KANPUR: Five gold coins dating back to the period of Chandragupta-II of Gupta dynasty were unearthed during desilting of a canal in Kanpur Dehat district on Saturday evening.
Sources said that four labourers noticed a mud pot during the desilting of a canal in Atiya-Raipur area of Kanpur Dehat.
"Out of curiosity, one of the labourers, Munesh Singh, broke open the pot and saw five yellow metal coins," said police.
Munesh told fellow workers about the coins. "They decided to distribute the coins among themselves after checking with a local goldsmith if they were of gold or any other metal," said police.
The news, however, spread like wildfire when the local goldsmith claimed they were gold coins and even purchased one of them from Munesh for Rs 21,000.
"When the news reached other labourers working at the site, they quarrelled with Munesh and accused him of betraying them. They also informed the local police.
The police recovered the five coins from Munesh and a local goldsmith," said sub-divisional magistrate Pervez Ahmed. He said that officials of Archaeological Survey of India, Lucknow, have been informed about the gold coins dating back to the Chandragupta II period.
"They will assess the historical value of the coins. In the meantime, police have beefed up vigil at the site where the coins were found," he added. "I got to know about the antique gold coins from locals and mediapersons. We have conducted a preliminary inquiry and think they belong to the era of
Gupta empire
of Chandragupta II. Coins bears images of Goddess Lakshmi and Chandragupta II," said Circle Officer Baijnath.
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