CoinAge - INDIA

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0813

ANCIENT

MEDIEVAL

MUGHAL

LATE PRE-COLONIAL

BRITISH INDIA

REPUBLIC INDIA

TIME-LINE

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Introduction

Coins provide not only evidence of art and economy, but also a wisdom for understanding the history and politics of a nation.

As a means of communication, they speak to the political and religious ideologies that underpinned a ruler's or state's claim to power.

Coinage of India, issued by Imperial dynasties and smaller middle kingdoms of India began during the 1st millennium BCE, and consisted mainly of copper and silver coins in its initial stage.

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Ancient

Punch Marked Coins : The Indus valley civilisation of Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa dates back between 2500 BC and 1750 BC. There, however, is no consensus on whether the seals excavated from the sites were in fact coins.

 The first documented coinage is deemed to start with 'Punch Marked' coins issued between the 7th-6th century BC and 1st century AD. These coins are called 'punch-marked' coins because of their manufacturing technique. Mostly made of silver, these bear symbols, each of which was punched on the coin with a separate punch.

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Seals of Mohenjo-Daro

Punch Marked Coin, Silver Bentbar

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Issued initially by merchant Guilds and later by States, the coins represented a trade currency belonging to a period of intensive trade activity and urban development.

They are broadly classified into two periods : the first period (attributed to the Janapadas or small local states) and the second period (attributed to the Imperial Mauryan period). The motifs found on these coins were mostly drawn from nature like the sun, various animal motifs, trees, hills etc. and some were geometrical symbols.

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Kushan Coins

The Kushan coins generally depicted iconographic forms drawn from Greek, Mesopotamian, Zorastrian and Indian mythology. Siva, Buddha and Kartikeya were the major Indian deities portrayed.

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satavahana coins

These coins carried the motifs of fauna like elephants, lions, bulls, horses, etc. often juxtaposed against motifs from nature like hills, tree, etc

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Western Kshatrapa

The term Western Kshatraps alludes to the set of rulers who ruled Western India between the 1st and 4th Century AD. The common copper coins are the 'bull and hill' and the 'elephant and hill' types.

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Gupta coins

Gupta coinage (4th-6th centuries AD) followed the tradition of the Kushans, depicting the king on the obverse and a deity on the reverse; the deities were Indian and the legends were in Brahmi.

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Post Gupta coins

Post-Gupta coinage (6th-12th centuries AD), is represented by a monotonous and aesthetically less interesting series.

Gold coins struck between this period are rare.

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South indian coins

The symbols and motifs on South Indian coin issues were confined to dynastic crests such as the boar (Chalukya), bull (Pallava), tiger (Chola), fish (Pandya and Alupas), bow and arrow (Cheras) and lion (Hoysala) etc.

Coin legends refer to names or titles of the issuer in local scripts and languages.

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MedievalCoins of the Delhi Sultanate

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Coins of the Khiljis

Silver Coin, Malwa

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Coins of the Vijayanagar Empire

Pagoda, East India Company inspired by the coins of the Vijayanagar Empire

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Mughal Technically, the Mughal period in India commenced in 1526 AD when Babur defeated Ibrahim Lodhi, the Sultan of Delhi and ended in 1857 AD when the British deposed and exiled Bahadur Shah Zafar, the last Mughal Emperor after the great uprising. The later emperors after Shah Alam II were little more than figureheads.

The most significant monetary contribution of the Mughals was to bring about uniformity and consolidation of the system of coinage throughout the Empire. The system lasted long after the Mughal Empire was effectively no more.

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Mohur-Aurangzeb

Mohur-Farrukhsiyar

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Pre-COLONIAL

While the Marathas have had a long history, they came into the limelight in the seventeenth century led by the charismatic leader Shivaji. The Maratha Confederacy consolidated itself after Aurangzeb's death in 1707 AD.

As regards coinage, Shivaji first issued coins in 1664 AD when he assumed the title of Raja. Coins were again issued to commemorate his coronation at Raigadh in 1674 AD. These coins are rare. Maratha Mints and coinage were consolidated around the middle of the eighteenth century. Three types of Rupees were in circulation during this period, viz., the Hali Sicca, the Ankushi rupee which was the standard rupee of Pune, and the Chandori rupee which was on par with the Ankushi.

MARATHA COINS

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MARATHA COINS

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The monetary system consisted of the gold ashrafi, (half, quarter, eighth and sixteenth of an ashrafi), the silver rupee with similar five denominations and the copper fulus.

COINS OF AWADH

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The gold coins carried the Hara-Gauri motif and the King's name on the reverse.

The silver coins were in the Mughal tradition, bearing the name of the Mughal Emperor, Shah Alam II on the obverse and the name of the mint on the reverse.

Some of the smaller fraction coins carried the image of the deity Chamunda, the family deity of the Wodeyar family

COINS OF MYSORE

Coins of Haider Ali

Coins of Tipu SultanHrishi Desai

sikh coins

Around 1777 AD, coins were issued from Amritsar without the name of the Mughal Emperor and were called 'Nanak Shahi'. These coins bore the name of Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth and the last Guru of the Sikhs.

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coins of hyderabad

The coins of the Nizams were issued in the name of the Mughal Emperor till 1858 when a coin legend was introduced with the name of the founder of the state, Asaf Jha.

Thereafter, they were struck independently and the new coins were termed the 'Hali Sicca', i.e., the current coins. In 1903-04 coins were machine struck for the first time.

These coins featured the Charminar on the obverse with Persian inscription Nizam-ul-mulk Bahadur Asaf Jah around it. The reverse carried the value.

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Hyderabad

Coins

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Udaipur

Coins

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And after this era, started the British Era, followed by Republic India (after the Independence).

Thus, this is the evolving of Coin since ancient times till today’s date.

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THANK YOU!

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