248,284 coins across 23 dynasties

A numismatic overview of the Deccan — Roman era to British period  ·  The Deccan Archive

Total coins
248,284
Dynasties
23
Largest hoard
Mughal silver
34,749 coins
Gold leaders
Vijayanagara
7,082 gold
Base metal king
Sātavāhana
49,668 Cu+Pb
Filter:
All eras
Ancient
Medieval
Sultanate & Mughal
Modern
Coin count by dynasty — stacked by metal
Gold Silver Copper Lead Potin
Dynasties ranked by total coin count, stacked by metal type.
Metal composition by dynasty — bubble chart (hover for details)
Ancient Medieval Sultanate & Mughal Modern · Bubble size = total coins
Each bubble is a dynasty. X = gold share, Y = silver share, size = total coins.
← low gold share Gold % of total → high gold share →
Gold leaders
Silver leaders
Punch-marked mystery
9,062
Silver only — no gold, no copper. The earliest coins in the collection, identified only by symbols, no dynasty name.
Roman coins in the Deccan
1,697
124 gold + 1,571 silver — proof of the vibrant Indo-Roman trade networks of two millennia ago.
Vijayanagara gold rush
7,082 gold
Second only to Mughals in gold — yet almost no silver. Hampi's economy ran on precious metal alone.
Unattributed silver
27,496
"Others" — a vast hoard of silver coins still awaiting identification. Larger than the entire Asafjahi silver collection.
Geographic Distribution of Coin Origins
0
coins on public display
These coins sit in storage — catalogued, counted, and invisible. The collection spans every major power that shaped the Deccan, from Roman traders to the last Nizams. None of it is in a gallery.
Coins in storage vs on display248,284 total
100% stored
Each dot = 100 coins  ·  gold = on display
2,482 dots representing 248,284 coins. Zero are lit.
0%
of coins accessible to researchers or public
23
dynasties represented — none with a dedicated display
1,700+
years of monetary history, undisplayed
A collection of this scale — spanning Roman trade coins, Sātavāhana lead currency, Qutb Shahi copper, and Mughal silver — would anchor a permanent numismatic gallery in any major museum. Instead it remains in boxes.