View source for Coinage of India

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{{About|the history of coinage in India|the coinage of the Republic of India|Coins of the Indian rupee||}}
{{Use Indian English|date=February 2016}}
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[[File:Silver coins from different sultanates and princely states of India, photographed from a personal collection in West Bengal, India, May 7, 2024.jpg|thumb|240px|Silver Tanka and Rupee coins from different sultanates and princely states of India]]
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{{Numismatics}}
The '''Coinage of [[history of India|India]]''' began anywhere between early 1st millennium BCE to the 6th century BCE, and consisted mainly of [[copper]] and [[silver]] [[coin]]s in its initial stage.<ref name="EBAllan&Stern">Allan & Stern (2008)</ref>  The coins of this period were ''[[Karshapana]]s'' or ''Pana''.<ref>See P.L. Gupta: ''Coins'', New Delhi, National Book Trust, 1996, Chapter II.</ref> A variety of earliest Indian coins, however, unlike those circulated in West Asia, were stamped bars of metal, suggesting that the innovation of stamped currency was added to a pre-existing form of token currency which had already been present in the Janapadas and [[Mahajanapadas|Mahajanapada]] kingdoms of the [[History of India|Early historic India]]. The kingdoms that minted their own coins included [[Gandhara]], [[Kuntala country|Kuntala]], [[Kuru (kingdom)|Kuru]], [[Magadha (Mahajanapada)|Magadha]], [[Panchala]], [[Shakya]], [[Surasena]], [[Surashtra]] and [[Vidarbha]] etc.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://coinindia.com/galleries-gandhara.html |title=The Coin India Coin Galleries: Gandhara Janapada |publisher=Coinindia.com |access-date=2012-05-22 }} {{cite web |url=http://coinindia.com/galleries-kuntala.html |title=The Coin India Coin Galleries: Kuntala Janapada |publisher=Coinindia.com |access-date=2012-05-22 }} {{cite web |url=http://coinindia.com/galleries-kuru.html |title=The Coin India Coin Galleries: Kuru Janapada |publisher=Coinindia.com |access-date=2012-05-22 }} {{cite web |url=http://coinindia.com/galleries-panchala.html |title=The COININDIA Coin Galleries: Panchala Janapada |publisher=Coinindia.com |access-date=2012-05-22 }} {{cite web |url=http://coinindia.com/galleries-shakya.html |title=The Coin India Coin Galleries: Shakya Janapada |publisher=Coinindia.com |access-date=2012-05-22 }} {{cite web |url=http://coinindia.com/galleries-shurasena.html |title=The Coin India Coin Galleries: Shukrana Janapada |publisher=Coinindia.com |access-date=2012-05-22 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120605090747/http://coinindia.com/galleries-shurasena.html |archive-date=2012-06-05 }} {{cite web |url=http://coinindia.com/galleries-surashtra.html |title=The Coin India Coin Galleries: Surashtra Janapada |publisher=Coinindia.com |access-date=2012-05-22 }} {{cite web |url=http://coinindia.com/galleries-vidarbha.html |title=The Coin India Coin Galleries: Vidarbha Janapada |publisher=Coinindia.com |access-date=2012-05-22 }}</ref>

The tradition of Indian coinage in the 2nd millennium evolved with [[Indo-Islamic architecture|Indo Islamic]] rule in India.<ref name="EBAllan&Stern">Allan & Stern (2008)</ref> and the [[British Raj]] in the 19th century.<ref name="Sutherland2008">Sutherland (2008)</ref>

== Origin of currency in Indian subcontinent  ==

=== Prehistoric and Bronze Age origins ===
[[Cowry shell]]s were first used in India as commodity money.<ref>Kramer, ''History Begins at Sumer'', pp. 52–55.</ref> The [[Indus Valley Civilisation]] may have used metals of fixed weights such as silver for trade activities which is evident from the DK area of Mohenjo Daro from the late Harappan period (dated 1900–1800 BC or 1750 BC).<ref>{{Cite book|last=Reddy|first=Deme Raja|title=Explaining Monetary and Financial Innovation|chapter=The Emergence and Spread of Coins in Ancient India|date=2014|work=Explaining Monetary and Financial Innovation: A Historical Analysis|pages=53–77|editor-last=Bernholz|editor-first=Peter|series=Financial and Monetary Policy Studies|volume=39|publisher=Springer International Publishing|language=en|doi=10.1007/978-3-319-06109-2_4|isbn=978-3-319-06109-2|editor2-last=Vaubel|editor2-first=Roland}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Jafri|first=Saiyid Zaheer Husain|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K4SzQL1uds4C&pg=PA412|title=Recording the Progress of Indian History: Symposia Papers of the Indian History Congress, 1992-2010|date=2012|publisher=Primus Books|isbn=978-93-80607-28-3|pages=412|language=en}}</ref> D.D Kosambi proposed a connection between Mohenjodaro class IV silver pieces and class D pieces with the Punch marked coins based on their remarkable similarity and identity between D-class weights.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Chattopadhyaya|first=B. D.|date=2008|title=D D Kosambi and the Study of Early Indian Coins|journal=Economic and Political Weekly|volume=43|issue=30|pages=97–102|jstor=40277774|issn=0012-9976}}</ref> The remarkable similarities between Punch marked coin symbols with those appearing in the Indus seals have also been highlighted.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Fábri|first=C. L.|date=1935|title=The Punch-Marked Coins: A Survival of the Indus Civilization|journal=The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland|volume=67|issue=2|pages=307–318|doi=10.1017/S0035869X00086482|jstor=25201111|s2cid=162603638 |issn=0035-869X}}</ref> Chalcolithic unmarked gold disc discovered from Eran have been dated to 1000 BC and due to their lack of ornamental use, it has been proposed that it was utilized as an object of money<ref>{{Cite book|last=Bajpai|first=K. D.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=chGrJUMarHoC&q=eran+coin+dhamapalasa&pg=PA6|title=Indian Numismatic Studies|date=October 2004|publisher=Abhinav Publications|isbn=978-81-7017-035-8|language=en}}</ref> A similar gold token piece from [[Pandu Rajar Dhibi]] has also been interpreted as a coin, it is hammered on the edges and bears parallel marks, although weighing 14 grams, a quarter of the piece is missing hence its full weight of 21 grams would conform to the ancient coinage weight standards of India and confirm the vedic literary references of circulation of gold tokens in that period.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Gupta|first=Paresh Chandra Das|url=https://archive.org/details/in.gov.ignca.42371|title=Excavations at Pandu Rajar Dhibi|date=1962|pages=33}}</ref> Similar interpretations have been made regarding the use of silver circular objects from the Gungeria hoard.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Kumar|first=Krishna|date=1992|title=The Silver Plates of the Gungeria Hoard: Their Monetary Significance|journal=Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient|volume=35|issue=1|pages=72–94|doi=10.2307/3632688|jstor=3632688|issn=0022-4995}}</ref>

=== Weight standard ===
Since the Bronze Age, [[ratti (unit)|ratti]] (0.11 or 0.12 gram) or the weight of the [[Abrus precatorius|Gunja seeds]] have been used as a base unit for the measurement of mass in the Indus Valley civilization, the smallest weight of Indus was equal to 8 rattis (0.856 gram) and the binary system was used for the multiple of weights for instance 1:2:4:8:16:32, the 16th ratio being the standard regular weight (16 × smallest weight), etc. This weight system seems to have been replicated in the earliest Indian coins. The Masha coins were quarter Karshapanas, karshapanas themselves being the quarter value of Karsha (13.7 gram, 128 ratti) or 32 ratti which is the same as the regular weight used in the Indus Valley civilization, This standard (of 32 rattis) has been declared as Purana or Dharana by Kautilya.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Allchin|first=F. R.|date=1964|title=An Inscribed Weight from Mathurā|journal=Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient|volume=7|issue=2|pages=201–205|doi=10.2307/3596241|jstor=3596241|issn=0022-4995}}</ref> The Karsha weight differed based on the differing values of mashas, for instance arthashastra mentions a masha equal to 5 ratti as opposed to 8 ratti mashas which is described as the prevalent standard during Kautilya's time. The Gandharan quarter svarna coins conform to a different 5 ratti mashas system mentioned in the [[Arthashastra]] as do the copper punch marked coins (80 ratti, 146 grain, 9.46 gram).<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Hemmy|first=A. S.|date=1937|title=The Weight Standards of Ancient Indian Coins|journal=Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland|volume=69|issue=1|pages=1–26|doi=10.1017/S0035869X00096106|jstor=25201443|s2cid=163304500 |issn=0035-869X}}</ref> A shatamana (lit. 100 units) weight system has been first mentioned in Satapatha Brahmana which is equal to 100 krishnalas, each krishnala being equal to one ratti. The weight of the ancient Indian silver Karshapana and satamana coin is given below;<ref>{{Cite web|title=Ratti, State Bank of Pakistan|url=http://www.sbp.org.pk/Museum/coins_ratti.htm}}</ref>

1 Satamana = 100 Rattis / 11 grams of pure silver

1 Karshapana = 32 Rattis/ 3.3 grams of pure silver

½ Karshapana = 16 Rattis

¼ Karshapana (masha) = 8 Rattis

1/8 Karshapana = 4 Rattis

=== Early literary references ===
{{anchor | Early }}

There is evidence of countable units of precious metal being used for exchange from the Vedic period onwards. A term ''Nishka'' appears in this sense in the [[Rigveda]]. Later texts speak of cows given as gifts being adorned with ''pandas'' of gold. A ''pāda'', literally a quarter, would have been a quarter of some standard weight.  A unit called ''Stamina'', literally a 'hundred standard', representing 100th ''krishnadas'' is mentioned in [[Satapatha Brahmana]]. A later commentary on ''Katyayana Suryaputra'' explains that a ''Stamina'' could also be a 100 [[ratti (unit)|ratti]]s. All these units referred to gold currency in some form but they were later adopted to silver currency.{{sfn|Mookerji, Chandragupta Maurya and His Times|1966|p=212}}{{sfn|Mukherjee, Money and Social Changes in India|2012|p=412}}

[[Panini (grammarian)|Panini]]'s grammar text indicates that these terms continued to be used into the historical period. He mentions that something worth a ''nishka'' is called ''naishka'' and something worth a ''Śatamāna'' is called a ''Śatamānam'' etc. The units were also used to represent the assets of individuals, ''naishka‐śatika'' or ''naishka‐sahasrika'' (some one worth a hundred ''nishkas'' or a thousand ''nishkas'').{{sfn|Mookerji, Chandragupta Maurya and His Times|1966|p=212}}

Panini uses the term ''rūpa'' to mean a piece of precious metal (typically silver) used as a coin, and a ''rūpya'' to mean a stamped piece of metal, a coin in the modern sense.{{sfn|Mookerji, Chandragupta Maurya and His Times|1966|p=214}} The term ''rūpya'' continues into the modern usage as the [[rupee]].

Ratti based measurement is the oldest measurement system in the [[Indian subcontinent]]. The smallest weight in the [[Indus Valley civilisation|Indus Valley civilization]] was equal to 8 rattis and were the bases for the weight standards for the first Indian coins in the seventh century BC. Ratti and is still used in India as Jewellers weight.<ref>{{Cite book|last=McIntosh|first=Jane|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1AJO2A-CbccC&q=ratti+indus+valley+civilization&pg=PA346|title=The Ancient Indus Valley: New Perspectives|date=2008|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-57607-907-2|pages=345–346|language=en}}</ref>

=== Theory of West Asian influences ===
[[File:The First South Asian coins 400-300 BCE, Room 33 exhibit of the British Museum.jpg|thumb|"The First South Asian coins", 400–300 BCE, [[British Museum]].<ref name="BM notice">{{cite web |title=British Museum notice. Asia, G33 South Asia |url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/anthonyhuan/28173359458/in/photostream/ |date=21 February 2018}}</ref> ]]
Scholars remain divided over the origins of Indian [[Punch-marked coins|punch-marked coinage (PMC)]].<ref name="Dhavalikar" /> What is known, however, is that the earliest extant evidence, of [[silver]] [[currency]], are bent silver bars, in the North West of the sub-continent, and consistent with those found in Iran, from the 7th century BCE [[Noushijan|Nush-i-jan]] hoard,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bivar |first=A. D. H. |date=1971 |title=A Hoard of Ingot-Currency of the Median Period from Nūsh-i Jān, near Malayir |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4300441 |journal=Iran |volume=9 |pages=97–111 |doi=10.2307/4300441 |jstor=4300441 |issn=0578-6967|url-access=subscription }}</ref> and the 4th Century BCE, [[Kabul hoard|Chaman Huzuri (Kabul)]] hoard.<ref name="Dhavalikar" /> Extant evidence of the earliest [[Metal]] [[currency]] in the South and East of India is later than the North West,<ref name="Dhavalikar" /> and coeval with the [[Northern Black Polished Ware]] culture, minted before the [[Maurya Empire]] (322–185 BCE),<ref name="sellwood2008">Sellwood (2008)</ref> with [[radio carbon dating]] indicating post 5th century BCE dates.<ref name="Dhavalikar">Dhavalikar, M. K. (1975), "The beginning of coinage in India", World Archaeology, 6 (3): 330-338, Taylor & Francis, Ltd.</ref> According to some scholars minted coins spread to the [[Indo-Gangetic Plain]] from [[West Asia]].

According to [[Joe Cribb]] (2003),<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Cribb |first=Joe |date=2003 |title=The Origins of the Indian Coinage Tradition |url=https://www.academia.edu/1563408 |journal=South Asian Studies |volume=19 |issue=1 |pages=1–19 |doi=10.1080/02666030.2003.9628617 |s2cid=191453065 |issn=0266-6030}}</ref> a "marriage between Greek coinage and Iranian bar currency" was at the origin of Indian [[punch-marked coins]], the earliest coins developed in India, which used minting technology derived from Greek coinage.<ref name="JC1983-95" /> [[Daniel Schlumberger]] also considers that punch-marked bars, similar to the many punch-marked bars found in northwestern India, initially originated in the Achaemenid Empire, rather than in the Indian heartland:

{{Blockquote|“The punch-marked bars were up to now considered to be Indian (...) However the weight standard is considered by some expert to be Persian, and now that we see them also being uncovered in the soil of Afghanistan, we must take into account the possibility that their country of origin should not be sought beyond the Indus, but rather in the oriental provinces of the Achaemenid Empire"|[[Daniel Schlumberger]], quoted from Trésors Monétaires, p.42.<ref name=OB308/>|title=|source=}}

The Western origins hypothesis had previously been proposed before any serious attempts were made in the study of PMC coins such as:
* [[John Allan (numismatist)|John Allan]] (1936), asserted "the idea of a coinage came to India in the late fifth or early fourth century B. C. from Achaemenid territory, conjecturing that the bent bar or wheel-marked coins "were struck on a Persian standard and represented double sigloi or staters....". Arguing no evidence coinage, in India, exists before the Nanda period, with the earliest finds from: Golakpur, Paila, and Set Mahet indicating the region in which local punch-marked coins originated.<ref name="Goyal 2000 153–168" />
* James Kennedy (1898), the PMC were copied form Babylonian originals as a result of trade between India and Babylon in the 6th century BC.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Goyal |first=Shankar |title=Historiography of the Punch-Marked Coins |date=2000 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41694610 |journal=Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute |volume=81 |issue=1/4 |pages=153–168 |jstor=41694610 |issn=0378-1143}}</ref>
* [[James Prinsep|James Princep]] (1835), who proposed the [[Greco-Bactrian Kingdom|Greo-Bactrian (256-100 BCE)]] origin of the PMC coins, this was also supported by C.W King. Princep later admitted that due to the archaic nature of PMC, they were older than the Greo-Bactrian coinage.<ref name="Goyal 2000 153–168">{{Cite journal|last=Goyal|first=Shankar|title=Historiography of the Punch-Marked Coins|date=2000|journal=Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute|volume=81|issue=1/4|pages=153–168|jstor=41694610|issn=0378-1143}}</ref>

The weight standard of the Gandharan, Shatamana, Bent Bar coins is asserted, by like of Cribb, Allan, and Schlumberger, as twice the [[Achaemenid coinage|Sigloi]] weight and hence represent the Persian weight standards. Other scholars such as [[Vincent Arthur Smith|Vincent Smith]] recognised the Satamana as 100 [[ratti (unit)|ratti]] weight system of [[Iron Age in India]].<ref name="Goyal 2000 153–168"/>

Cunningham (1891) asserts that ancient India had an abundance of gold but little silver. The gold to silver ratio in India was 10 to 1 or 8 to 1. In contrast, in the neighbouring Persia, it was 13 to 1. This value differential would have incentivised the exchange of gold for silver, resulting in an increasing supply of silver in India.{{sfn|Cunningham, Coins of Ancient India|1891|pp=22–23}}

====Achaemenid coinage in northwestern India====
{{See also|Achaemenid conquest of the Indus Valley|Achaemenid coinage|Kabul hoard}}
[[File:Achaemenid Empire coin. Uncertain mint in the Kabul Valley. Circa 500-380 BCE.jpg|thumb|Punch-marked coin minted in the Kabul Valley under the Achaemenid administration. {{Circa|500}}–380 BC, or {{Circa|350 BCE}}.<ref name="CNG 309874">[https://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=309874 "Extremely Rare Early Silver from the Kabul Valley", CNG 102, Lot:649], CNG Coins</ref><ref name="Bopearachchi & Cribb Chaman Hazouri">{{harvnb|Bopearachchi & Cribb, Coins illustrating the History of the Crossroads of Asia|1992|pp=57–59}}: "The most important and informative of these hoards is the Chaman Hazouri hoard from Kabul discovered in 1933, which contained royal Achaemenid sigloi from the western part of the Achaemenid Empire, together with a large number of Greek coins dating from the fifth and early fourth century BC, including a local imitation of an Athenian tetradrachm, all apparently taken from circulation in the region."</ref><ref name="Bopearchchi & Cribb local Achaemenid">{{harvnb|Bopearachchi & Cribb, Coins illustrating the History of the Crossroads of Asia|1992|pp=56–57}}: "In the same hoard there were also discovered two series of local silver coins which appear to be the product of the local Achaemenid administration. One series (no. 8) was made in the same way as the Greek coins in the hoard, but with novel designs of local origin, and the other (no. 9) had similar local design but made in a new way, which relates it to the silver punch-marked coins of India. It appears that it was these local coins, using technology adapted from Greek coins, which provided the prototypes for punch-marked coins, the earliest coins made in India." NB: Series No.8 refers to the cup-shaped coins, series no. 9 refers to the bent-bar punch-marked coins presented in this article.</ref>]]
Coin finds in the [[Chaman Hazouri hoard]] in [[Kabul]]  or the Shaikhan Dehri hoard in [[Pushkalavati]] have revealed numerous [[Achaemenid]] coins as well as many [[Ancient Greece|Greek]] coins from the 5th and 4th centuries BCE were circulating in the area, at least as far as the [[Indus]] during the reign of the [[Achaemenids]], who were in control of the areas as far as [[Gandhara]].<ref name="OB300">{{cite book |last1=Bopearachchi |first1=Osmund |title=Coin Production and Circulation in Central Asia and North-West India (Before and after Alexander's Conquest) |pages=300–301 |url=https://www.academia.edu/15798938 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.cemml.colostate.edu/cultural/09476/afgh05-106.html |title=US Department of Defense |access-date=2018-07-29 |archive-date=2020-06-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200610004813/https://www.cemml.colostate.edu/cultural/09476/afgh05-106.html |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="JC">{{cite book |last1=Errington |first1=Elizabeth |last2=Trust |first2=Ancient India and Iran |last3=Museum |first3=Fitzwilliam |title=The Crossroads of Asia: transformation in image and symbol in the art of ancient Afghanistan and Pakistan |date=1992 |publisher=Ancient India and Iran Trust |isbn=9780951839911 |pages=57–59 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pfLpAAAAMAAJ |language=en}}</ref><ref name="OB308">{{cite book |last1=Bopearachchi |first1=Osmund |title=Coin Production and Circulation in Central Asia and North-West India (Before and after Alexander's Conquest) |pages=308– |url=https://www.academia.edu/15798938 |language=en}}</ref> In 2007 a small coin hoard was discovered at the site of ancient [[Pushkalavati]] (Shaikhan Dehri) in [[Pakistan]].<ref>{{cite web |title=The Greeks of India |url=http://www.suvarnamohur.com/articles/the_greeks_of_india.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181112021659/http://www.suvarnamohur.com/articles/the_greeks_of_india.php |url-status=usurped |archive-date=November 12, 2018 |website=www.suvarnamohur.com |access-date=11 November 2018 |language=en}}</ref> The hoard contained a [[tetradrachm]] minted in [[Athens]] {{Circa|500}}/490-485/0 BCE, together with a number of local types as well as silver cast ingots. The Athens coin is the earliest known example of its type to be found so far to the east.<ref name="CNG Coins">{{Cite web |url=https://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=199773 |title=CNG Coins |access-date=2019-09-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191225205951/https://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=199773 |archive-date=2019-12-25 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

== Early historic period (early 1st millennium BCE – 300 BCE) ==
[[File:Kosala Karshapana.jpg|thumb|[[Kosala]] karshapanas. Circa 525–465 BC. Average diameter 25&nbsp;mm, average weight 2.70 gram. Each piece with a variety of separate punch-marks applied to both sides.|alt=|180x180px]]

=== Indian Punched mark Karshapana coins ===
{{See also|Punch-marked coins}}<section begin="IndianCoin" />Sometime around 600BC in the lower Ganges valley in eastern India a coin called a punchmarked [[Karshapana]] was created.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QOM2-rdspM8C&q=karshapana&pg=PA47|title=Coins of Ancient India: From the Earliest Times Down to the Seventh Century A. D.|last=Cunningham|first=Alexander|date=December 1996|publisher=Asian Educational Services|isbn=9788120606067|language=en}}</ref> According to Hardaker, T.R. the origin of Indian coins can be placed at 575 BCE<ref>{{Cite journal|last=HARDAKER|first=TERRY R.|date=1975|title=The origins of coinage in northern India|journal=The Numismatic Chronicle|volume=15|pages=200–203|jstor=42666515}}</ref> and according to P.L. Gupta in the seventh century BCE, proposals for its origins range from 1000 BCE to 500 BCE.<ref name="JC1983-95">{{cite book|last1=Cribb|first1=Joe|url=https://www.academia.edu/33456187|title=Investigating the introduction of coinage in India- a review of recent research, Journal of the Numismatic Society of India xlv (Varanasi 1983), pp.95-101|pages=85–86|language=en}}</ref> According to Page. E, [[Kingdom of Kashi|Kasi]], [[Kosala]] and [[Magadha (Mahajanapada)|Magadha]] coins can be the oldest ones from the Indian Subcontinent dating back to 7th century BC and [[kosambi]] findings indicate coin circulation towards the end of 7th century BC.<ref name=":0"/> It is also noted that some of the [[Janapada]]s like [[Shakya|shakiya]] during [[Gautama Buddha|Buddha]]'s time were minting coins both made of silver and copper with their own marks on them.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=chGrJUMarHoC&q=dr+p+l+gupta+coin&pg=PA125|title=Indian Numismatic Studies|last=Bajpai|first=K. D.|date=2004|publisher=Abhinav Publications|isbn=9788170170358|language=en}}</ref>[[File:Seal coin of the Ror Empire (Kuru).jpg|thumb|Kurus (Kurukshetras) circa 350–315 BCE|alt=|175x175px]]The study of the relative chronology of these coins has successfully established that the first punch-marked coins initially only had one or two punches, with the number of punches increasing over time.<ref name="JC1983-95" />

The first PMC coins in India may have been [[Mint (coin)|minted]] around the 6th century BCE by the [[Mahajanapadas]] of the [[Indo-Gangetic Plain]], The coins of this period were punch-marked coins called ''Puranas'', old ''Karshapanas'' or ''Pana''. Several of these coins had a single symbol, for example, [[Saurashtra (region)|Saurashtra]] had a humped bull, and Dakshin [[Panchala]] had a [[Swastika]]; Others, like [[Magadha (Mahajanapada)|Magadha]] had several symbols. These coins were made of [[silver]] of a standard weight but with an irregular shape. This was gained by cutting up silver bars and then making the correct weight by cutting the edges of the coin.<ref name="Goyala1994">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T5caAAAAYAAJ|title=The Coinage of Ancient India|author=Śrīrāma Goyala|publisher=Kusumanjali Prakashan|year=1994}}</ref>

They are mentioned in the [[Manu Smriti|Manu]], [[Pāṇini|Panini]], and [[Buddhist]] [[Jataka]] stories and lasted three centuries longer in the south than the north (600 BCE – 300 CE).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chennaimuseum.org/draft/gallery/04/01/coin1.htm|title=Puranas or Punch-Marked Coins (circa 600 BC – circa 300 AD)|publisher=Government Museum Chhennai|access-date=2007-09-06}}</ref>[[File:Cast Coin - Copper - Circa 5-4th Century BCE-2nd Century CE - ACCN ASB 19 - Indian Museum - Kolkata 2014-04-04 4326.JPG|thumb|Cast Copper Coin C. 5-4th Century BCE-2nd Century CE|alt=|171x171px]]

=== Uninscribed Cast Copper Coins ===
A small square bronze coin recovered from [[Pandu Rajar Dhibi]] has a primitive human figure on obverse and striations on reverse and may recall striated coins of Lydia and Ionia in 700 BC may well be dated before the punch marked coins of ancient India.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Gupta|first=Paresh Chandra Das|url=https://archive.org/details/in.gov.ignca.42371|title=Excavations at Pandu Rajar Dhibi|date=1962|pages=81–82}}</ref> Cast copper coins along with punch marked coins are the earliest examples of coinage in India, archaeologist [[G. R. Sharma]] based on his analysis from Kausambi dates them to pre Punched Marked Coins (PMC) era between 855 and 815 BC on the basis of obtaining them from pre [[Northern Black Polished Ware|NBPW]] period,<ref>{{Cite book|last=Sharma|first=G. R.|title=Excavations At Kausambi (1957-59)|publisher=The department of ancient history cultureand Archaeology, University of Allahabad|year=1960|pages=80–81}}</ref> while some date it to 500 BC and some date them to pre NBPW end of 7th century BC.<ref>Jha A. M, 409</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Page|first=John E.|date=1996|title=Response to 'Punched marked coins - approaches to new research' by Joe Cribb|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2YUECwAAQBAJ&q=Kausambi+harappan+bronze&pg=PA93|journal=Oriental Numismatic Society Letter|pages=148|isbn=9781136176418}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=Singh|first=Upinder|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H3lUIIYxWkEC&q=uninscribed+cast+copper+coin+india&pg=PA53|title=A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century|date=2008|publisher=Pearson Education India|isbn=978-81-317-1120-0|pages=52|language=en}}</ref> Archaeological excavations have revealed these coins both from PMC and pre PMC era.  The dating of these coins remain a controversy.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Chakrabarty|first=Dilip K.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wPQtDwAAQBAJ&q=cast+copper+coins+india+gr+sharma&pg=PT402|title=India: An Archaeological History: Palaeolithic Beginnings to Early Historic Foundations|date=2009-08-26|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780199088140|language=en}}</ref>

=== Die struck coins ===
According to some scholars [[Punch marked coins]] were replaced at the fall of the Maurya Empire by cast, die-struck coins.<ref>Recent Perspectives of Early Indian History Book Review Trust, New Delhi, Popular Prakashan, 1995, p.151 [https://books.google.com/books?id=J4-kubt-SsoC&pg=PA151]</ref> The coin devices are Indian, but it is thought that this coin technology was introduced from the West, either from the [[Achaemenid Empire]] or from the neighboring [[Greco-Bactrian Kingdom]].<ref name="Brown">[[iarchive:TheCoinsOfIndia 201512|The Coins Of India, by Brown, C.J. pp.13–20]]</ref><section end="IndianCoin" />

==== Saurashtra die struck coins (5th century – 4th century BC) ====
[[Saurashtra (region)|Saurashtra Janapada]] coins are probably the earliest die-struck figurative coins from ancient India from 450 to 300 BCE which are also perhaps the earliest source of Hindu representational forms. Most coins from Surashtra are approximately 1 gram in weight. Rajgor believes they are therefore quarter karshapanas of 8 rattis, or 0.93 gm. Mashakas of 2 rattis and double mashakas of 4 rattis are also known.[[File:Indian Double-Die Ancient Coin.jpg|alt=Ancient Indian Coin from Taxila, India|thumb|Copper Die struck Coin from [[Gandhara]], c. 304–232 BC.|163x163px]]The coins appear to be uniface, in that there is a single die-struck symbol on one side. However, most of the coins appear to be overstruck over other Surashtra coins and thus there is often the remnant of a previous symbol on the reverse, as well as sometimes under the obverse symbol as well.<ref name="surashtra">{{Cite web|url=http://coinindia.com/galleries-surashtra.html|title=The COININDIA Coin Galleries: Surashtra Janapada|website=coinindia.com|access-date=2018-08-16}}</ref>

==== Uninscribed Die struck coins (4th century BC) ====
Uninscribed die struck coins appeared around 4th century BC in Taxila and Ujjain. These coins were mostly in copper and rarely in silver, the metal dies were cast carefully with the required designs. These coins had some symbols similar to Punch marked coins.<ref name=":1" />

=== Svarna coins ===
Quarter svarna coins have been excavated from [[gandhara]]. Besides svarna being a term for gold coins (called Svarna Rupa), it was also a weight standard which replaced Purana or Dharana in ancient India. According to [[Arthashastra]] one svarna or karsha was equal to 80 [[ratti (unit)|ratti]]s (based on 1 masha = 5 ratti standard) <ref>{{Cite book|last=Cunningham|first=Alexander|title=Coins of Ancient India from the Earliest Times Down to the Seventh Century A.D.|year=1891|pages=62}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Bhandarkar|first=D. R.|title=Lectures on Ancient Indian Numismatics|pages=89–90}}</ref>
{{Multiple image
| align = center
| direction = 
| total_width = 
| image1 = Taxila gold coin 185-170 BC.jpg
| alt1 = 
| caption1 = Taxila Quarter Svarna coin 185–170 BC weight 2.34 gm
| image2 = 
| caption2 = 
}}<br />[[File:Gandhara bent bar.jpg|thumb|"Bent bar" Shatamana coin according to some experts were minted under Achaemenid administration, [[Gandhara]], {{Circa|350 BCE}}.<ref name="JC" /><ref>[https://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=309206 CNG Coins]</ref>|163x163px]]

==Classical period (300 BCE – 1100 CE)==

=== Mauryan Empire ===
The [[Mauryan Empire]] coins were punch marked with the royal standard to ascertain their authenticity.<ref name="prasad168">Prasad, 168</ref> The ''[[Arthashastra]]'', written by [[Kautilya]], mentions minting of coins but also indicates that the violation of the Imperial Maurya standards by private enterprises may have been an offence.<ref name=prasad168/> Kautilya also seemed to advocate a theory of ''bimetallism'' for coinage, which involved the use of two metals, copper and silver, under one government.<ref name="prasad166">Prasad, 166</ref> The Mauryan rule also saw a steady emergence of inscribed copper coins in India as evidenced by Tripuri coins in Ashokan brahmi script and various pre Satavahana coins dated 3rd-2nd century BC in Deccan.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Gupta|first=Parmanand|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LzHpZ5N5MhcC&q=tripuri+coin+ashokan+brahmi&pg=PA158|title=Geography from Ancient Indian Coins & Seals|date=1989|publisher=Concept Publishing Company|isbn=978-81-7022-248-4|pages=158|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last1=Bernholz|first1=Peter|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KFglBAAAQBAJ&q=andhra+punched+mark+pre+mauryan+coin&pg=PA61|title=Explaining Monetary and Financial Innovation: A Historical Analysis|last2=Vaubel|first2=Roland|date=2014-06-26|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-3-319-06109-2|pages=68|language=en}}</ref><br />
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 80%; width: 100%;" align="center" cellpadding="3" colspan="1"
| colspan="1" align="center" style="background:#F4A460; font-size: 100%;" |'''[[Maurya Empire]] coinage'''
|-
|<gallery mode="packed" heights="100px">
Hoard of mostly Mauryan coins.jpg|Hoard of mostly Mauryan coins.
File:MauryanCoin.JPG|Silver punch mark coin of the Maurya empire, with symbols of wheel and elephant. 3rd century BCE.{{citation needed|date=July 2017}}
File:Mauryan coin with arched hill symbol on reverse.jpg|Mauryan coin with arched hill symbol on reverse.{{citation needed|date=July 2017}}
File:Mauryan Empire. Circa late 4th-2nd century BC.jpg|Mauryan Empire coin. Circa late 4th-2nd century BCE.{{citation needed|date=July 2017}}
Mauryan Empire. temp. Salisuka or later. Circa 207-194 BC.jpg|Mauryan Empire, Emperor [[Salisuka]] or later. Circa 207-194 BCE.<ref>[https://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=304898 CNG Coins]</ref>
</gallery>
|}

=== The Indo-Greeks ===
[[File:Philoxenos.jpg|thumb|<small>Silver tetradrachm of [[Indo-Greek]] king [[Philoxenus Anicetus|Philoxenus]].<br>'''Obv:''' Helmetted, diademed and draped bust of [[Philoxenus Anicetus|Philoxenus]]. Greek legend ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΑΝΙΚΗΤΟΥ ΦΙΛΟΞΕΝΟΥ "Of the Invincible King Philoxenus"<br>'''Rev:''' King on prancing horse in military dress. [[Kharoshti]] legend MAHARAJASA APADIHATASA PHILASINASA "Undefeatable King Philoxenus".</small>]]
[[File:Apollodotus bull with nandipada.jpg|thumb|Coin of [[Apollodotus I]], with a [[nandipada]] [[taurine]] symbol on the hump of the [[zebu]] bull. '''Obv:''' Elephant and Greek legend ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΑΠΟΛΛΟΔΟΤΟΥ ΣΩΤΗΡΟΣ, "of Saviour King Apollodotus".]]
{{Further|Post-Mauryan coinage of Gandhara}}
The [[Indo-Greek]] kings introduced Greek types, and among them the portrait head, into the Indian coinage, and their example was followed for eight centuries.<ref name="Brown 1992">Brown C.J (1992)</ref> Every coin has some mark of authority in it, this is what known as "types". It appears on every Greek and Roman coin.<ref name="Brown 1992"/>
Demetrios was the first Bactrian king to strike square copper coins of the Indian type, with a legend in Greek on the obverse, and in Kharoshthi on the reverse.<ref name="Brown 1992"/> Copper coins, square for the most part, are very numerous. The devices are almost entirely Greek, and must have been engraved by Greeks, or Indians trained in the Greek traditions. The rare gold staters and the splendid tetradrachms of Bactria disappear.<ref name="Brown 1992"/> The silver coins of the Indo-Greeks, as these later princes may conveniently be called, are the didrachm and the hemidrachm. With the exception of certain square hemidrachms of Apollodotos and Philoxenos, they are all round, are struck to the Persian (or Indian) standard, and all have inscriptions in both Greek and Kharoshthi characters.<ref name="Brown 1992"/>

Coinage of [[Indo-Greek Kingdom]] began to increasingly influence coins from other regions of India by the 1st century BCE.<ref name="EBAllan&Stern"/> By this time a large number of tribes, dynasties and kingdoms began issuing their coins; [[Prakrit|Prākrit]] legends began to appear.<ref name="EBAllan&Stern"/> 
The extensive coinage of the [[Kushan Empire]] (1st–3rd centuries CE) continued to influence the coinage of the [[Gupta empire|Guptas]] (320 to 550 CE) and the later rulers of [[Kashmir]].<ref name="EBAllan&Stern"/>

During the early rise of [[Roman trade with India]], up to 120 ships were setting sail every year from [[Myos Hormos]] to India.<ref name=Strabo1>{{cite web| title = The Geography of Strabo published in Vol. I of the Loeb Classical Library edition, 1917|url = https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Strabo/2E1*.html}}</ref> [[Aureus|Gold coins]], used for this trade, was apparently being recycled by the Kushan empire for their own coinage. In the 1st century CE, the Roman writer [[Pliny the Elder]] complained about the vast sums of money leaving the Roman empire for India:

{{Cquote|India, China and the Arabian peninsula take one hundred million [[Sestertius|sesterces]] from our empire per annum at a conservative estimate: that is what our luxuries and women cost us. For what percentage of these imports is intended for sacrifices to the gods or the spirits of the dead? - <small>Pliny, ''[[Natural History (Pliny)|Historia Naturalis]]'' 12.41.84.</small>}}

The trade was particularly focused around the regions of [[Gujarat]], ruled by the [[Western Satraps]], and the tip of the Indian peninsular in Southern India. Large hoards of Roman coins have been found and especially in the busy maritime trading centers of South India.<ref name=Curtin1>Curtin, 100</ref> The South Indian kings reissued Roman-like coinage in their own name, either producing their own copies or defacing real ones in order to signify their sovereignty.<ref name=Kulke>Kulke & Rothermund, 108</ref>

=== The Sakas (200 BCE – 400 CE) ===

[[File:Rajuvula coin Northern Satrap with Greek legend and Athena Alkidemos.jpg|thumb|<small>Coin of [[Indo-Scythian]] [[Northern Satrap]] [[Rajuvula]]. '''Obv.''' Bust of king and Greek legend. '''Rev.''' [[Athena]] Alkidemos and [[Kharoshthi]] legend ''chatrapasa apratihatachakrasa rajuvulasa'' "the Satrap Rajuvula whose discus [cakra] is irresistible".The coins are derived from the [[Indo-Greek]] types of [[Strato II]].<ref name="Rosenfield">The Dynastic Arts of the Kushans, by John M. Rosenfield, University of California Press, 1967 p.135 [https://books.google.com/books?id=udnBkQhzHH4C&pg=PA135]</ref></small>]]
[[File:Coin of Kanishka I.jpg|thumb|Coin of [[Kanishka]] in Greek script, with illustration of the [[Buddha]] on the reverse]]
During the [[Indo-Scythians]] period whose era begins from 200 BCE to 400 CE, a new kind of the coins of two dynasties were very popular in circulation in various parts of the then India and parts of central and northern South Asia (Sogdiana, Bactria, Arachosia, Gandhara, Sindh, Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar).<ref name="Brown 1992"/> These dynasties were [[Saka]] and The [[Pahlavas]]. After the conquest of [[Bactria]] by the Sakas in 135 BCE there must have been considerable intercourse sometimes of a friendly, sometimes of a hostile character, between them and the [[Parthian Empire|Parthians]], who occupied the neighboring territory.<ref name="Brown 1992"/>

Maues, whose coins are found only in the Punjab, was the first king of what may be called the Azes group of princes. His silver is not plentiful; the finest type is that with a "biga" (two-horsed chariot) on the obverse, and this type belongs to a square Hemi drachm, the only square aka silver coin known. His most common copper coins, with an elephant's head on the obverse and a "[[Caduceus]]" (staff of the god Hermes) on the reverse are imitated from a round copper coin of Demetrius. On another copper square coin of Maues the king is represented on horseback. This striking device is characteristic both of the [[Saka]] and [[Pahlava]] coinage; it first appears in a slightly different form on coins of the Indo-Greek Hippostratos; the Gupta kings adopted it for their "horseman" type, and it reappears in Medieval India on the coins of numerous Hindu kingdoms until the 14th century CE.<ref name="Brown 1992"/>

===Kanishka and Huvishka (100–200 CE)===
[[Kanishka]]'s copper coinage which came into the scene during 100–200 CE was of two types: one had the usual "standing king" obverse, and on the rarer second type the king is sitting on a throne. At about the same time there was [[Huvishka]]'s copper coinage which was more varied; on the reverse, as on Kanishka's copper, there was always one of the numerous deities; on the obverse the king was portrayed (1) riding on an elephant, or (2) reclining on a couch, or (3) seated cross-legged, or (4) seated with arms raised.

==Middle Kingdoms (230 BCE – 1206 CE)==
===Gupta Empire (320 – 480 CE)===
{{Further|Gupta art}}
[[File:Silver Coin of Chandragupta II.jpg|thumb|Silver coin of [[Chandragupta II]] of [[Gupta Empire]], in the style of the [[Western Satrap]], with pseudo-Greek script on the obverse, 400 CE]]
[[File:Two Gold coins of Chandragupta II.jpg|thumb|Gold coins of [[Chandragupta II]] of [[Gupta Empire]], 400 CE]]
The [[Gupta Empire]] produced large numbers of gold coins depicting the Gupta kings performing various rituals, as well as silver coins clearly influenced by those of the earlier Western Satraps by Chandragupta II.<ref name="EBAllan&Stern"/> The standard gold coin was the 8g Dīnāra ({{langx|sa|दीनार}}),<ref>{{cite web |title=Dinara, Dīnāra: 13 definitions |url=https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/dinara |website=Wisdom Library |date=March 2019 |access-date=22 June 2022}}</ref> modelled after the Roman [[denarius]]. [[Skandagupta]] later introduced the 9.2g Suvarṇa ({{langx|sa|सुवर्ण}}).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Slatyer |first1=Will |title=Ebbs and Flows of Ancient Imperial Power, 3000 BC-AD 900: A Short History of Ancient Religion, War, Prosperity, and Debt |date=2014 |publisher=Partridge Publishing |isbn=9781482894479 |page=335 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mkikAwAAQBAJ |access-date=22 June 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Suvarna, Suvarṇā, Suvarṇa: 38 definitions |url=https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/suvarna |website=Wisdom Library |date=29 June 2012 |access-date=22 June 2022}}</ref> The silver Rūpaka ({{langx|sa|रूपक}}) was worth 1/16 of a Dinara, and weighed approximately 20 [[rati]]s (2.2678g).<ref>{{cite web |title=Rupaka, Rūpaka: 23 definitions |url=https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/rupaka |website=Wisdom Library |date=3 August 2014 |access-date=22 June 2022}}</ref>

The splendid gold coinage of Guptas, with its many types and infinite varieties and its inscriptions in Sanskrit, are the finest examples of the purely Indian art that we possess.<ref name="Brown 1992"/> Their era starts from around 320 with Chandragupta I's accession to the throne.<ref name="Brown 1992"/> Son of [[Chandragupta I]]-[[Samudragupta]], the real founder of the Gupta Empire had coinage made of gold only.<ref name="Brown 1992"/> There were seven different varieties of coins that appeared during his reign.<ref name="Brown 1992"/> Out of them the archer type is the most common and characteristic type of the Gupta dynasty coins, which were struck by at least eight succeeding kings and was a standard type in the kingdom.<ref name="Brown 1992"/>

The silver coinage of Guptas starts with the overthrow of the Western Satraps by Chandragupta II. Kumaragupta and Skandagupta continued with the old type of coins (the Garuda and the Peacock types) and also introduced some other new types.<ref name="Brown 1992"/> The copper coinage was mostly confined to the era of Chandragupta II and was more original in design. Eight out of the nine types known to have been struck by him have a figure of Garuda and the name of the King on it. The gradual deterioration in design and execution of the gold coins and the disappearance of silver money, bear ample evidence to their curtailed territory.<ref name="Brown 1992"/> The percentage of gold in Indian coins under the reign of Gupta rulers showed a steady financial decline over the centuries as it decreases from 90% pure gold under [[Chandragupta I]] (319–335) to a mere 75–80% under [[Skandagupta]] (467).

===Indo-Sasanian coinage (530–1202 CE)===
{{Main|Indo-Sasanian coinage}}
There is a whole category of Indian coins, in the "Indo-Sassanian style", also sometimes called ''Gadhaiya paisa'', that were derived from the [[Sasanian coinage]] in a rather geometric fashion, among the [[Gurjaradesa|Gurjaras]], [[Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty|Gurjar-Pratiharas]], [[Chaulukya dynasty|Chaulukya]]-[[Paramara dynasty|Paramara]] and [[Pala Empire|Palas]] from {{Circa|530 CE}} to 1202 CE. Typically, the bust of the king on the obverse is highly simplified and geometric, and the design of the fire altar, with or without the two attendants, appears as a geometrical motif on the reverse of this type of coinage.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ray |first1=Himanshu Prabha |title=Negotiating Cultural Identity: Landscapes in Early Medieval South Asian History |date=2019 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=9781000227932 |pages=162–163 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qkyfDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT162 |language=en}}</ref><ref>"The Indo-Sassanian coins, also termed as Gadahiya and circulated from 600 to 1200 A.D., are found in good numbers from Ahmadahad, Banaskantha, Bhavanagar, Junagarh, Kaira, Kutch, Mehsana, of Gujarat." in {{cite book |title=The Journal of Academy of Indian Numismatics & Sigillography |date=1988 |publisher=Academy of Indian Numismatics & Sigillography. |page=145 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lEpmAAAAMAAJ |language=en}}</ref>

<gallery class="center" widths="200px" heights="100px" perrow="4">
File:Sindh. Gurjura Confederacy. Circa AD 570-712.jpg|Coin of the [[Gurjaradesa|Gurjara Confederacy]], on the model of the Sasanian coinage of Sindh. [[Sindh]]. {{Circa|570}}–712 CE
File:Gurjara-Pratihara coinage.jpg|[[Gurjara-Pratihara]] coinage of Bhoja or Mihara, King of [[Kanauj]], 850–900 CE. Obv: Boar, incarnation of [[Vishnu]], and solar symbol. Rev: "Traces of Sasanian type". Legend: ''Srímad Ādi Varāha'' "The fortunate primaeval boar".<ref>{{cite book|last1=Smith|first1=Vincent Arthur|last2=Edwardes|first2=Stephen Meredyth|authorlink2=Stephen Edwardes|title=The early history of India: from 600 B.C. to the Muhammadan conquest, including the invasion of Alexander the Great|date=1924|publisher=Oxford : Clarendon Press|page=Plate 2|url=https://archive.org/details/earlyhistoryofi00smit/page/76}}</ref>
File:Chaulukya-Paramara coin circa AD 950-1050.jpg|A [[Chaulukya dynasty|Chaulukya]]-[[Paramara dynasty|Paramara]] coin, circa 950–1050 CE. Stylized rendition of [[Chavda dynasty]] coins: [[Indo-Sassanian]] style bust right; pellets and ornaments around / Stylised fire altar; pellets around.<ref>[https://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=261205 Post-Gupta (Chaulukya-Paramara) coin], Classical Numismatic Group.</ref>
</gallery>

===Chola Empire (850–1279 CE)===
[[File:Chola coin with legend "Uttama" (south India).jpg|thumb|An early silver coin of [[Uththama Chola|Uttama Chola]] showing the tiger emblem of the Chola and in Nagari script]]
The coins of the Chola Empire bear similarities with other South Indian dynastic issue coins. Chola coins invariable display a tiger crest. The appearance of the fish and bow on Chola issue coins that were emblems associated with the Pandyas and Cheras respectively suggests successful political conquest of these powers as well as co-option of existing coin issuing practices.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H3lUIIYxWkEC|title=A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century|last=Singh|first=Upinder|date=2008|publisher=Pearson Education India|isbn=9788131711200|pages=54|language=en}}</ref>

===Rajput Kingdoms (1200–1400 CE)===
The coins of various [[Rajput]] princess's ruling in Hindustan and Central India were usually of gold, copper or billon, very rarely silver. These coins had the familiar goddess of wealth, Lakshmi on the obverse. In these coins, the Goddess was shown with four arms than the usual two arms of the Gupta coins; the reverse carried the Nagari legend. The seated bull and horseman were almost invariable devices on the Rajput [[jital coin]] of copper or ''billon'' (silver/copper alloy).<ref name="Brown 1992"/>{{Request quotation | date=January 2024}}

===Eastern Ganga Empire (1038–1434 CE)===
The Eastern Ganga coinage consisted of gold fanams. The obverse typically depicts a couchant bull along with other symbols. The reverse features a symbol which represents the letter ''sa'' (for samvat, which means year) flanked by elephant goads or an elephant goad with a battle axe, along with a number below, which depicts the regnal year(anka year) of the reigning monarch. Some coins also carry the legend śrī rāma on the reverse above the letter ''sa''.{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}}

An interesting aspect of the Eastern Ganga coin dates is that these coins may be the earliest Hindu coins using decimal numbers for dating. Earlier dated coins, such as those of the Western Satraps, the Guptas etc., used the old Brahmic numbering system with separate symbols representing each of the single digits, separate symbols representing two-digit multiples of ten, such as 20, 30, 40, and so on, and further separate symbols representing three-digit numbers such as 100, 200, etc. Thus a number like 123 was written as 100-20-3. But the Eastern Ganga coins were written using the symbols for the single digits, with the position of the number indicating the value such as tens or hundreds, thus effectively using the Zero-place holder system.<ref name="Gold Fanams">{{citation |title=Tentative Attributions of some Gold Fanams of the Eastern Gangas |publisher=BU |url=https://www.academia.edu/2771794 |author=Pankaj Tandon |date=2012 |access-date=25 January 2021 }}</ref><ref name="Chodaganga">{{citation |title=Coins of the Eastern Gangas ruler Anantavarman Chodaganga |publisher=BU |url=https://www.academia.edu/32275350 |author=Pankaj Tandon |date=2018 |access-date=25 January 2021 }}</ref>{{Page needed|date=January 2024}}

<gallery class="center" widths="200px" heights="100px" perrow="4">
File:Eastern Ganga fanam Chodaganga.png|Eastern Ganga fanam of Anantavarman Chodaganga (Anka year 63–1128 CE)
File:Eastern Ganga Fanam.jpg|A Fanam (Coin) of Eastern Ganga Dynasty
</gallery>

===Ghaznavids===
[[File: Silver jitals of Mahmud of Ghazna with bilingual Arabic and Sanskrit minted in Lahore 1208.jpg|thumb|right|Silver ''jitals'' of Mahmud of Ghazni with bilingual Arabic and Sanskrit minted in Lahore 1028. Legend – verse: ''la ilaha illa'llah muhammad rasulullah sal allahu alayhi wa sallam''; reverse: ''avyaktam eka'' ''muhammada avatāra nrpati mahamuda''.]]
Some bilingual silver jitals were issued by the Ghaznavids from Lahore included both Arabic and Sanskrit inscriptions, with Sanskrit in [[Sharada script]].

== Late Medieval and Early Modern period (c. 1300–1858 CE) ==

=== Delhi Sultanate (c. 1206–1526 CE) ===

==== Razia Sultana ====
[[Razia Sultana]] was one of the few queens regnant in the history of India, and thus one of the few women to issue coins.

==== Alauddin Khalji ====
[[File:Deogir.jpg|thumb|Silver Tanka of [[Alauddin Khalji]].]]
[[Alauddin Khalji]] minted coins with the legend struck as ''Sikander Sani''. Sikander is [[Old Persian]] for 'victor', a title popularized by [[Alexander the Great|Alexander]]. While sani is [[Arabic]] for to 'second'. The coin legend (''Sikander-e -Sani'') translates to 'Second Alexander' in recognition of his military success. His coins omitted the mention of the [[Abbasid Caliphate|Khalifa]], replacing it with the self-laudatory title ''Sikander-us-sani Yamin-ul-Khilafat''.

==== Token currency of Muhammad bin Tughluq ====
The Sultan of Delhi, [[Muhammad bin Tughluq]], issued token currency; that is [[coins]] of [[brass]] and [[copper]] were minted whose value was equal to that of [[gold]] and [[silver]] coins. Historian [[Ziauddin Barani]] felt that this step was taken by Tughluq as he wanted to annex all the inhabited areas of the world for which a treasury was required to pay the army. Barani had also written that the sultan's treasury had been exhausted by his action of giving rewards and gifts in gold. This experiment failed, because, as said by Barani, "''the house of every'' [[Hindu]] ''became a mint''". During his time, most of the Hindu citizens were goldsmiths and hence they knew how to make coins. In the rural areas, officials like the ''[[muqaddam]]s'' paid the revenue in brass and copper coins and also used the same coins to purchase arms and horses. As a result, the value of coins decreased and, as said by [[Satish Chandra (historian)|Satish Chandra]], the coins became "''as worthless as stones''".

===Ahom Kingdom (1228–1826 CE)===
{{main|Ahom coinage}}
<gallery class="center" widths="200px" heights="100px" perrow="4">
File:Silver rupee of Rudra Simha.jpg|Rajmohuree (rupee) of [[Rudra Singha]]
File:Siu-nyut-pha coin.jpg|Coin of [[Udayaditya Singha]] in Ahom script
</gallery>

=== Vijayanagara Empire (c. 1336–1646 CE) ===
{{Main|Vijayanagara coinage}}

[[File:Coins of history Andhra Pradesh (Vijayanagara era).JPG|thumb|Coins of the Vijayanagara Empire on display]]
The standard coin issued by the [[Vijayanagara Empire]] was the gold [[Pagoda (coin)|Pagoda]] or [[Varaha]] of 3.4 g. The Varaha was also called the Hon, Gadyana or a Pon and came in the Ghattivaraha, Doddavaraha and Suddhavaraha coin. In the gold issue, the different coins came in Varaha, this is used as a reference for the other coins values. There were also other units of silver and copper based on their relationship with the Pagodagold.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://prabhu.50g.com/vijayngr/vij_coinage.html |title=Vijayanagara coins |publisher=Govindraya Prabhu S |access-date=2007-07-13 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070909090227/http://prabhu.50g.com/vijayngr/vij_coinage.html|archive-date=9 September 2007}}</ref> Several gold [[ramatanka]]s (token coins), feature the scene of [[Rama]]'s incoronation, were also issued in the [[Vijayanagara Empire]].<ref>{{cite book |first=T. | last=Desikachari |title=South Indian Coins |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lNx31XT747wC&pg=PA76 |year=1991 |publisher=Asian Educational Services |isbn=978-81-206-0155-0 |page=76 }}</ref>

=== Koch Dynasty (c. 1515–1949 CE)  ===
{{main|Koch coinage}}

=== Early Mughal Emperors (c. 1526–1540 CE) ===

[[File:Marks on Mughal coins.jpg|thumb|Marks on Mughal coins]]
The Mughal Emperor [[Babur]] issued standard Timurid currency coins known as the ''shahrukhi'', named after [[Shah Rukh|Shahrukh Mirza]], Timur's eldest son. The ''Shahrukhis'' were essentially thin broad-flanned coins imprinted with the Sunni [[Six Kalimas|''kalima'']] or credo on its obverse at the center with the names of the [[Rashidun Caliphate|first four caliphs]] around it. The reverse had the king's name and titles along with the date in the Hijri era and the name of the minting town. Babur's successor [[Humayun]] continued the minting of Shahrukhi-styled coins.

=== Sur Empire (c. 1540–1556 CE) ===
[[File:Sher_shah's_rupee.jpg|thumb|Silver Rupee introduced by [[Sher Shah Suri]].]]
The system of tri-metalism which came to characterize Mughal coinage was introduced by [[Sher Shah Suri]]. While the term ''rūpya'' had previously been used as a generic term for any silver coin, during his rule the term ''rūpee'' came to be used as the name for a silver coin of a standard weight of 178 grains, which was the precursor of the modern [[rupee]].

=== Later Mughal Emperors (c. 1555–1857 CE) ===

==== All Coins of [[Akbar]] ====
Political orders in [[Medieval India]] were based on a relationship and association of power by which the supreme ruler, especially a monarch was able to influence the actions of the subjects.<ref name="h">Himanshu, P. R. (2006)</ref> In order for the relationship to work, it had to be expressed and communicated in the best possible way.[[File:Silver Rupee Akbar.jpg|thumb|Silver Rupee of Akbar with inscriptions of the [[shahada|Islamic declaration of faith]], the inscription reads: "There is no god but Allah, and [[Muhammad]] is the messenger of Allah."]]In other words, power was by nature declarative from the point of view of its intelligibility and comprehensibility to the audience and required modes of communication to take effect by means of which sovereign power was articulated in the 16th century India.<ref name="h">Himanshu, P. R. (2006)</ref> An examination was done of a series of coins officially issued and circulated by the Mughal emperor [[Akbar]] (r. 1556–1605) to illustrate and project a particular view of time, religion, and political supremacy being fundamental and co-existing in nature. Coins constitute part of the evidence that project the transmission of religious and political ideas in the last quarter of the 16th century. The word 'Alf' refers to the millennium.<ref name="h">Himanshu, P. R. (2006)</ref>
The following are the extraordinary decisions, though bizarre, were taken by King Akbar.

* The date in coins were written in words and not in figures.
* If the intention was to refer to the year 1000 (yak hazar) of the Islamic calendar ([[Islamic calendar|hijri]] era) as is traditionally believed, the expression adopted for it (Alf) was unorthodox and eccentric.
* Akbar, ultimately and more importantly, commanded Alf to be imprinted on the coins in 990 hijri (1582 CE ), or ten years before the date (1000 hijri) was due.
The order was a major departure and extremely unconventional and eccentric from the norm of striking coins in medieval India. Till the advent of Alf, all gold and silver coins had been stuck with figure of the current hijri year.<ref name=h>Himanshu, P. R. (2006)</ref> Akbar's courtier and critic, Abdul Badani, presents and explains in brevity the motive for these unconventional decisions while describing the events that took place in 990 [[Hijri year|AH]] (1582 CE):

{{Blockquote|And having thus convinced himself that the thousand years from the prophethood of the apostle (B'isat I Paighambar) the duration for which [[Islam]] [lit. religion] would last was now over, and nothing prevented him from articulating the desires he so secretly held in his heart, and the space became empty of the theologians (ulema) and mystics (mashaikh) who had carried awe and dignity and no need was felt for them: he [Akbar] felt himself at liberty to refute the principles of Islam and to institute new regulations, obsolete and corrupt but considered precious by his pernicious beliefs. The first order, which was given to write the date Alf on coins (Dar Sikka tank half Navisand) and to write the [[Tarikh-i Alfi]] [history of the millennium] from the demise (Rihlat) of the prophet (Badauni II: 301).<ref name=h>Himanshu, P. R. (2006)</ref>}}

The evidence, both textual and [[numismatics|numismatic]], actually makes it clear that Akbar's decisions to mint the Alf coins and commission the Tarikh-i-Alfi were based on a new communication and interpretation of the terminal dates of the Islamic millennium. What the evidence doesn't explain is the source of the idea as well as the reason for persisting with the same date on the imperial coinage even after the critical year had passed.<ref name="h">Himanshu, P. R. (2006)</ref>

==== Jahangir ====
[[Jahangir]] issued coins with the images of various zodiac signs to illustrate the date as well as portraits of himself with a cup of wine in his hand. This was resented by the clergy, as [[Aniconism in Islam|representation of living beings was forbidden in Islam]]. These coins were melted during the reign of [[Shah Jahan]], and only a few specimens survive today.

=== Maratha Empire ===
[[File:MWI3371-Sivaji-CNG73.1186-2.81g-7h.jpg|alt=|thumb|[[Maratha Empire]], [[Chhatrapati Shivaji]], Gold hon, c. 1674–80 CE]]

The Marathas became powerful under leadership of Chatrapati Maharaj Shivaji who ascended to throne in 1674. The Marathas became very powerful and controlled vast territory of the Indian subcontinent by the early eighteenth century.
The Marathas issued Shivrai coins. The obverse of the coin had the inscription ' Sri Raja Shiv' in devanagari. The reverse of the coin had 'Chatrapati' in devanagari. The coins were issued in copper for the masses. Very few gold coins known as Shivrai hon were also issued.

== British Colonial period (c. 1858–1947 CE) ==
{{Main|Coins of British India}}
[[File:Rupee, 1840 - British India, Victoria.jpg|thumb|right|180px|1840 [[East India Company]] Rupee coin depicting [[Queen Victoria]]. It was minted in [[Bombay]], [[Calcutta]] and [[Madras]].]]
[[File:1 Indian rupee (1918).jpg|thumb|right|180px|1 Indian rupee (1918) featuring King [[George V]].]]
Uniform coinage was introduced in India by the British in 1835, with coins in the name of the East India Company, bearing the image of William IIII. In 1840, these were replaced by coins with an image of Queen Victoria, but the design otherwise remained the same. The next set of coins was minted in 1862 and had significant changes - East India Company was replaced by 'India'. The image of Queen Victoria was also changed, shown in a regal robe with a crown. In 1877, Victoria was declared the Empress of India - and her title on Indian coins changed as a result. This last design continued till 1938, with only the image of the ruler changing. Over this entire period, the weight of the Indian rupee and its purity remained constant at 11.66 grams and 91.7% respectively.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tezbid.com/blogs/blogs/evolution-of-the-rupee-1835-1948|title = Evolution of the Rupee - 1835-1947 – tezbid| date=22 June 2019 }}</ref>

=== Princely States ===
[[File:Pav Anna copper coins from the Princely state of Gwalior, during the reign of Scende dynasty.jpg|thumb|180px|Copper coins from the [[Gwalior State]], issued on the name of [[Madho Rao Scindia]].]]

==== Hyderabad State ====
The [[Hyderabadi rupee|Hyderabadi Rupee]] coins featured the [[Charminar]].

==== Travancore State ====
Issues of the [[Travancore Rupee]] often had the names or insignia of the reigning monarch in English. The reverse features inscriptions in the native language of [[Malayalam]]. The year, when printed on the coins was based on the [[Malayalam calendar]].

==== Baroda state ====
Gaekwads were officers in the Peshwa army. They proved their skills in the battlefield and rose to become generals. After the Marathas empire weakened Baroda became a semi independent state. The first coins issued by the Gaekwads were issued by Manaji Rao (r. 1789–93) and they followed the Maratha pattern of naming the Mughal emperor Shah Alam II, distinguishing themselves only by the placement of an extra mark or letter to indicate the issuer. 
After 1857, the designs were changed and coins were issued in the name of the Gaekwads. The legends on these coins were still in Persian and the coins themselves were still hand- struck. Later Nagari legends and different designs were introduced and milled coins featuring the portrait of the Gaekwad were issued.

== Post-Independence (c. 1947 CE – present) ==
{{Main|Coins of the Indian rupee|l1 = Coins of the Indian Rupee}}
[[File:5 Rupees coin of India commemorating the birth centenary of Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India.jpg|thumb|5 Rupees coin [[Commemorative coin|commemorating]] the birth centenary of [[Jawaharlal Nehru]] in 1989.]]

=== Dominion of India (c. 1947–1950) ===
The newly independent [[Dominion of India]] retained the previous imperial currency with images of British monarchs.

=== Pre-Decimalization (c. 1950–1957) ===
On 26 January 1950, India became a sovereign republic. This series was introduced on 15 August 1950 and represented the first coinage of Republic India. The British monarch's portrait was replaced by the [[Lion Capital of Ashoka]].

=== Post-Decimalization (c. 1957 – present) ===

== Gallery ==
<gallery>
File:Queen Kumaradevi and King Chandragupta I on a coin.jpg|Queen Kumar and King [[Chandragupta I]] on a coin of their son Samudragupta 380 CE.
File:KumaraguptaFightingLion.jpg|Gold coin of [[Gupta Empire|Gupta era]], depicting a Gupta king holding a bow, 300 CE.
File:Silver rupee of Rudra Simha.jpg|Silver Rupee coin of Rudra Simha of [[Ahom kingdom]], 1696 CE.
File:Silver rupee of Sayaji Rao III of Baroda.jpg|Silver Rupee of the Maratha [[Baroda State|Kingdom of Baroda]], Sayaji Rao III, 1870 CE.
File:Gold coin of Raja Raja Chola I.JPG|Gold coin of [[Raja Raja Chola I]], 985–1014 CE.
File:East India Company One Quarter Anna coin of 1835.jpg|One Quarter Anna of 1835, bearing the crest of [[East India Company]].
File:Security edges of the Indian 5 Rupee coins.jpg|Milled edges of the Indian five Rupee coins
File:Indian numismatic items made of silver, photographed from a personal collection in West Bengal, India, dated July 27, 2024.jpg|Numismatic items from Ancient, medieval and British India, made of silver.
</gallery>

==See also==
{{Portal bar|Money|India}}
*[[Coinage of Asia]]
*[[History of the rupee]]
*[[Indian rupee]]
*[[Coins of the Indian rupee]]
*[[Pre-modern coinage in Sri Lanka]]
*[[Rakhaldas Bandyopadhyay]]

== Notes ==
{{Reflist}}

== References ==
* Himanshu Prabha Ray (2006), "Coins in India", {{ISBN|81-85026-73-4}}.
* Allan, J. & Stern, S. M. (2008), ''coin'', Encyclopædia Britannica.
* Agrawal, Ashvini (1989), ''Rise and Fall of the Imperial Guptas'', Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|81-208-0592-5}}.
* {{citation |last1=Bopearachchi |first1=Osmund |author-link=Osmund Bopearachchi|last2=Cribb |first2=Joe |article=Coins illustrating the History of the Crossroads of Asia |editor1-last=Errington |editor1-first=Elizabeth |editor2-last=Cribb |editor2-first=Joe |editor3-last=Claringbull |editor3-first=Maggie |title=The Crossroads of Asia: transformation in image and symbol in the art of ancient Afghanistan and Pakistan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pfLpAAAAMAAJ |pages=57–59|year=1992 |publisher=Ancient India and Iran Trust |isbn=978-0-9518399-1-1 |ref={{sfnref|Bopearachchi & Cribb, Coins illustrating the History of the Crossroads of Asia|1992}}}}
* Brown, C.J. (1992), ''The Coins of India'', Association Press (Y.M.C.A), {{ISBN|978-81-8090-192-8}}.
* Chaudhuri, K. N. (1985), ''Trade and Civilisation in the Indian Ocean'', Cambridge University Press, {{ISBN|0-521-28542-9}}.
* {{citation |last=Cunningham |first=Alexander |author-link=Alexander Cunningham |title=Coins of Ancient India: From the Earliest Times Down to the Seventh Century A. D. |url=https://archive.org/details/coinsancientind00cunngoog/page/n11 |year=1891 |publisher=B. Quaritch |location=London |ref={{sfnref|Cunningham, Coins of Ancient India|1891}}}}
* Curtin, Philip DeArmond etc. (1984), ''Cross-Cultural Trade in World History'', Cambridge University Press. {{ISBN|0-521-26931-8}}.
* Dhavalikar, M. K. (1975), "The beginning of coinage in India", ''World Archaeology'', '''6'''  (3): 330–338, Taylor & Francis, Ltd.
* Kulke, Hermann & Rothermund, Dietmar (2004), ''A History of India'', Routledge, {{ISBN|0-415-32919-1}}.
* {{citation |last=Mookerji |first=Radhakumud |title=Chandragupta Maurya and His Times |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i-y6ZUheQH8C&pg=PA27 |edition=Second |year=1966 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |orig-year=first published 1943 |isbn=978-81-208-0405-0 |ref={{sfnref|Mookerji, Chandragupta Maurya and His Times|1966}}}}
* {{citation |first=B.N. |last=Mukherjee |author-link=B. N. Mukherjee |chapter=Money and Social Changes in India (up to c. AD 1200) |editor=Saiyid Zaheer Husain Jafri |title=Recording the Progress of Indian History: Symposia Papers of the Indian History Congress, 1992–2010 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K4SzQL1uds4C&pg=PA411 |year=2012 |publisher=Primus Books |isbn=978-93-80607-28-3 |pages=411– |ref={{sfnref|Mukherjee, Money and Social Changes in India|2012}}}}
* Prasad, P.C. (2003), ''Foreign trade and commerce in ancient India'', Abhinav Publications, {{ISBN|81-7017-053-2}}.
* Sellwood, D. G. J. (2008), ''coin'', Encyclopædia Britannica.
* Srivastava, A.L. & Alam, Muzaffar (2008), ''India'', Encyclopædia Britannica.
* Sutherland, C. H. V. (2008), ''coin'', Encyclopædia Britannica.
* Himanshu, P. R. (2006), ''Coins in India:Power and Communication'', J.J. Bhabha Marg Publication, {{ISBN|81-85026-73-4}}.

==External links==
{{Commons category|Coins of India}}
*[https://en.numista.com/catalogue/inde-1.html Coins from India] at Numista
* [https://www.maunishshah.com Maunish Shah Coins]
* [http://inagnum.blogspot.in Persian & Devanagari Legends on Silver Rupees of India]
* [http://www.rbi.org.in/currency/museum/gallery.html Reserve Bank of India Monetary Museum (RBI)] at rbi.org.in
* [http://www.zeno.ru/showgallery.php?cat=861 ''Oriental Coins Database''] at Zeno.ru
* [http://www.coinindia.com/ CoinIndia: The Virtual Museum of Indian Coins]
* {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20180203075526/http://suvarnamohur.com/ Suvarna Mohur: Indian Coins and History]}} at Suvarna Mohur

{{Historic Indian currency and coinage}}
{{India topics}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Coins of India| ]]
[[Category:Ancient currencies]]
[[Category:Economic history of India]]