Transcript Document 7307063

Introduction
M.A.
(Numismatics & Archaeology)
Mahesh Kalra
Asst. Professor/Curator
Dinesh Mody Museum and Institute for
Numismatics & Archaeology
Numismatics
Numismatics is the study or
collection of currency including
coins, tokens, paper money, and
related objects.
While Numismatists are often
characterized as students or
collectors of coins, the discipline
also includes the broader study of
money and other payment media
used to resolve debts and the
exchange of goods.
Numismatics is derived from the
French adjective numismatique,
meaning "of coins", which was
derived the Greek Nomisma
(νόμισμα), meaning ‘current coin’.
It was first used as a term in 1829
in the English language to describe
the field of study of coins.
Archaeology
The word Archaeology
comes from the Greek
archaiologia meaning
“knowledge of the ancient“
Archaeology is the study of
past human society
primarily through the
recovery and analysis of the
material culture and
environmental data that they
have left behind
These include artifacts,
architecture, biofacts and
cultural landscapes i.e. the
archaeological records
What is Money?
“Money is anything which can be used as a
medium to exchange goods of different values
on a day-to-day basis and serve as a store of
value for future purposes.”
The ideal unit of money is…
a)Easily divisible into smaller units for smaller
transactions
b)Easy to transport from one place to another
c) Long lasting for storage of value for future use.
In the Beginning……
Today, Money comes in different forms as coins, banknotes, valuable
materials like gold, silver, etc. and today as fixed deposits, credit,
debit cards, demat accounts, etc.
It is an important tool of smooth functioning of modern human society
and lack of Money can lead to chaotic/violent transactions as in
prehistoric or undeveloped societies.
However, Money did not come to human beings as a natural product;
instead it came through a number of painful indirect experiments;
coupled with a lot of human ingenuity.
The earliest form of Money was probably Stone tools/weapons,
small curios like cowry shells, metal nails and other sundry
household objects, collectively called as ‘Money Objects’, which
were exchanged between groups of men/women.
Pre-historic Barter Goods
Human evolution timeline
– Courtesy Deccan College Collections
Pre-Historic Timeline –
Courtesy Dr. Kishor Gaikwad
Prehistoric Economy
Pre-historic Man evolved in three stages
Palaeolithic Era (1.5 million years ago –
10,000 B.C.) when Man was just a huntergatherer with no exchange except of
basic stone tools
Mesolithic Era (10,000 – 8000 B.C.) when
he began systematic hunting using small
sharp tools called Microliths and
beginning towards a settled life. This
period saw an exchange of tools with
setting up of ‘tool factories’
Neolithic Era (8000-6000 B.C.) when he
discovered agriculture and domestication
of animals saw a spurt in exchange of
goods, storage of surplus goods leading
to invention of pottery. Neolithic period
sites are thus aceramic and ceramic i.e.
without or with pottery. In this era,
primitive housing called wattle and daub
structures was invented.
Ghugeria ‘Copper Hoards’ c.2nd Century B.C.
Image Courtesy British Museum
Origin of Money
The Origins of Money are linked to two
important factors; one the beginning
of cities, and trade between cities and
inside the city.
The second and most important factor,
the beginning of Man’s ability to count
and thus maintain accounts. The
earliest forms of writing is not
historical or poetic or literary material
but accounts!
This is true of all ancient civilizations
like the Sumerian, Indus (Harappan) or
the Chinese where writing symbols
were invented initially to maintain
accounts of trade
The concept of
Money flourished
only after the
concept of storage
of surplus goods
was firmly
established.
Thus, Money
developed after
Man learnt
pottery as earthen
pots were a vital
storage tool for
the early humans
especially in the
Neolithic period
The Potter of Navadatoli
– Courtesy Deccan College Collections, Pune
Indian civilization developed in 3 stages;
• Prehistoric period as elsewhere till Neolithic
phase (1.5 million years ago - 8000 B.C.)
• Protohistoric period (Chalcolithic or Bronze Age)
Harappan civilization (Mature phase 3500 B.C. –
1900 B.C.) a.k.a. First Urbanization
• Vedic period (Early Vedic c. 1500 B.C. – Late Vedic
c. 900 B.C.)
• Pre-Buddhist period a.k.a. Second Urbanization
period or Mahajanapada period 8th Century B.C. 6th Century B.C.
Harappan Economy
India’s protohistoric period i.e.
Harappan era (c.3500 B.C. -1900 B.C.)
has not thrown up any coin or any
definite exchange medium .
However, archaeologists have found
adequate proof of Harappans’ trade
between various Harappan sites and
external civilizations in Bahrain and
Mesopotamian sites on a very
organized level. The first pointer is a
very definite weight system which is
divisible into definite units
And other pointers are Harappan
seals found in Mesopotamia and
Bahrain pointing to the possibility of
the seals being some form of trade
mark.
Additionally, goods from either
regions are found at sites and several
factory sites for specialized goods are
found in many Harappan sites on the
Saurashtra coast
Bronze Age
‘trade goods’
What is a Coin?
A Coin is a piece of metal which has a distinct
value conferred upon it by a stamp of official
authority authorizing its use as money.
Each coin has two values; an intrinsic value i.e.
the value of the metal it is made of and
an extrinsic or face value which is conferred upon
it by the issuing authorities.
In the past, the intrinsic value was equal to its face
value but in most modern economies today, the
face value is much more than its intrinsic value
• Ancient/Medieval times
Intrinsic value = Extrinsic value i.e. 1 Rupee coin
had silver worth 1 Rupee used in its making
• Modern times (Post-WWII)
Intrinsic value > Extrinsic value
i.e. Coin is a token of the value indicated on it and
has nominal and/or devalued metals used in its
minting
• Numismatics follows some laws notable
among these is Gresham’s Law which stated in
simple language means ‘"Bad money drives
out good if their exchange rate is set by law.“
• Another principle is the Law of Numismatic
Continuity which translates into the fact that
usually a new regime cannot begin a new coin
type immediately on assuming powers over a
region or empire
Earliest Coins in the world
The oldest coin recorded in the ancient world was the Lydian dinar from Lydia (modern
Anatolia/Asia Minor in Central Turkey) which was made from Electrum, a natural alloy of
Gold and Silver which was issued in 6th century B.C.
The Lydian currency benefitted from the kingdom’s possession of mines of Electrum.
The Lydians issued the world’s first pure gold coins in the reign of King Croesus. English
language has a saying “as rich as Croesus”. Soon, the Athenians and other European states
began issuing their own independent coinage.
The Chinese took the concept of ‘Money Objects’ to the next level and issued ‘Knife or
Spade Money’ complete with the blade and handle; in the shape of these tools in the 6th
Century B.C. under the Qi dynasty. However, some Indian scholars believe Indian coined
money is the oldest in the world. The debate continues………
First Indian Coinage
The Vedas give rich
references to the use of Cow
as a unit of money by using
terms like ‘Gow Pada’ ‘Gow
Puccha’ especially as
donations during sacrifices by
the Kings.
However, the Cow was not an
ideal unit of Money because
a)it was not divisible,
b) not easy to carry and
c) most importantly it was
perishable; making precious
metals the next likely choice
as units of wealth.
Thus, the Rg Veda (c.1500 B.C.) uses the term Hiranya for both
precious metals; later, however, they were named as Suvarna
(Gold) and Rajata (Silver) in the later Vedas. According to Dr. P. L.
Gupta, Hiranya meant only metal and hence it referred to silver
coins only.
However, the stamping of metal began much later. The procedure
probably owed its idea to the branding of cows by the owners of
various cow sheds. The Vedas speak of a variety of Gold ‘coins’
like Nishka, Suvarna, Shatamana, Pana, Pada, Chandra, etc.
However, no specimens of stamped coins especially in gold
dating to the Vedic era have been discovered so far.
The earliest references to coins being stamped
comes during the Mahajanapada period when
Sanskrit textbooks by Panini, the Arthashastra
by Kautilya or Chanakya, Buddhist Jataka tales,
Jain Agamas, etc. speak of coins called
Karshapanas or Kahapanas and their subunits
like Pana, Mashakas, Kakanis, etc.
Panini’s Asthadhyayi speaks of metallic pieces
being stamped (ahata) by rupa (symbols)
However, earlier texts like Upanishads and
Brahmanas have no exact reference to the
stamping of coins
Jetavana Roundel
The best numismatic reference to
coins in early Buddhist literature is the
story of Sudatta, a merchant from
Shravasti who was very generous by
nature and earned the nickname
‘Anathpindika’ for feeding the poor.
When Anathpindika heard of the
Buddha’s arrival at Shravasti, he
offered to buy the town’s best garden
and dedicate it to the Sangh.
However, the garden belonged to
Prince Jeta, the son of King Prasenjita
and he reluctantly agreed to sell it if
Anathapindika covered the entire
garden’s surface with silver Kahapanas.
However, Anathpindika actually
covered the garden with silver
Kahapanas and earned the Buddha’s
approbation! Hence this roundel tells
the story in pictures. Note the shape of
the coins is rectangular!
Janapadas and their
issues
The oldest coinage in India was issued
by a number of independent states
called the Janapadas.
The Janapadas (Jana~People
Pada~Footprint) were the first form of
organized political structures; based
on clans, communities, ideals like
republican character, etc.
Soon, the Janapadas were absorbed
into larger units known as
Mahajanapadas which are referred in
Buddhist and Hindu literature as
‘Solasa Mahajanapada’.
Mahajanapadas were eventually
absorbed into the Mauryan empire
which rose to great heights under
Chandragupta Maurya in 320 B.C. and
further under his grandson, Ashoka
the Great (r.276-232 B.C.) covering the
entire Indian subcontinent till Mysore
in the south.
Punch Marked Coinage
Dr. P.L. Gupta contends Indian coinage
predates Lydian and Chinese coinage
and was issued in 7th century B.C. by
the Janapadas ; however other
scholars place them in 5th Century B.C.
These first coins issued by the
Janapadas, Mahajanapadas and the
Mauryan empire, are called Punch
marked coinage in modern
numismatic terminology as they are
manufactured by ‘striking single or
multiple punches’ on the surface of
the coin. In these coins, the flan of
the coin is larger than the punch.
The term was first used by James
Prinsep in 1834 when he came across
specimens of these coins.
Thus, these coins form the oldest
Indian coinage as they meet our
definition of a coin in totality as they
indeed are “pieces of metal with a
distinct value conferred upon them by
a stamp of official authority
authorizing its use as money.”
Featured here: Shakya Janapada PMC
c. 4th Century B.C.
PMCs are however classified into various types based
on their find spots (Janapadas), typology of punch
marks (geometric, animal or floral) and number of
marks (single, double, four or five).
Research on the number of punch marks shows an
initial period when the PMCs issued by various
Janapadas have less than four marks; later in the
imperial Magadha period from the reign of Bimbisara
(604 B.C.) till the end of Mauryan Empire in 180 B.C.
the PMCs had five punch marks. These imperial
Magadha Punch marked coins are found all over the
Indian sub-continent (as opposed to the ‘local’ PMCs
which are usually restricted to their areas of issue)
and weigh around a uniform 54 grains (3.5 gms)
The important part of most PMCs is that they are usually
punched on one side; the reverse has either no or few small
marks. The marks, if any, are believed to have been made
by Money changers called Shroffs to check the purity of
silver. Shroff marks were renewed if the coin entered a new
market or reappeared after a long time. Thus, the
circulation period of a coin is indirectly indicated by the
number of shroff marks!
Weight standard of PMCs
Another important issue is the
weighing system of ancient Indian
coins was indigenously devised by
measuring them with a seed
known as Ratti or Gunja seed
(Abrus precatorius) which was
said to convey the weight of the
coins.
Thus, Imperial Magadha
Karshapanas weighed 32 Ratti.
The Ratti seed is used even today
by Indian jewellers to weigh
precious metals.
Thus, Punch Marked Coins were
the earliest from of Indian
coinage evolved by using
indigenous technology without
any influence from other
civilisations.