Punchmark of
civilisation
What do coins tell us? Become a numismatist
and find out more
By Arvind Kumar
Who were the Bactarians, Indo-Greeks and Indo-Parthians? Well, today it may not be that much tough or troublesome to answer the question in the present context. There are libraries filled with books on all the above listed dynasties, but think of the time when we had not enough literary material (foreign & indigenous), inscriptions and other sources to know the history of bygone times of these dynasties? It’s coins, which were issued during their reign of rule by the various kings of these dynasties, which are considered as the only source of knowledge of these dynasties. We have learned a lot about the early dynasties of Indian subcontinent mostly because of meticulous and systematic numismatic research done in last couple of centuries. Indeed, Kharoshthi and Brahmi, the ancient scripts of India, are deciphered from bilingual coins of Indo-Greek and Kushan rulers.
Modern research in numismatics led to discoveries which firmly established existence of numerous rulers (and on many occasions entire dynasty!). The coins of Bactarians, Indo-Greeks and Indo-Parthians unfolds a few rare chapters of history. The portraits and figures, Hellenistic art and dates on the coins of the western satraps of Saurashtra are remarkable sources for reconstructing this period. The Puranic accounts of the Satavahanas can be cross confirmed from the Jogalthambi hoard of coins. The circulation of coins in gold as well as in silver during the Gupta Empire clearly reflects the healthy economic condition, trade and commerce during the rule of the Guptas.
Numismatics is defined as the scientific study of currency (coins) and its history in all its varied forms, which is originally made up of Latin word numisma or nomisma meaning ‘Coin’ and Greek word nomízein meaning ‘use according to law’. Coins yield the socio-economic information on the condition of country. The coins made of gold, silver and copper speak of the economic situation of that place in the period and also provide us the chronological information of that period. They give us knowledge about the extent of influence of a particular ruler or kingdom and their relation with the distant areas in special context with exchange of their trade, customs and sometimes culture also. The Roman coins that have been discovered in India give us an idea about the existence of contacts and confirm the active trade and commerce practice with the Roman Empire.
It is very difficult to know today where the concept of coinage first evolved, but it appears that the concept of money (as coins, which by definition here would be a piece of metal of defined weight stamped with symbol of authority for financial transaction), was conceived by three different civilisations independently and almost simultaneously. Coins were introduced as a means to trade things of daily usage in Asia Minor, India and China in 6th century BC. Most historians agree that the first coins of world were issued by Greeks living in Lydia and Ionia (located on the western coast of modern Turkey). These first coins were globules of Electrum, a naturally occurring alloy of gold and silver. These were crude coins of definite weight stamped with incuse punches issued by the local authorities in 650 BC.
The studies of ancient and medieval coinage have authenticated historical events known from literature, artifacts and archaeological findings. Indeed, the history of the Indian subcontinent and its coinage share the complexities as evident in presence of hundreds of dynasties and their attempt to issue distinct coinage over thousands of years. It is beyond doubt that the first coins of India were minted just before 5th century BC in Madhyadesha i.e. central India. A hoard of coins discovered at Chaman Huzuri in 1933 contained 43 silver punch-marked coins (the earliest coins of India) with Athenian (coins minted by Athens city of Greece) and Achaemenian (Persian) coins. Bhir (Taxila) hoard discovered in 1924 contained 1,055 punch-marked coins in very worn out condition and two coins of Alexander in mint condition. These archaelogical evidences clearly indicate that the coins were minted in India long before 4th century BC i.e. before Greeks advanced towards India (Alexander’s invasion of Persia and India). Panini wrote Ashtadhyayi in 4h-5th century BC in which he has mentioned Satamana, Nishkas, Sana, Vimastika, Karshapana and its various sub-divisions as coins.
The punch-marked coins are the earliest known Indian. As the name suggests, these coins bear the symbols of various types, punched on pieces of silver of specific weight. Some of the prominent features include: no defined shapes, mostly uniface and lack of any inscriptions written in contemporary languages and almost always struck in silver. Punch-marked coins are marked with 1-5 (and sometimes more) marks representing various symbols. The first punch mark coin was found near Mathura, which was made of Silver and its date goes back to 5th Century BC.
About 6th century BC, sixteen Mahajanapadas or kingdoms (Anga, Magadha, Kashi, Koshala, Vajji, Malla, Vatsa, Chedi, Kuru, Panchala, Matsya, Surasena, Ashvaka, Avanti, Gandhar and Kamboja) rose to pre-imminence in India. The following Mahajanapadas are among the earliest that minted the coins, which are mainly categorised in four regions as Ganga River valley (Kashi, Koshala and Brij), Upper Ganga river valley (Kuru-Panchala), Indus river valley (Taxila & Gandhara) and Godavari and Narmada river vally (Ashmaka or Ashvaka and Avanti).
Ancient Indian coinage was based on ‘Karshapana’ unit that consists of 32 rattis (3.3 grams of silver). A ‘Ratti’ is equivalent to 0.11 gms which is the average weight of a Gunja seed (a bright scarlet coloured seed). Subsidiary denominations of Karshapana like half Karshapana (16 ratti), quarter Karshapana (8 ratti) and 1/8 of Karshapana (4 ratti) were also minted.
The Mahajanpadas later on lost their separate identity and merged with one or the other janapadas and in the course Magadh emerged as the most powerful one under the Nanda dynasty, which was later on overthrown by Chandragupta Maurya (321-297 BC) and laid the foundation of Maurya dynasty.
Vima Kadphises (90-100 AD) of Kushan dynasty is supposed to be the one who for the fisrt time introduced gold coins. The Kushan monetary system was based on 8 gms of gold staters and 16 gms of copper. Gupta Dynasty is alternatively known as the Golden Age of India because of the fact of purity of gold content, its standard size and shape and various (nine) types of gold coinage displaying the state of the socio-economic, culture and tradition of the Gupta period and numerous aspects of the Gupta kings.
Modern numismatics is the study of the coins (machine struck coins) of the mid 17th to the 21st century. Their study serves more the need of collectors than historians and it is more often successfully pursued by amateur aficionados than by professional scholars. The focus of modern numismatics lies frequently in the research of production and use of money in historical contexts using mint or other records in order to determine the relative rarity of the coins they study. It includes few subfields as exonumia, the study of coin-like objects (token coins & medals), notaphily the study of paper money or banknotes and scripophily, the study and collection of stocks and bonds.
The term numismatist applies to collectors and coin dealers as well scholars using coins as source or studying coins. Indian Institute of Research in Numismatic Studies (IIRNS) is a research Institute on numismatics, particularly on Indian numismatic studies. It has trained numismatists who have specialised in different numismatic periods, such as ancient, early medieval, medieval and late medieval and they offer their services (free of cost) to any enquiry, made through the mail or otherwise, on academic aspect of any coin or coin series. IIRNS was founded in 1980. It is an outcome of the long - felt need for a research centre devoted to the furthering of Indian Numismatic Studies, especially as it relates to history, archaeology, economics and art.
There are various colleges, societies and institutes, which offer short-and long-term course on numismatics and IIRNS is one of them that prepares the numismatists for the future, providing them all the good facilities, dedicated infrastructure and resources fuelled by noted and eminent historians and faculty members and dedicated staff support. And far as job prospects are concerned there are over hundreds of museums and art galleries spread all across the country, which need numismatists for upkeep and proper care of coins.
The Numismatics Society of India is situated at campus of Banaras Hindu University in Banars just besides the Bharat Kala Bhavan (an art and archaeological museum, and is a treasure trove of rare collections) that offers professional courses in museology, numismatics and archaeology.