During the reign of Skanda Gupta the economic condition of the Gupta Empire had deteriorated on account of the invasions of the Hunas and Pushyamitras. Due to the worsening of the economic condition the golden coins of Skanda Gupta have been found to be of alloyed metal. Two types of his golden coins are prominent which can be mentioned as archer type, and king-Lakshmi type.
• Archer type: In this type of coin the king is depicted standing with a bow and arrow and on his left side there is the figure of Garuda dhvaja. Under the left hand of the king `skanda jayati mahitalam sudhanavi` is written. Some of the coins bear the words. `jayati divam sri Vikramaditya.` On the reverse side of the coin the figure of Lakshmi seated on the lotus can be found. "Sri Skanda Gupta" or "Vikramaditya" is also written on the reverse side.
• King-lakshmi type: In this type the king is represented with bow and on right side there is the figure of Lakshmi. Between the king, and Lakshmi, the figure of garudadhvaja in installed. On the reverse side there the figure of Lakshmi having a flower of lotus in her left hand. "Sri Skanda Gupta" is also written over it.
Silver coins: Half body of the king has been represented on the obverse of the silver coins. Some of the coins contain the Greek letters whereas other coins do not have the Greek letters. On the reverse side of the coin, the figure of garuda or nandi is there.
On this side of the coin, one of the following titles is written:
`Param bhagavata maharajadhiraj sri skanda gupta vikramaditya`.
`Param bhagvat sri vikramaditya Skanda Gupta`.
`Param bhagavat sri vikramadity Skanda Gupta`.
Because of the representation of garuda and nandi on the reverse side of the coin, scholars call these coins as garuda type and nandi type.
For Madhya Pradesh Skanda Gupta had issued peacock type of silver coins. The obverse of these coins shows the half body of the king and the date in Gupta era. The figure of peacock with stretched wings is all on this side of the coin and the words `Vijita vaniravanipati jayati divam skanda guptayam` or `Vijita niravanipati sri Skanda Gupta divam jayati` are written.
