Ancient Indians were among the first to introduce coins to the world (along with the Chinese). The earliest reference of coins can be found in the vedas.
Early Coinage
The first Indian coins were called Puranas, Karshapanas or Pana. They were minted in the 6th century BC by the Mahajanapadas or kingdoms of ancient India. These coins were made at silver and had different markings or symbols for each kingdom.
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Mauryan Rupa
During the Mauryan rule, Chanakya, the prime minister to Chandragupta Maurya, minted coins such as rupyarupa (silver), suvarnarupa (gold), tamararupa (copper) and sisarupa (lead).
Kushan Coinage
The Indo-Greek Kushan kings introduced the Greek custom of engraving portrait heads on coins. The coins had the king’s symbol on one side and his favorite deity on the reverse. This influenced numerous tribes, dynasties and kingdoms for centuries.
Gupta Coinage
The era of Gupta Dynasty, 4th-6th century is considered the golden age of Indian coinage due to the numerous findings of gold coins from that era.
Introduction of Rupee
It was Sher Shah Suri, a 16th century ruler of Afghan Lineage who introduced the Rupee – a silver coin. The one Rupee coin was equal to four coins made of copper.
Coinage of British India
During the British rule, new coins were introduced. These coins depicted Queen Victoria’s image with her name, as she was the new Empress of India. Uniform coinage system was introduced in India as per the Coinage Act of India in 1835.
Coinage of Independent India
The first coinage of Independent India was introduced on 15th August, 1950 with the launch of ‘Anna (Aana)’ series. Sixteen aanas were equal to one rupee. The aanas/annas were further divided into 12 pies or 4 paisas. There were also 1/2 or 1/4 paisas.
Metals like copper, nickel and alloy were used to make coins. Coins have often depicted various major events of Indian history.
The word “rupee’ originates from the Sanskrit word ‘raupyak’ meaning silver and the Sanskrit word ‘rupya’ meaning shaped, impressed coin
Manufacturing facility where coins are made is called a Mint. In India, there are ‘Mints’ in cities tke Kolkata, Mumhai, Hyderabad and Noida.
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