COINOLOGY

Anandabazar Patrika 29th March 2016:

In a general discussion on the history and culture of eastern India and Bangladesh, organised by the Tarapada Santra Smarak Nidhi, Durgapur, S. K. Bose spoke on the use of cowrie as well as metallic tokens in early Bengal. He highlighted, state by stage, how both cowries and coins (both silver and gold) played important roles as mediums of exchange, especially in South East Bengal. His deliberation was supported by visual aids, which helped the audience to understand the stages of use of coins. He also dispelled the myth of billon coins which were found at Chandraketugarh in West Bengal. With support from the Bhaba Atomic Research Centre, he explained that on sophisticated examination, silver was not found at all in the so called billon coins whose major components were tin and terbium.