CONDITION USED GOOD, COINS IN INDIA , POWER AND COMMUNICATION, MARG HARDCOVER,2006

This volume focuses on the socio-cultural connotations of coinage in terms of power, authority, and rule legitimization. Coins function as money because the users share cultural parameters regarding their value and acceptability. Indian coinage design reflects the intricate interdependence of religious expression, personal aggrandizement, and rule legitimacy. Coins provide insights into political power and authority, while archaeological excavations, hoards, and stupa deposits place coin-finds within a larger cultural milieu. The contributors to this volume discuss this tradition from the perspectives of history, archaeology, economics, and numismatic studies.

Himanshu Prabha Ray, guest editor of this volume, has degrees in Archaeology, Sanskrit, and Ancient Indian History and teaches at the Centre for Historical Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. Her publications include The Winds of Change: Buddhism and the Maritime Links of Ancient South Asia, New Delhi, 2000; and The Archaeology of Seafaring in Ancient South Asia, Cambridge, 2003.