Influenced by long-held religious beliefs, a variety of political regions and the presence of colonial powers, the coins of India provide a fascinating glimpse into the history of the large country, as Khursheed Dinshaw explains in this coin guide
Indian coinage has a long and varied historical tradition, which can be broadly it is divided into ancient coinage, represented by punch-marked coins from the 4th century BC to the 1st century AD; medieval coinage which is represented by Arab, Sultanate and Mughal coins from the 11th century AD to 18th century AD (as explained in detail on page 24); and modern coins, which include the issues of European, English trading companies and Indian kingdoms and states from 18th century onwards.
The ancient coinage of India began with silver and copper currency, known as punch-marked coins. These coins were used across India by merchants mainly as trade currency. The coins were weighed pieces of silver, stamped on only one side with several punches of different symbolic signs – such as animals, plants, the sun, the moon, and planets. – the earliest of these are oval, flat or bent bar coins. The pieces were predominantly used by the Mauryan Empire who had control over most parts of northern and central India at that time.
By the middle of the 4th century the Gupta dynasty had taken control over much of the country and the first Gupta king, Samudra Gupta, issued gold and copper coins.
From the late 7th century, Muslim traders and missionaries began to visit India, and Islamic coins from the Umayyad and Abbasid caliphores began to be used in the country. The first locally made Islamic coins appeared during the 8th century. These were silver coins with Arabic inscriptions issued by a small Islamic settlement near Indus River. The coins of the Sultanate and Mughals from ninth to 17th century AD were dominated by Islamic traditions, religious imagery, names of spiritual heads, medieval Quranic verses in beautiful calligraphy or coin legends. Mahmud Ghazni (10th and 11th century AD) coins bear legends in the Arabic Kufic and Sanskrit nagari scripts, while Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of wealth and prosperity, was appropriately featured on the coins of Muhammad Ghori.
During the reign of the Mughal dynasty, hammered coins began to be created in a more systematic way. The Mughals introduced coins with one rupee as the main denomination, and this simple currency system was followed during the reign of all 28 Mughal kings who ruled India.
In addition to the symbolism, the coins of this period also featured various inscriptions, detailing
