India’s Earliest Coins
12Apr 2021
The 6th Century BCE was a remarkable period in the history of the Indian subcontinent. It witnessed the rise of the Mahajanapadas, the first-ever political states and cities on the Subcontinent. This, alongside a commodity surplus and the flourishing of trade, society, and art, paved the way for a complex economy. This then demanded a monetary system with a uniform, stable currency, and a robust authority to assign assurance marks on the coinage. The result was a piece of metal of sufficient purity and weight certified by the ruler of the territory. There’s a good chance these punch-marked coins were originally struck through guilds or private merchants, and later went under royal control. Hoards of silver punch-marked have been unearthed in a range of locations in northern India, from the…