monetary system – History and curiosities about coins

Coins of Independent India

Posted on June 27, 2016by admin

The year 1947 is considered as the most important year in the history of modern South Asia. This year witnessed the departure of the British from South Asia and the emergence of two nation states replacing the British Raj- India and Pakistan. Before independence, the Indian economy was completely dominated by the British. The coins and currency notes circulated in India also carried the image and the seal of the British monarch. However, with the coming of the independence the situation changed. The Indian economy came under the control of the Indian people. The Government of India replaced the authority of the British royalty and started circulating coins and currency notes bearing symbols reflecting indigenous tradition and culture.

India, though gained its independence in 1947, issued its first coins in the year of 1950. The first series of Indian coins were released on the occasion of the 3^rd anniversary of Indian independence on 15^th August, 1950. These coins replaced the image of the British monarch which was inscribed on the coins of the earlier regime. Instead, the image of the Sarnath capital of Mauryan emperor Asoka was inscribed on the obverse of the coins. The obverse also carried the inscription ‘the Government of India’. The reverse carried the image of a wheat plant. The denomination of the coin was also inscribed on the reverse. The Roman script was used for this purpose. These coins were made of an alloy of copper and nickel. Coins were issued in both Rupee and Pice denomination.

A major step was taken by the Indian government in 1957 in a view to reform the monetary system. The prevalent system of dividing a Rupee in 64 Pices was replaced by the decimal system. From 1957, the Rupee was to be divided into 100 Pices. 1 Pice became the smallest unit of Indian monetary system. The earlier denominations of .5 Pice or .25 Pice became obsolete. The new Pice came to be known as “naya Paise” or the new Pice. In these new Pices the ‘Government of India’ inscription was also shortened into simple ‘India’. It was a very important change. This change contributed in a large amount in modernizing the Indian monetary system, and in turn, the Indian economy. Only some beggars complained about this change as they had to meet only 64 people earlier to gather a Rupee. Now, they had to meet 100!

From 1964 onwards, coins of various denominations were being issued made of Aluminum-Magnesium alloy. The increasing cost of issuing Cupro-Nickel coins was the main reason behind this decision. This year also saw the issuing of the first series of memorial coins in India. The first memorial coins were dedicated to the first prime minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru. Till then, the government had issued coins in memory of several other leading public figures too. Most important among them is the father of the Indian nation, Mahatma Gandhi.

In 1968, a 10 Pice coin was issued by the Government of India made of an alloy of Aluminum-Bronze. These coins were of golden color. It led many illiterate and semi-literate people in India to believe that these coins were made of gold. They collected these coins in large numbers and melt them in search of gold. The government stopped the issuing of these coins to control the mass hysteria; and started issuing another series of coins in October, 1971 made of Aluminum-Magnesium alloy.

In 2010, the Government of India selected a design by D. Udaya Kumar as the official sign of the Indian currency. This sign is now used by all the government organizations, financial institutions, etc. to denote Rupee.

History

The Coins of Akbar, the Great Mogul

Posted on June 25, 2016by admin

The Moguls started their reign in India in the year 1526 CE. Babur, the founder of the Mogul rule defeated the reigning Sultan of Delhi and established his rule. From 1526 to 1857, the Mogul emperor was the sole source of legitimate rule in the whole of South Asia. However, after Babur’s death his son Humayun faced crushing defeat at the hands of a Pathan lord, Sher Shah Suri in 1540. Humayun left India and took refuge in Persia. But his son Jalal ud-din Akbar was of extraordinary talent. After the death of Sher Shah Suri in 1545, the Pathans were in a weak position. Humayun took the advantage and returned to India. His son Akbar finally crushed the power of the Pathans and established the Mogul rule on a strong footing.

Akbar’s reign saw the all round development of India. The people of India prospered in every sphere of life. Trade and commerce flourished, arts and aesthetics attained new heights, and religious syncretism of the Moguls became the example of the day. The all round development can also be traced in the coins issued during the rule of Akbar Shah.

The monetary system of Akbar was inspired largely by the innovations of Sher Shah Suri. Sher Shah Suri was an able administrator. Akbar, though from a rival house, adopted several of the administrative measures innovated by Sher Shah Suri. Sher Shah first introduced Rupya. It was a silver currency weighed 178 grains. Akbar continued to issue the Rupya with his own name inscribed. Interestingly, the money is still known by the name of Rupya in India.

Akbar not only copied the measures introduced by Sher Shah, he also reflected innovation and originality. He issued coins in all the three principal metals used for coinage worldwide. The gold coin was known as Mohur. Mohurs weighed about 170 grains. It was mainly used by the traders for large business deals. It was also used by the princes of royal blood, the landlords and the regional governors for large amount of payment. Apart from the continuing usage of Rupya, Akbar also issued a different variety of silver coin known as Shahrukhi. It was of much lighter weight than the Rupya. A typical Shahrukhi weighed about 72 grains. The copper coins of Akbar Padshah were known as Dam. Dam weighed about 330 grains. The Shahrukhi and Dam were circulated in large numbers and used extensively by the common folks. The exchange rate of converting a particular variety of coin into another variety was also clearly defined.

The Akbari system of coinage is significant because of their minute details. A detailed description of the issuing year and the location of the mint were inscribed on the coins. The coins also carried the full title of the emperor. This practice was followed by all the subsequent Mogul emperors. Even the English East India Company who started their career in India as a subordinate power to the Moguls struck the coins in the name of the reigning Mogul emperor. This practice was discontinued by the English only in the year 1837 when the Moguls were in a politically debilitating state.

However, you won’t find a single coin carrying the image of any of the Mogul emperor. Moguls were known for their religious syncretism but they remained Muslim throughout the period. As is well known, idolatry is prohibited in Islam. Thus, the Moguls refrained from inscribing their image on their coins. But they compensated this with beautiful calligraphy. The Mogul coins remained as some of the most excellent examples of aesthetics and artistic excellence in Indian coinage.

History

A Short History of Indian Coins

Posted on June 9, 2016by admin

The earliest references to coins in the Indian context have been found in the Vedas. Though Vedas are primarily religious texts, they are not solely concerned about Yoga, spirituality or after-life. Rather there are numerous references to ‘nishka’ and ‘nishka-griva’ which are believed to be earliest specimens of Indian coinage.

Another breakthrough in the Indian coinage can be traced back to 6^th century BCE. Several small states emerged in the northern India during this period. The trading activities grew rapidly. We came across several terms such as the nishka, karshapana, shatamana, vimshatika which were coins of different weight and value. Interestingly, the weight-system of the coins was based on the red and black seeds of a particular variety of tree called Abrus precatorius. The coins of this age were mainly made of silver and copper. They are known among the numismatists as punch-marked coins. Punch-marked coins did not show any great instance of artistic expertise.

But the coins of the next age which was circulated in India were destined to be the best examples of artistic expertise. They were issued by the Indo-Greek kings of north western India. These coins were found in large numbers in various places of modern Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India. These coins are significant because they carry detail information about the issuing monarch, the year of issue and sometimes even an image of the reigning king. Coins were mainly made of silver, copper, nickel and lead.

The reign of the Gupta dynasty is described by some historians and scholars as the ‘Golden age’ age. And this is quite evident from their coins. Numismatists have found number of gold coins of this dynasty. These coins are also rich in details of their issuing authority. The gold coins of the Guptas were known as dinaras. The writings on these coins were in Sanskrit. These coins depicted the reigning monarch in different poses.

Apart from the coins another major medium of exchange xxx in the early Indian market was the cowrie shell. Cowrie shells were used in large numbers by the ordinary masses for small scale economic transactions. It is said that the cowrie shells carried definite value in the market just as the coins.

With the fall of the Gupta dynasty in mid-6^th century CE there was a marked decline in commercial activities in Northern India. This period is also significant in the history of Indian coinage because the decline of monetary system. The decline of coinage can be noted in their number, their appearance, and value.

However, the situation changed with the invasion of the Turks in 11^th and 12^th century CE. Vast areas of northern India came under the rule of the Sultans. Trade and commerce with West Asia was again flourishing. The various dynasties of the Delhi sultans issued silver and copper coins. The inscriptions on the coins were mainly in Perso-Arabic script. Interestingly the coins did not bear any image of the issuing monarch. The reason was the prohibition of idolatry in Islam.

Muhammad binTughlaq, one of the sultans of 14^th century was famous for his monetary reforms. He circulated bronze and copper coins and token paper currency. However, his measures failed miserably as his subjects resorted to wholesome forgery of the currency notes. Ultimately he had to withdraw the currency notes.

The Great Moguls of 16^th and 17^th century issued coins closely resembling other Central Asian dynasties. Sher Shah, a ruler for a very short period of time in the mid-16^th century was a bitter enemy of the Mughals. He is also remembered for his introduction of a kind of silver coin namely rupee. Interestingly, in India money is still known as rupiya.

The Moguls were succeeded by the East India Company’s colonial rule. The Company rule brought the monetary system of India in direct connection with the global economic system. However, the name of the Indian currency continued to be rupee under the Company rule.