Coin-Making Techniques of Ancient India

Coin-Making Techniques of Ancient India

30Jun 2021
In Ancient India, coins were largely minted using three techniques: punch-marking, casting, and die-striking—one of these is still in use today. Read on to find out which one. Punch-marking It is the oldest coin-making technique in India, dating back to 6th Century BCE. The term punch-marked was firstly used by James Prinsep, a scholar best known for decoding the Kharosthi and Brahmi scripts. Punch-marked coins are found in both silver and copper—metal pieces are cut into the required shape with a chisel and marks are later made on them using different punches. A local punch-marked coin, 600 BCE Kautilya in his Arthashashtra (c. 4th century BCE) listed objects commonly used in the manufacturing of coins. According to him, the metal used to be first melted in crucibles (musha) and purified…
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Before Money

Before Money

30Jun 2021
Today, you can buy or sell something without any actual ‘money’ exchanging hands. A click here, a scan there and you’re done. Interestingly, this is not the first time humans have gone cashless. When you consider the history of money, it becomes clear that a large part of the journey that brought us to this point was spent without anything resembling cash at all. In the Stone Age (before 9600 BCE), humans had no system of currency. They relied on the barter system, ie the exchange of assets or offerings to the mutual advantage of all parties. It was introduced on a large-scale by Mesopotamian tribes around 4100-2900 BCE and taken by the Phoenicians (9th century BC) who bartered items with many cities, inclusive of some throughout oceans. Around 1800-1600…
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