History · Ch 2 — Kings, Farmers and Towns — Early States and Economies
Coins and kings
Coins and kings
The introduction of coinage was a major turning point in the history of exchange. Before coins, trade relied on barter or the use of commodities like grain and cattle as money. Coins made transactions far more standardised and portable.
The earliest coins in the subcontinent were punch-marked coins, made of silver and copper. These first appeared around the sixth century BCE and were minted and used for centuries. Archaeologists have recovered them from excavations at numerous sites across the subcontinent. The study of these coins — a field called numismatics — helps historians reconstruct possible commercial networks.
Who issued these punch-marked coins? Numismatists have tried to identify the symbols punched onto them with specific ruling dynasties, including the Mauryas. This suggests that at least some of these coins were issued by kings. However, it is also likely that merchants, bankers, and townspeople issued some of them. So, coinage was not a royal monopoly from the start.
The first coins to actually bear the names and images of rulers were issued by the Indo-Greeks, who controlled the north-western part of the subcontinent from around the second century BCE. This was a major innovation — the ruler’s face and title now guaranteed the coin’s value.
The Kushanas took this further. They issued the largest hoards of gold coins — the first gold coins in the subcontinent — around the first century CE. These Kushana gold coins were virtually identical in weight to those issued by contemporary Roman emperors and the Parthian rulers of Iran. Hoards of these coins have been found at several sites in north India and Central Asia. The widespread use of gold coins indicates the enormous value of the transactions taking place.
Trade networks were not confined within political boundaries. Hoards of Roman coins have been found from archaeological sites in south India. South India was not part of the Roman Empire, but there were close connections through trade. A Greek text called the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea (composed by an anonymous Greek sailor around the first century CE) describes this trade in detail. It lists goods imported into the Malabar coast (present-day Kerala): a great quantity of coin, topaz, antimony, coral, crude glass, copper, tin, and lead. Exports from the region included pepper, fine pearls, ivory, silk cloth, transparent stones of all kinds, diamonds, sapphires, and tortoise shell. Archaeological evidence of a bead-making industry using precious and semi-precious stones has been found at Kodumanal in Tamil Nadu, suggesting that local traders brought these stones to coastal ports for export.
Coins were also issued by tribal republics, such as the Yaudheyas of Punjab and Haryana (around the first century CE). Archaeologists have unearthed several thousand copper coins issued by the Yaudheyas, pointing to their active interest and participation in economic exchanges.
Some of the most spectacular gold coins were issued by the Gupta rulers. The earliest Gupta gold coins are remarkable for their purity. These coins facilitated long-distance transactions from which kings also benefited. …
Figure 2.7 shows a single silver punch-marked coin, one of the earliest forms of minted currency in the Indian subcontinent, dating from roughly the sixth century BCE onwards. The coin is irregular in shape — not perfectly round — and its surface is covered with several small, distinct symbols that were individually punched or stamped into the metal, rather than being struck from a single engraved die. This is the defining feature that gives this type its name.
The symbols on the coin are not arranged in a neat pattern; they appear scattered across the surface, each one a separate punch mark. Numismatists have identified many such symbols — often including a sun, a six-armed symbol, a hill with a crescent, or various animals — but the exact meaning of each symbol is debated. Some scholars link these symbols to specific ruling dynasties, including the Mauryas, suggesting that kings issued these coins. However, the textbook also notes that merchants, bankers, and townspeople may have issued some of them, so the symbols do not necessarily indicate a single royal authority.
The coin is made of silver, which was a high-value metal at the time. Copper punch-marked coins also existed, but silver ones like this were likely used for larger transactions. The fact that such coins have been recovered from excavations at numerous sites across the subcontinent — from the northwest to the Deccan and the Ganga plain — shows that they were part of a widespread network of exchange. …
The figure shows a copper coin issued by the Yaudheyas, a tribal republic that flourished in the region of present-day Punjab and Haryana around the first century CE. The coin is small and roughly circular, typical of early Indian copper coinage. On one side, it bears a deity or symbol — often identified as Kartikeya (the war god) standing with a spear, reflecting the martial character of the Yaudheya republic. The other side carries a legend in Brahmi script, reading “Yaudheya-gana-sya” — meaning “of the Yaudheya people” or “of the Yaudheya tribe.” This legend is crucial: it explicitly names the issuing authority as the gana (republic or clan), not a single king.
The coin’s design and legend teach two key lessons. First, it shows that tribal republics, not just monarchies, minted coins — and in large numbers. Archaeologists have unearthed thousands of such Yaudheya copper coins, which the textbook uses as evidence of their active participation in economic exchanges. Second, the fact that the coin names the collective gana rather than an individual ruler underscores the republican character of the Yaudheya polity. This contrasts sharply with contemporary Indo-Greek or Kushana coins, which prominently feature the ruler’s portrait and name. …
The figure shows a Gupta gold coin, one of the most famous examples of early Indian coinage. The coin is round, made of gold, and the earliest Gupta issues are noted for their exceptionally high purity — a fact the textbook highlights as remarkable. On one side, the coin typically bears the portrait of the ruling king, often shown in a standing or seated posture, sometimes holding a bow or a sceptre. The other side usually features a goddess (often Lakshmi) seated on a lotus, or a ritual symbol like a garuda or a chakra. The king’s name and titles are inscribed in Brahmi script along the edge or around the figure.
What makes this coin significant for the chapter is not just its artistry but what it reveals about the economy. The textbook explains that these Gupta gold coins facilitated long-distance transactions, from which kings themselves benefited. The purity of the gold meant the coins were trusted across regions, enabling trade in high-value goods — pepper, pearls, silk, ivory, and precious stones — as described in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea. The fact that such coins have been found in hoards across north India and even Central Asia shows that trade networks extended far beyond political boundaries. …
Source 9 — The Malabar coast (present-day Kerala). Here is an excerpt from the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, composed by an anonymous Greek sailor (c. first century CE). ("Periplus" is Greek for sailing around; "Erythraean" was the Greek name for the Red Sea.)
They (i.e. traders from abroad) send large ships to these market-towns on account of the great quantity and bulk of pepper and malabathrum (possibly cinnamon, produced in these regions). There are imported here, in the first place, a great quantity of coin; topaz … antimony (a mineral used as a colouring substance), coral, crude glass, copper, tin, lead … There is exported pepper, which is produced in quantity in only one region near these markets … Besides this there are exported great quantities of fine pearls, ivory, silk cloth, … transparent stones of all kinds, diamonds and sapphires, and tortoise shell. …