replaced by their countrymen as active members of the society. Mr Nevil noted this in his presidential address of 1928. In his earlier address, while discussing the retirement from the field of more conspicuous collectors and apparent reasons for the dearth of new recruits of the same class he had noted the depletion of the markets after the war for the coin-collectors and the consequent wanting of the enthusiasm and interest of coin-collection. But in 1928 he thought the condition had improved continuously and it was again possible to glean much from the Sarrafs, though the harvest could not be so plentiful as it was in the palmy days of around the turn of the present century. However, he thought it was still possible to form the nucleus of the collection in a relatively short period and he hoped again to see in all provinces a number of enthusiasts whole very zeal must tent to increase the supply. But he rightly noted, “The real question is whether the Indian students on whom we must depend in an ever increasing degree is forthcoming in sufficient number. I regard the matter with some concern for it is of much importance. The study of Numismatics and the formation of private collection, fascinating persuits though they are, are not ends in themselves, Numismatics is connected closely with history and the field of Indian history contains a vast extent of ground that has hitherto lain fallow. India must not sit idle under the reproach that it has done little or nothing to unravel the past and there from to learn lesson for the future.” But in 1929, Mr. M.F.C. Martin said in his presidential address, “Our society is in a very satisfactory condition.” He noted an all round progress. But he supported the remarks of his predecessor by saying that ‘there is apparently a deplorable tendency among most of our members already made their names. We have lost most of the stalwarts who founded our society and made it such a success and we lose more in next few years. Unless other of younger generation steps forward to take their place I fear that society may become more and more moribund as the years progress.

In 1930, the society was registered under Act XXI of 1960 of the U.P. Government and suitable changes were made in the rules.

In 1913, Rai Balandur K.N. Dikshit became the president of the society. He was the second Indian after Hodivala to occupy the chair, but after him, with only two exceptions, we have had always Indian presidents and the numbers and the interest of non-Indian members started gradually decreasing which was quite natural. Diskhit was also the first Indian director General of Archaeology and with his association with the Numismatic society of Indian we turned a new page in our history. Mr Dikshit noted in his presidential address that although the passing year would long be remembered as an exceptionally bad year in which financial stringency was a dominant factor and all cultural and scientific activity that depend for their existence upon the active and liberal support of the Government were completely at a standstill and at best in a state of suspended animation, our society has happily not been seriously aff3ected by the general depression. While realizing the significance of the association of the officers of the Archaeological department and curators of the museums with the Numimatics society of Indian, he also felt that with the steady diminution in the number of active workers, it is apparent that the future of research in this, as in other fields of activity lies in its attracting the suitable type of steady and energetic University students and it is to the task of training the new generation that the older professors and museum curators must apply themselves. The stimulus offered by the society in the shape of medals and prizes for different subjects has proved to be of little avail in the absence of any regular attempts to train students on proper lines at different centres. What is wanting is proper co-ordination between the authorities of the various Universities that provide numismatics as one of their subjects for post-graduate work and the custodians of our public cabinets. If our society can act as a liaison body between these institutions, it will not only be furthering research but ensuring the foundations of the cause it represents. In the natural course of things, fresh numismatic discoveries of outstanding merits, both among the officially reported ‘treasure trove’ finds and in the shroff bazar, tend to diminish and all the material for first hand study concentrates itself in the provincial and state cabinet beyond the reach of the individual student and it is up to the persons in charge of these cabinets to stimulate the intensive study of Numismatics by private researches in all possible ways.

In 1932, A Master became president of the Society. The general economic depression which hit every individual and institutions was recorded even by the Numismatics society of India. But even in the midst of depression, master struck a bold note by reflecting why it is that interest of the public is so keenly aroused and maintained in the currency problems, while the science of numismatics leaves it except for a few enthusiasts such as those presents here today absolutely cold” and suggesting that it is essential for the progress of any science that its result shall at some time or other win general interest.’

It was not before 1934 that the presidential addresses of the society became partly academic dissertations and partly survey of discoveries and new contributions. Dr. Pannalal remarked, ‘I do not believe there are many persons now who think, as some used to do a few years ago, that coins-collecting is a mere hobby on the level say of collecting stamps, or cigarette tabs. As is well known we are very much handicapped in our studies of our ancient history by the poverty of contemporary historical documents….’, and he noted rightly that the solid contribution made by the study of coins to the causes of ancient history is sufficient justification to invite the general public to come in increasing numbers to share the labour of love. He particularly drew the attention of the University students to join the society.

K.P. Jayaswal was the president of the society for 1935. He was the first president of the society who devoted his entire address to a specific academic problems. He discussed the evidence on the antiquity of the signed coinage in India and the royal coinage of the Mauryan dynasty. Whether one agree with him or not, Jayaswal, bold and vigorous as he was always in his hypotheses, provoked new attraction in the subject. Jayaswal repeated his performance in 1936again in as the president of the society as Udaipr. He devoted his address to the problems to the Yaudheya coinage and discussed numismatic discoveries in the U.P. and Bihar.In 1937, Dr. Hiranand Sastri, at the Trivandrum session, noted. “The science of Numismatics, I am glad to see, is becoming more popular than it was before.;… We have now some 159 members on our list. Out of these the majority are Indians and men of eminence. I remember the days when I was in Lucknow and Mr. Burn was practically the soul of the society and the conference was held in his office! It is expanding and we now also meet under royal patronages”. Sastri’s address was also an academic treat in line with the practice stated by Pannalal and Jayaswal. Apart from reporting on new discoveries of coins, Sastri was first to draw the attention of the members to the study of seala and sealing. He discussed some significant seals of considerable importance. He also raised the question of the advisability of holding the meeting of the society along with the All Indian oriental Conference or independently as done before.

K.N. Diskhit in 1938 presidential address suggested that the society should create and recognised regular local centres in such places as Calcutta, Bombay, Madras, Lucknow and Lahore. And it was in 1938 annual meeting that it was resolved that henceforth the Journal of the society be published independently as the Journal of the Numismatic Society of India.

Dikshit was elected president for the third time in 1939 and the society met under the shadow of a work war. But the society weathered the Second World War even better than the First World War because by now membership of the society had crossed the narrow boundary of government officers and army people who could not naturally give precedence of academic pursuits and even their personal hobby over their responsibilities and duties.

Rai Bahadur Prayag Dayal presided over the Lucknow session of the Society in 1941. Prayad Dayal continued to be the president of the society for three more consecutive years. He noted with great satisfaction the steady progress of the society and that younger people were coming in larger number to the society. He rightly noted in his presidential address of 1943 that “The Numismatic Society, as I look back on its steady progress and achievements during the last one-third of a century since its foundation in 1910, has now established its reputation and secured an honorable place for itself among the learned societies of the country striving to promote research in the different branches of human knowledge. Its record of service as embodies in the learned contributions of such distinguished scholars as nelson Wright, Whitehead, Vinvent Smith, Jayaswal, Durga Pradesh, Bhandarkar and Hodiwala is most creditable of which any Society can feel proud…” In 1945, K.N Diskhit was elected again after4 a lapse of five years for the fourth time as president of the Society, when V.V. Mirashi, who was elected as the president for the year 1945 resigned due to his other preoccupations in the mid-session. But unfortunately he died on 12^th August 1946 and Dr. A.S. Altekar was elected in his place. Noting the progress of the Society, he said in his address that “our membership is gradually on the increase… It is in fact much larger than the membership of the History Congress”.

It was Dr. Altekar who drew the attention of the various State governments and the Central Government of India for grants-in-aid to the society in order that the society could contribute to science more usefully and undertake publications of greater value. He said the Government of India do not seem to have yet realised that Numismatics is a part of Archaeology. They are rightly taking all proper steps to publish old and historical inscriptions through two official journals of their own, Epigraphia India and Epigraphia Indo-Moslimica .For this purpose they have maintained an efficient epigraphical department costing them about Rs. 36,000 in the salaries of editors and assistant editors and about an equal sum for the printing of the two Journals. While the Government of India thus spends more than Rs. 70,000 for publishing new epigraphic material, it is strange, may almost unbelievable, that it should not have organised a similar journal for publishing new numismatic material so valuable for the recovery and reconstruction of history.” Br. Altekar presided again in 1947. Ways and means to improve the finances of the Society and plans for major publications were discussed and the discovery of the famous Bayana Hoard was announced. He also drew the attention if on the eve of freedom the Government would bestow thought on coin device and types suitable to the Indian heritage and tradition.

It 1948, Dr. J.M. Unwala became the president of the Society. His association with the Society was a link with the parsi community and a source of financial help to the society on occasions. He dealt with the problems of monograms on the Indo-Greek coins and the problems of Indian seals. The Constitution of the Society was revised. The Government was urged to appoint properly trained numismatists in the Archaeological department. It was also urged that the Government should take early steps to make the counterfeiting of old coins an offence punishable by law courts.

In 1949, Dr. J.N. Banerjee suggested the desirability of undertaking a comprehensive work on the South Indian Coins. In 1950 Dr. V.S. Agrawala presided. His address was remarkable inasmuch as this was the first address in Hindi and though not followed since then, it has no doubt opened the way for others. Dr. Agrawala emphasised the value of literary source for numismatic studies. Professor Mirashi was elected again president for the year 1951. He devoted his address to discussing the problems of Satavahana coinage. Besides he drew attention to the oft-repeated imperative need of cataloguing the large coin-collection of the various State museums and private cabinets and he also mentioned “another field of research which may yield fruitful results in the reexamination of old coins from the facsimiles published by earlier workers like Prinsep, Cunningham, Rapson, Hoernle and Vincent Smith.”

In 1952, Shri R.G. Gyani, who had served as the secretary of the Society for some time was elected president. He drew attention to the work of Thankkura Pheru and to the manuscript of U.Sukuk at the Kala Bhawan and he also described the3 importance and significance of the medieval currency known popularly as Lari, Specially designed for and circulated mostly in the coastal areas of Asiatic counties.

In 1953, Dr. Motichandra presided and he emphasised the literary data on coins, the importance of coins as source of religious history, the metallurgy of coins and the symbolism of punch-marked cons etc. In 1954, Dr. P.M. Joshi delivered his presidential address on some lesser known facts of Indian Numismatic history. He gave useful information from the Maratha records. Persian literature, contemporary reports of the English Factories and European travelers and thus threw, open new avenues for Numismatic studies. In 1955 and 1956, Dr. D.C. Sircar presided. He indulged in some self-criticism of the work of the Society which was necessary and which was necessary and which was definitely in the interest of the Society and quality production of numismatic studies. He also announced a new decision that the Epigraphy branch of the Department of Archaeology had seriously undertaken the studies of coins and, arrangements and had been made for the inclusion of coins examined by the Branch in the Annual reports on Indian Epigraphy. He noted numismatic studies and research should be more popular and special posts of teachers of Numismatics should be created in the Universities. He also noted, “as yet coins do not play any part in the teachings of history and geography in the schools and colleges of India.” He emphasised the need of studying the coinage of other countries too.

In 1957, Shri C.R. Singhal presided at Delhi and gave some useful suggestions for the improvement of the Journal . In 1958, Dr. H.V. Trivedi drew the attention of the society to implement its earlier resolution in regard to the treasure trove, requested the governments for nationalising the law in the interest of academic pursuits and to stop the distribution of coin hoards without prior study and cataloguing. He also emphasised the need of having a museum of the Numismatic Society of India. In 1959, Dr. P.L. Gupta mentioned in his address among other things the necessity of cooperation between the mints and the Society, proper examination of coin-hoards and even coins found in excavations by trained numismatists. He also draw the attention of the government to some aspects of the Export of Antiquities Act so far as the coins are concerned. In 1960, Shri S.V. Sohoni emphasised the methodical collection of maximum coin-data, correct sorting out and description of old coins within prescribe time and publication of analysis.

Nature and scope of Society’s Activities

The nature and scope of the activities of the society have been in keeping with its aims and objects and through the last fifty years they have gradually taken new dimensions. Originally one of the primary aims in founding the society was to co-ordinate the labour of coins-collectors and results of their studies, thereby promoting the knowledge and regulating the study of Indian Numismatics. It was thought that the objects of the society would be attained if members would do what they could to promote and spread a lively interest in the old coins of India. It was noted that they would themselves become regular collectors and Indian. Coins-collectors were invite to join the society. It is thus clear that the society was started first as providing a forum for the coins collectors and in fact all the founder members and the majority of members of the Society in the first few years were coin-collectors. The members of the society were invited to meet once a year, generally towards the end of December, when the Committee of management and the office bearers for the ensuing year were elected and the numismatic discoveries during the year were review and remembers had the opportunity of discussing problems of common interest and help one another in the examination and assignment of difficult or unidentified coins. Here they also had an opportunity of seeing and exhibiting unique and rare coins and listening to the illuminating presidential addresses. All these transactions as well as other useful information including the names of the members with the subjects in which they had specialised were published in the annual proceedings to facilitate mutual correspondence by members regarding the examination, assignment, purchase and sale of coins.

After few years, in view of the large number of members residing in the Bombay presidency, it was though desirable that they should have special facilities for meeting to discuss numismatic matters. A special sub-committee consisting of a president and 3 members residing in the Bombay Presidency was formed with power to hold meeting for the discussion of subjects of general interest to the Society and for the Purpose of making recommendations to the central committee. The president of the sub-committee was to be remembers of the Central Committee. Mr. Khareghat was nominated president of this Bombay sub-committee for the year 1920. The sub-committee thereafter called meeting at its discretion and proceedings were recorded in the usual way and forwarded to the secretary. But this practice of having a regional centre could not continue for long. We hope now, after a better awareness of the importance of numismatic studies, it will be possible before long to have at least one centre in each province affiliated to the central body.

It is clear from the proceedings and presidential speeches of the first years that the problems which concerned the coin collectors weighted more than the problems of research as such although indirectly by looking to the interest of the coin-collectors the purpose of research also were served.

Members of the Society who were mostly coin-collectors themselves used to be very much concerned if their sources of supply of coin became unresponsive for one reason or another. During the years of the first world was, this was noted in all the presidential speeches. It is interesting to find Dr. Taylor drawing the attention of the meeting to the continued paucity of coins finds as in the preceding two years. He noted, “On this absence of new coins material it becomes desirable to reiterate the recommendations made last years that special attention be now given to a systematic collection and collection of the coins reference contained in original authorities.” Mr. Campbell remarked in his presidential address of 1918, “The past year has been even more barren in coind-finds than its immediate predecessors. Even the most ardent collector can have added very little to his cabinet and now that the war is so happily ending we may look forward to renewed activity in all fields of Indian numismatics.”

But what was a hobby soon turned to be an academic interest and responsibility for some and it would not be an exaggeration to say that for this transformation the Numismatic Society of India was largely responsible. The Society has indeed enabled many coin-collectors to turn into scholars of numismatics and this process continues even to this day. If not for anything else, this alone justifies the existences of this Society on the one hand and, on the other, musters new workers to the wider field of Indology.

In 1945, suggestions were made for constructive work by the Society and a number of topics were singles out for research. It is interesting to note the following from Richard Burn’s presidential address in 1916. “I think, perhaps, that work will be facilitated if they society were to recognise correspondents ore experts in various definite fields of Indian Numismatics. The experts could be chosen in the first place at a General meeting (subject to their assent), and vacancies filled later by the council, subject to confirmation at the succeeding General meeting. The appointment would encourage specialized working and would be of great assistance to members of the Society. One often feels at a loss to track down the place of publications of coins, or to know whether a rare type has been published before or not. In India especially where many of us have to work far from half a dozen serial journals, the need for a reference is especially great. At present something of the sort is already done. We turn to Mr.Thanawala or Mr. Paruck for Sassanian coins, to Dr. Taylor for information about Ahmadabad and Gujarat, to Mr. Whitehead for Greek coins or the Mughal mints and to Mr. Botham for Assam. Such experts should prepare bibliographies, indexed and the rest of the apparatus criticus of the numismatist. In time some of these collections will be worth printing for reference. Others can remain in manuscript and be handed over to the secretary, when an expert is no longer able to undertake the work, till another is found. The expert would also keep the work, till another is found. The expert would also keep in touch with European students and the keepers of Cabinets in Europe. Their names and address would appear in the annual report for easy reference by members.” A tentative list of subjects with experts’ names against them was published in the Society’s proceedings for 1916. The entire field was divided into twenty-five subjects. The Society also started the practice of appointing honorary numismatists to the various State governments, museums and learned societies like Asiatic Society of Bengal to help them.

In 1930, the Society resolved to issue a list of members who were keep students of the periods shown against their names and who requested correspondence with other members on their subject. The list was regularly issued from 1930 for about a decade. When the new prospectus was issued in 1959, again a list of members with their specific interest was published. We hope to make this a regular feature. We still need to follow up the suggestions made by Sir Richard Burn. With the introduction of members from among the officers of the Department of Archaeology, curators of the museums and University teachers and students, the scope of the activities of the Society naturally widened and the responsibility increased. The Society took upon itself the task of promoting the cause of numismatic studies and was not merely content to be a forum of government officers, military personnel and men of money who could afford the costly hobby of coin-collecting. The Society found its responsibility increased by urging the Universities to organise the teaching of numismatics, by asking the museum and archaeological departments not only to have trained numismatists but also to organise their con-collection and publish catalogues or lists of their acquisitions. In fact the Society offered the services of its members for such works. In 1918, already, Mr. Whitehead had made brief suggestions on the following line to the Archaeological Survey of India in a letter addressed to the Director General of Archaeology :

Catalogues on an abbreviated model are required for the collections in the less important museums;

All catalogues should be kept up to date by the issue of periodical supplements;
Collections should be freely shown under adequate supervisions to visitors who wish to see them;
The minor series of Indian coins call for proper publication;
It is essential that important museum should be able to supply good casts of coins and gems.
A combined electrotype exhibit of the best coins in all the Indian museums would be much appreciated by the visiting public.

And in 1919, the society resolved to urge upon the Director General of Archaeology the pressing necessity of the appointment of a numismatist on his staff and asked him to convene at an early date meeting of numismatic experts including provincial curators to discuss the various pending questions and to frame the principles which should guide numismatic procedure of research in India.

From the time of K.N. Dikshit, the cooperation with the Archaeological Department has been gradually and appreciably increasing. Most of the senior officers of the Archaeological Department and almost all the curators of the Museums in India are now members of the Society and they are doing their best to help the cause of the Society and numismatic studies. The present Director General of Archaeology, Shri A. Ghosh, has been actively helping the Society and I am sure his example will be followed by others. So also some of the State government like Bombay and U.P. and museums like the Prince of Wales Museum have been of help to the Society.

As the guardian of the numismatic studies and the only institution to serve the cause of this science, the Society felt obliged to draw the attention of the Government also to the drawbacks in the laws concerning treasure trove and export of antiquities etc. and their application. In 1932, it was resolved that the local governments be requested the furnish copies of the reports of their treasure trove examiners as received from time to time to the Secretary of the Society for information. In this connection a treasure trove committee of the Society was formed in 1958 to take up the question with the Government of India and it is expected that steps will be taken in this direction soon in consultation with the Department of Archaeology.

In order to promote numismatic studies, medals and prizes were awarded. In 1914, the Society accepted Nelson Wright’s offers of the dies for a medal to be awarded annually for the best contribution by a members of the Society towards the study of Indian numismatics. From 1916, this Medal has been awarded annually with odd intervals when no award was made. Normally it was of bronze but sometimes for major contributions this was awarded in silver and gold. In 1926, the Society also resolved that an Annual Prize Essay on subjects connected with numismatics be instituted and a silver medal was to be offered to the prize winner. But this could be awarded only for four years between 1927 and 1935. In 1950, the discovery of Bayana Hoard led to the introduction of the Chakravikrama Gold Medal which was awarded to Maharaja of Bharatpur and Chakracikrama Silver Medal awarded to Prof. K.C. Sharma for their respectivge role in the discovery of the largest ever hoard of gold coins in the country. In 1956 the Chakravikrama Gold Medal was awarded to Prof. A.S. Altekar. In 1950 the medals were re-classified with a view to making their award regular and on rationalized basis: the Chakravikrama gold Medal to be awarded every seven years for a major work of importance, Akbar Silver Medal every five years, Nelson Wright Bronze Medal every three year4s and an Essay Prize every year for contributions of relative merit.

Contribution by the members of the Society and the Publications of the Society

In the earlier years, the Society seems to have taken a very keen interest in the preparation of the lists or catalogues of collections lying in various museums and with the private collectors. The original members took upon themselves to prepare the catalogues in their own province and constantly pressed on the Provincial governments in other parts of India to have this work done at an early date. They even undertook to train candidates for the purpose. With their influence and competence they succeeded in obtaining a good response and encouragement in this direction. In 1912 for instance, Whitehead was relieved of some of his official duties by the Punjab Government with a view to allow him leisure enough for the preparation of the catalogue of coins in the Central Museum, Lahore, and was further permitted to proceed on furlough to England to see the catalogue through the press. This resulted in the publication of two valuable volumes of the Catalogue of Coins in the Lahore Museum in 1914 which remain the standard publication in branches of Indian numismatics to which they relate. In the same year the Catalogue of Gupta Coins in the British Museum was published by one of our members, J. Allan, whereby our knowledge of these coins was materially advanced, particularly regarding the metrical character of the legend. H.E. Stapleton’s Catalogue of the Provincial Cabinet of Eastern Bengal & Assam Coins was published in 1911. I.J. Michael Published his List of Coins in the Mac Mohan Museum, Quetta in 1912.

Then the issue of the catalogue of Mughal coins in the Lucknow Museum by C.J. Brown and that of the Sultans of Delhi by Prayag Dayal in the year 1920 and 1925 respectively brought many new coins to light. Bleazby like his earlier lists of coins in the museums at Srinagar and Rangoon, Undertook to prepare a catalogue of the coins in the Nagpur Museum and issued it in the year 1922. A Catalogue of coins of Indian States compiled by Henderson, C.J. Brown and Valentine was edited by J.Allan and issued in 1928. Catalogue of the Provincial Coin Cabinet in Assam was published by A.W. Botham in 1930. The Catalogue of Durrani Coins in the Lahore Museum by Whitehead issued in 1933 proved the necessity and advantage of dynastic catalogues of coins in a comprehensive style. The authorities of the Prince of Wales Museum, Bombay, also followed suit and the Catalogue of Coins of the Gujarat Sultans compiled by C.R. Singhal and edited by G.V. Acharya was brought out. This and the Catalogue of the Coins and Metrology of the Sultans of Delhi in the Museum of Archaeology at Delhi by H.N. Wright include even the coins that are in other cabinets and as such can be termed as a corpii on the respective subjects. This welcome phase of cataloguing facilitated study to a very great extent and the students were spared the trouble of turning over the pages of various publications for a single subjects. Thus almost all the important museums in India through their various experts contributed their own quota by issuing the catalogue of their treasures for the use and reference of scholars working in different branches of Numismatics. G.H. Khare prepared a Catalogue of Coins in the Bharat Itihasa samsodhaka Mandal, Poona in 1933. In 1936, Allan published another important volume of the Catalogue of Indian Coins in the British Museum, London, dealingwith ancient Indian punch-marked conis and local and tribal series. N.K. Bhattashali’s Catalogue of Coins of the Dacca Museum was published in the 1936 and Samsuddin Ahmad’s Supplement to Vol.II of Catalogue of coins in the India Museum, Calcutta was out in 1939.

Apart from the catalogues and lists, the members have also published from time to time useful monograph and books dealing with the general aspects of coinage in India as well as on specified coins series of an area or of a period W.H. Valentine’s Modern Copper Coins of the Mohammadan States was published in 1911 and the Copper coins of India (Bengal and United Provinces) Pt. I and Pt. II (Royal and contiguous Native States) in 1914. R.P. Jackson published his Coin-collecting in Mysore in 1909 and the Dominion, Emblems and Coins of the South Indian Dynastics in 1913. Henderson’s work The Coins of Haider Ali and Tipu Sultan of Mysore was published in 1921. In the same year Bhandarkar published his Lectures on Ancient Indian Numismatics. In 1922, Whitehead’s The Pre-Muhammadan Coinage of North-Western India was published, and his The Coins of the Dutch East India in 1931. In 1931, S.K. Chakraborty’s work A Study of Ancient Indian Numismatics was published and in 1938 his monograph Currency Problems of Ancient India. T. Desikachari published his South Indian Coins in 1933 and along with T.Rangachariar he published later in 1946 Dravidian Coins-the Pandyas and Cholas and Their Coinage.

The Society also published on its own some valuable monograph inspite of the very limited resources at its disposal. The work entitled The Coins of Tipu Sultan by G. P. Taylor was published in 1914 as the Occasional Memoirs of the Numismatic Society of India, No 1 and A Study of Mughal Numismatics by S.H. Hodiwala was published as No. 2 in 1923. These scholarly treatises gave good deal of ready-made material and a great impetus to the study of the coinage of the Sultan of Mysore and the Mughal Emperors of Delhi respectiverly.

The Society published Birbal Sahni’s Teshniques of Casting coins in Ancient India in 1945 and F.D.J. Paruck’s Mint Marks on Sassanian and Arab Sassanian Coins. Right from the first years of the existence of the Society, the imperative need of compiling an exhaustive list of Mughal Mind Towns was felt and R.B. Whitehead was entrusted with this work. He published his valuable list in the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal (New Series)Vol. II, III, 1912, but finally the Society published in 1953 its Memoir No. 4 entitle Mini Towns of the Mughal Emperors of India by C.R. Singhal.

An important milestone was reaches when C.R. Singhal’s two volumes of Bibliography of Indian Coins were published in 1950 and 1952 respectively. In 1954 came out a major publication on the famous Bayana Hoard entitled Catalogue of the Gupta Gold Coins in the Bayana Hoard by A.S. Altekar. This bookk has verily become an indispensable book of reference for students of Gupta coins.

In view of the long felt need of having a corpii of Indian coins, the Society under the table initiative of the late Professor A.S. Altekar took steps to obtain the cooperation of the government of India for the publication of the ten volumes of the corpii, vol. IV of which, The Coinage of Gupta Empire by A.s. Altekar came out in 1957. Vol.II Dealing with the coinage of the Indo-Greeks by A.K. Narain is ready for the press. A part of Vol. I. dealing with the punch- marked coins by P.L.Gupta is also ready for the press.

In the beginning, as has been noted above, it was neither the aim of the society nor could it affort to have tis own Journal and the contributions of the numismatists were published in the Numismatic Supplement of the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal or in the pages of the Numismatic Chronicle of London. The Numismatic Supplement of The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal in fact stared so appear from 1904-even earlier that the foundation of the Numismatic Society of India. To quote from the Supplement No. 1:

“This supplement has been started primarily in the hope that coin-collectors in India may find it convenient to chronicle in its pages notices of unpublished or rare coins which they may obtain from time to time.

“It is also meant to include notes on other subjects of antiquarian and philological interest which by themselves might not affort sufficient material for a paper in the main body of the Journal. It a matter of common experience that casual finds by private persons of highly interesting coins are not made public with the freedom that is desirable. Almost all private cabinets contain specimens which their owners have not had any inclination or inducement to publish in any recognised Journal.”

When the Society was founded in 1910, members were asked to contribute their papers to the Numismatic Supplement and the papers were edited by a member of the Society. Thus in effect the appearance of Numismatic Supplement in 1904 may be noted as the beginning of the Numismatic Society of India.

At the annual meeting of the Numismatic Society of India held at Calcutta on 26^th December, 1938 the following resolutions was moved from the Chair and passed unanimously :

“Resolved that henceforth the Journal of the Numismatic Society of India be published independently as the Journal of the Numismatic Society of India.”

The resolution gave expression to a long felt desire of the members of the Society to have their own Journal and marked the termination of the arrangement under which papers contributed to the Numismatic Society of India had been published as the Numismatic Supplement to the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal.

We have now issued twenty –two volumes of the Journal and we are up-to-date. It may not be out of place here to not that the Journal of Numismatic Society of India is one of the most regular learned journal of India. We exchange this journal with about thirty Journals of India and abroad; our contributors include authors from U.K., U.S.A., Germany, Russia, Austria, Italy and so on. If more funds are available, we can issue 3 numbers a year and improve the quality of plates and printing.

In 1954, the Society decided to publish a Numismatic Notes and Monograph series devoted to bibliographies, coin lists, inventories, indices and specialised essays and other useful handy material relating to Indian coins, medals, seals and allied subjects. Already nine monographs have been published up-to-date under the general editorship of A.K. Narain. They are The Coin Types of Indo-Greek Kings by A.K. Narain, A Bibliography of the Hoards of Punch-marked Coins of Ancient India by P.L. Gupta, the Bactrian Tresusre of Qundus by A.D.H. Bivar, The coins Types of the Saka-Pahlava Kings of India by G.K. Jenkins and A.K. Narain, The inventory of the Hoards and Finds of Coins and Seals from Madhya Pradesh by B.C. Jain , The list of Published Satavahana Coins by M.Rao, The Coin Types of Kings with Mitra ending Names by Mrs. Bela Lahiri, The Stratigraphic evidence of Coins in Indian Excavations and Some Allied Issues by S.C.Ray and The Gold Coin-types of the Great Kushnas by A.H. Wood III.

Building and Funds

In the absence of any permanent building, the headquarters of the Society has been shifting from place to place-Finally in 1957, the Banaras Hindu University offered free land for the construction of our building. Funds were raised from the Government, Charitable Trusts and members of the Society and a sum of about Rs. 35,000/- has been collected up-to-date. The Vice-President, Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, will kindly lay the foundation stone of the building on the occasion of the Golden Jubilee celebration of the Society on the 25^th December, 1961. As resolved at the Gauhati Session of the Society, the building of the society will be known as Altekar Smarak Bhawan. At present we are in a position to construct only the ground floor but we hope to raise the funds in due course to enable us to construct the first floor as well as to expand the building, naturally our activities and responsibilities will also increase. The society has its own Library, the nucleus of which it the Taylor Library. It is at present small and it has not been possible to increase the number by purchase. It consists mainly of books and monographs received either as presents or in exchange. The library is now being reorganised and a catalogue will soon be prepared. Attempts are being made to get grants from the Government and Public Trusts to augment the library.

The financial resources of the society of recurring expenses consists of the membership subscriptions and small grants received from the majority of States in India and from the Union Government our membership now totals 411 which include 40 institutional members. Naturally we cannot expect much from the membership subscription to meet the cost of our new activities. The States and the union Government have to come to the rescue of the Society. It is a pity that even now some of the State governments are giving only Rs. 300/- per annum and expect us to give them ten free copies of our journal, that is to say, expect a return of Rs. 250/- from us, with the result that we receive only Rs. 50/- in the year from most of State governments. The Bombay Government is the only exception. The Union government also for the last few years is giving only Rs. 3,000/- per annum, which though of great help it will be admitted, is a meager sum and does not meet even the cost of the publication of our Journal. Students of Numismatics feel this very much specially in view of the fact, as rightly pointed out by the late Prof. A.S. Altekar few years ago, that the Union Government spends a big amount to maintain a fully equipped department of epigraphy under the Archaeological Survey of India. No student of India history and culture can deny that numismatics is equally important as a primary source material for the reconstruction of our history and culture. We therefore propose to prepare a master plan soon for the consideration of the Government of India. I hope this will have the support of all concerned.