Your guide to old coins
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History of Money
The word '' Coin '' derived from Latin word '' Cuneus ''
which means wedge, Encyclopedia Britannica defines coin as " a piece of metal
or, rarely, some other material (such as leather or porcelain) certified by a
mark or marks upon it as being of a specific intrinsic or exchange value." & the
Oxford English dictionary defines as '' Stamped disc of metal as official money
荘.
Coins are as important as the inscription in history . They confirm the
information derived from literature. They are of various metals 鉾old, silver,
copper, or alloy and contain legends or simple marks. Those with dates are
probably very valuable for the framework of Indian chronology. Coins are almost
our sole evidence with regarded to the Indo Scythian and Indo Bactrian King. The
Bilingual coins had served as Rosetta Stones in deciphering the Ancient Indian
writings. India authors having completely ignored the latter expect Menandar.
The purity of the metal reflects the financial conditions of the time. The
inscription on the coin indicates territory over which the rulers ruled. Some
coin throw significant light on the personal events of certain rulers like
Samudra Gupta. Vehicle of Vishnu inscribed on some coin indicate that Samudra
Gupta was a devotee of that deity. Veena bears out his love for music. The
discovery of the same kind of coins at different places helps up in fixing the
coverage of various kingdoms in ancient India
Prehistoric Period
It is very Difficult to tell when and where coins first came
into use . When humans settled in localities and communities grew in size and
the exchange of different commodities became necessary . the exchange of
different products took the shape of trade and system of barter was evolved .
This system of exchange of commodities ( barter ) has some disadvantages like
the price of commodity could not be fixed .
It is said that ''Necessity is mother of invention ''. To overcome this problem
a new method was evolved, a common commodity was fixed to serve as a
intermediate in all transactions . Certain commodities got preference over
others and a higher value attached to them . They assumed as the character of
medium of exchange and attain a standard by which the value of other things was
estimated . Thus emerged the notion of value and first step toward the evolution
of coinage .
Indus Valley Civilization
In India, the Harappan people- the people who lived in the
Indus valley with their extension towards the south in Gujarat and towards the
west in the Punjab and Delhi- perhaps used agricultural products as a medium of
exchange as early as the third millennium B.C. Archaeologists believe that the
huge granaries that have been found in the cities of Harappa and Mohan-jo- daro
were replenished by a system of state tribute and they fulfilled in the state
economy the function of a modern bank or treasury. There are about 2800 engraved
seals were found during excavation at Harappa and Mohan-jo- daro some scholars
had argued that those were used as currency but later it was proved these are
nothing but seals used for the traders .
Late Dr D.D.Kosambi had made some findings about 12 pieces of silver found with
some ornaments .The weights of these pieces were different . Some cuneiform
letters were engraved on one of the piece and two pieces have weights 52 and 57
grains . He call them coins but these pieces does not have any official mark or
inscription so it is difficult to believe that these are coin.
The Epic Ages
In the Rig Veda, the price of an image of Indra, which was
being offered for sale, is said to be ten cows. In another passage, a sage is
said to have refused to sell his image of Indra for a hundred, or a thousand, or
even ten thousand cows. In a third passage, we are told that the Bharat army
went out for war, impelled by the desire to acquire cows. Again, we find that
Indra sent his messenger to recover his stolen treasure and treasure was nothing
deals but cows. Similarly, in the Aitareya Brahmana, wealth is frequently
estimated in terms of cows.
The widespread use of cows shows that they satisfactorily met the needs of the
age. They were not quickly perishable and were more stable in value than
agricultural products. They had the capacity to multiply, to work and supply
milk. But at the same time, as a means of payment and a form in which purchasing
power could be accumulated, cows were a troublesome medium of exchange. They
required care and some degree of skill in rearing. Further they could not be
used for the purchase of small commodities, for, short of killing them and thus
rendering them valueless, they could not be divided. So, this medium was neither
suitable for all kinds of transactions, nor for the purpose of long-term
savings. Therefore, the need for a stable medium of exchange became imminent.
It was then; found that metal, which could not be destroyed easily and was
handier, could be used as a stable medium of exchange. However, mere discovery
of metal as a suitable medium could not serve the purpose. The problem was how
to use metal. The medium was required to be uniform in weight and size to serve
the purpose of exchange. Consequently, balance was invented, and with it raised
the need for a standard weight. Seeds were considered a suitable medium, as they
were fairly uniform in weight and size. Metal was weighed against seeds and
various kinds of seeds were introduced as standard weights in different regions,
according to their availability.
However, transactions involving metal were equally tedious as scales were
required for every transaction. To overcome this difficulty metallic pieces of
definite weight and value began to be used. In course of time, settlement of
bargains on the basis of a particular weight and form became customary. By and
large, people were satisfied with this arrangement. But in a few countries,
India being one of them, some inherent difficulties were encountered. In spite
of the apparent uniformity in weight and size of ingots and metal sheets, or
pieces made from them, there was no guarantee as to the quality of the metal. To
obviate these difficulties, the practices of stamping the metallic pieces with a
mark or device of a responsible authority as assign of guarantee were introduced
in many countries. This led to the birth of the coin.
It is generally believed that gold was used in Early India as currency. But only
silver was used in transactions, as is evident both from the extant silver coins
and the hoard of metallic pieces found along with them.
It is stated in the Taitariya Brahmans suggests that ' Krishnala ' was the unit
for weighing metal. Krishnala or abrus precatorius is referred to in later
literature as raktika or gunja and known to us today as ratti. But this is the
only reference of krishnala in Vedic literature.
Krishnala(
Abrus Precatorius)
The stage of minting coins in India had not been reached during the vedic
period. In the ashtadhyayi, a work on grammar by Panini, who is probably, dated
the sixth and fifth centuries B.C. there is a sutra that illustrate that
metallic pieces were stamped (ahata) with rupa (symbols). it appears that during
his time stamped metallic pieces had become contemporary and that along with the
unstamped metallic and were concomitantly current. In the Ashtadhyayi, coins are
also called karshapna and sana
Another type of money mentioned in Vedic literature is Nishka; it is generally
believed that nishka was ornament, some kind of a necklace. Nishka is mentioned
in tens and hundreds as payment towards dakshina. It was absolutely a term of
value, as is apparent from the ashtadhayi where objects purchased with one, two
or three nishkas are called naishkikam, dvi-naishkikam, and tri-naishkikam.
Coins described in Later Vedic Literature:
1) Nishka ( Material : Gold ) : Weight 320 Ratti or 560
Grains
2) Shatamana ( Material : Gold ) : Weight 100 Ratti or 175 Grains
3) Suvarna ( Material : Gold ) : Weight 80 Ratti or 140 Grains
4) Paada ( Material : Gold ) : equal to Quarter Suvarna / Shatamana
Money in the Ancient World
Ancient Egyptians were first to use rings of fixed weight
known as '' Tabune '' were used as medium of Exchange . These rings made of gold
/ Silver have weight approx. 91 to 92 grains . For small denominations copper
rings were used . These were generally have shape of Alphbet '' S '' or '' G''
and similar hieroglyphic symbol was used to indicate word '' Tabune '' which
denote money .
Babylonians use round shaped metal pieces of certain weight and were known as ''
Shekel '' 1 Shekel = 1/2 Ounce , 60 Shekel = 1 Mina , 60 Mina = 1 Talent ( In
Bible the references of Shekel and Talent are found) At the time of Hammurabi
silver was used as medium of exchange . In Hammurabi's inscription , it is
explained that if a person do any illegal act . He has to pay fine in terms of
silver in royal treasury.
Akhaldians use coins similar to that of Babylonians but those were of oval shape
.
Ancient Money Egypt : Bronze ring
Ancient
Money Assyria : Bronze ring
First coins of the world
Some of the scholars believed That ,during the period around
the Seventh Century B.C. coins first came into use independently in three
different parts of world ,
Lydian's were the first to stamp pieces of precious metals with a marker device
of responsible authority as sign of guarantee . Pieces of electrum (a mixture of
gold and silver ) were stamped with a single punch affirming its weight and
purity .From this simple beginning came the coins we use today, a piece of metal
of a standard weight and purity stamped with an official mark. This led to the
birth of coins in CIRCA 700 B.C. . According to Greek historian Herodotus '' So
far as we have any knowledge , the Lydian's were the first nation to introduce
the use of gold and silver coins '' . The Lydian coins were unifaced coins with
small size generally known as '' Stater '' and weighing from 10.80 grains to
14.20 grains
At approximately the same time coinage was developed in the Gandhara region (
Now Kandhar in modern Afghanistan ) , Consisting of bars of Silver of a Standard
weight stamped with multiple punches . Similar form of currency continued to be
used in much of India until the Western style of currency was introduced by
Alexander The Great in the fourth century B.C.
In China coins evolved from barter implements sometime between the Eighth and
Seventh Centuries B.C. The Chinese coins were known as " knife money " and were
made of bronze .
It is fascinating that these three separate economics developed the need for
coins at approximately the same time , yet took separate paths to meet the
needs.
Reference & Bibliography
Coins : Dr P.L. Gupta , National Books trust .
Some information on this website from
coinarchives.com