Archaeologists uncover coin moulds in Gujarat linked to Indo-Greek dynasty that ruled parts of northwestern India over 2,000 years ago

A handful of old, clay moulds found by archaeologists during excavations at Amba Ghat in the historic town of Vadnagar in India’s Gujarat State have opened up an unlikely window into India’s ancient past.

- BY S VENKAT NARAYAN

Apparently, these moulds were used to make coins, possibly of silver, but not a single coin was found along with them. These moulds are connected to Apollodotus II, who belonged to the Indo-Greek dynasty which ruled parts of northwestern India more than 2,000 years ago between the 2nd and Ist centuries BCE.

Apollodotus II is known for issuing bilingual coins with Greek and Kharosthi (script) inscriptions called drachmas, which had high silver content and were used in ancient trade, especially along the western coast of India.

The research — carried out by archaeologists Abhijit Ambekar from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI); Abhijit Dandekar from the archaeology department of Deccan College Pune; and Disha Seth from 2016 to 2023 with the findings published in 2024-2025 —raises big questions like why were the coins issued by a long dead king being made centuries later, that too in Gujarat, far away from what was once his kingdom.

The clay moulds were discovered in layers of soil that date back to around the 5th century CE which is at least 500 years after Apollodotus II’s death. This has led the archaeologists to believe that the coins made using these clay moulds might have been fake coins made long after the originals were no longer available.