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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
‘‘.
Coins
are as important as the inscription in history . They confirm the information
derived from literature. They are of various metals –gold, 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 :
1) Coins : Dr P.L. Gupta ,
National Books trust .
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