Money Economy and Coinage in Early India

At a Glance

• Earliest Punch-marked silver, age of the Buddha
• First attributable coins Indo-Greeks
• Gold Kushan dinars
• Deccan Satavahana lead and potin
• Peak of coinage 200 BC to AD 300
• Exam link UPSC Prelims, Ancient History: Post-Mauryan Period and Early South India

Where Does It Fit?

This is the last topic of the category on the post-Mauryan period and early South India. The previous topic covered Indo-Roman trade, and this one covers the money it brought and spread. The next category begins with the rise of the Gupta empire. Previous topic: Indo-Roman Trade and Maritime Contacts.

How Did Coinage Begin and Develop Before 200 BC?

In short: metal money began in the age of the Buddha and became state currency under the Mauryas.

Coins stamped by an authority were invented in Lydia in Asia Minor in the seventh century BC. How they were introduced in India is unclear. In Vedic times exchange was by barter and gifts; terms such as nishka and satamana appear to have been prestige objects of metal and not coins, and cattle sometimes served as currency. Metal coins appear first in the age of Gautama Buddha. The earliest were largely silver, with a few copper coins, and are called punch-marked because pieces of metal were punched with marks such as a hill, tree, fish, bull, elephant and crescent. Early hoards come from eastern UP and Magadha and some from Taxila, and the Pali texts show money paying wages and buying goods. Punch-marked silver coins with the symbols of the peacock and crescented hill formed the Mauryan imperial currency, along with copper punch-marked coins, cast copper coins and die-struck coins. The silver pana and its subdivisions were commonly used. These coins helped collect taxes and pay officers in cash, as noted in Mauryan Economy and State Control, and the earlier phase is in Second Urbanisation and Rural Economy in the Age of the Buddha.

What Did Foreign Contact and Rome Add?

The Indo-Greeks were the first rulers in India to issue coins that can be definitely attributed to particular kings, which was not possible for the early punch-marked coins. They were also the first to issue gold coins, which increased under the Kushans. Properly shaped and stamped Greek coins were an improvement on punch-marked coins. The Kushans issued gold coins in considerable numbers, imitating Roman gold, and copper coins on a large scale; their early gold coins were purer than those of the Guptas. It is wrong to think that all Kushan gold came from Rome: the Kushans probably obtained gold from Central Asia, and possibly from Karnataka or the mines of Dhalbhum. Because of contact with Rome the Kushans issued the dinar type of gold coin that became abundant under the Gupta rule. The Kushans issued the largest number of copper coins in north and north-west India. The Indo-Sassanians, their successors in lower Sindh, also issued many coins. Roman gold and silver coins were the most significant import into India, as in Indo-Roman Trade and Maritime Contacts.

How Deep Was the Money Economy?

Gold coins may not have been used in day-to-day transactions, which were carried on in coins of lead, potin or copper. Both lead and copper deposits are found in Andhra, and gold deposits in Karnataka. The Andhras issued a large number of lead or potin coins in the Deccan. The Satavahanas did not issue gold coins, but museum collections suggest they issued the largest number of coins. Some punch-marked and early Sangam age coins have been found at the tip of the peninsula, and Chera coins have been found in the bed of the Amaravati river. Indigenous dynasties used copper and bronze coins in large quantities: the Nagas of central India, the Yaudheyas of eastern Rajasthan and adjoining areas, and the Mitras of Kaushambi, Mathura, Avanti and Ahichchhatra. The craftsmen also made fake Roman coins, and locally imitated Roman coins were minted to increase the supply of money. Coin moulds from north India and the Deccan show mass production, and one Satavahana mould could turn out half a dozen coins at a time.

The period between 200 BC and AD 300 saw the largest number of coins, issued by Indian and Central Asian rulers, cities and tribes, and the highest number of dies and moulds in ancient times. In no other period had the money economy penetrated so deeply into the lives of common townspeople and suburbs. This fits the growth of crafts and thriving trade with Rome, as seen in Crafts, Commerce and Urban Growth (200 BC to AD 250). As an analytical point, barter still survived, for example in salt trade by Tamil merchants, so the extent of monetisation is hard to estimate; but coin hoards from many regions show wide use. The coinage story is extended by the Gupta gold coins, discussed in Rise of the Gupta Empire – Chandragupta I and Samudragupta.

Why Is This Topic Important?

• Coin types Frequent Prelims theme
• Monetisation Extent of money use
• Link With trade and urban growth

What Came Next?

The next category begins with the rise of the Gupta empire. Next topic: Rise of the Gupta Empire – Chandragupta I and Samudragupta.

Key People and Terms

• Punch-marked coin Earliest Indian coin type
• Pana Silver coin
• Potin Alloy of copper, tin and lead
• Dinar Gold coin type, Roman-linked
• Coin mould Clay mould for casting coins
• Die-struck coin Coin struck from a die

Exam Corner

Mains Angle

Questions ask about coinage as a source and indicator. These points add depth.

• Types Metals and issuers
• Spread Money economy
• Limits Barter persisted