Money talks: Ancient coins refute myths

The Times of India. ^ | SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 02, 2003 01:34:12 AM | SHABNAM MINWALLA

[vannrox]

Money talks: Ancient coins refute myths

SHABNAM MINWALLA

TIMES NEWS NETWORK
[ SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 02, 2003 01:34:12 AM ]

MUMBAI: Centuries before Dire Straits coined the phrase, medieval Indians had cracked the secret of ‘Money for nothing’. When Mohammad bin Tughlaq introduced copper currency in the 14th century, he made a critical mistake—he failed to put an official stamp on the coins. Soon, every housewife was melting her copper vessels, every mohalla had sprouted a mint.

“In those times, the face value of a coin was the same as its intrinsic value. Tughlaq’s idea of substituting silver coins with token copper ones was good, except that he was naive,’’ explains Shailendra Bhandare, a numismatist with the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford. Adds Subhadra Anand, history professor and principal of National College, “People paid their taxes with copper coins, but demanded their wages in silver. The treasury overflowed with counterfeits, and the economy eventually collapsed.’’ Even today, it’s possible to stumble upon these 700- year-old fakes at Chor Bazaar—and with them a chapter of history. For, as a recent exhibition at National College highlighted, coins are much more than bits of metal, they are bookmarks pointing to a lost or misread past. “The mood of a period is reflected in its coins,’’ says Ms Anand, pointing out that the grandiose Gupta dinaras with their Sanskrit inscriptions and the exquisitely ornamented Mughal mohurs are evocative props from forgotten dramas.

The exhibition showcased the private collection of sound engineer Sennen Duorado and focused on coins from the Southern and Deccan dynasties, while the lecture by Mr Bhandare traced the changing concept of currency —from the 2,500-year-old metal bars dating back to Buddhist India to the 11 kg gold stunners struck by Jehangir, to the Rani Chaap rupya, with its stern likeness of Queen Victoria. Moreover, the event introduced students to a truly unique sub-culture.

“Most collectors are a little strange,’’ admits Mr Duorado who, as a Std IX student, ran away from Mumbai and spent six months combing the bazaars of Trivandrum and Balrampuram. Adds Mr Bhandare, who dumped a job as production supervisor with a pharma company to pursue a Masters in history, “Overseeing the production of three tonnes of sophramycin was not my thing. I was fascinated by history, and coins speak about the past.’’

Indeed,many instances have proved that money talks. The ancient Indian languages of Brahmi and Kharoshti were, for example, deciphered thanks to ancient bilingual coins issued by the Greeks. “This was largely due to the efforts of two men,’’ says Mr Bhandare, “a vagabond and an academic.’’

Spy, mercenary and writer of bad verse, Charles Masson was despatched to Afghanistan by the East India Company on a reconnaissance-cum-archeological mission in 1835. He sent back bagloads of old coins to James Princep in Calcutta, who used the clues offered by the bilingual inscriptions to crack Brahmi and eventually the Ashokan inscriptions at Allahabad and Delhi. Says Mr Bhandare, “With this, a huge vista of Indian studies opened.’’ Depictions on the Gupta coins provide invaluable details about rituals, while those dating back to Kanishka feature Iranian goddesses and Zoroastrian ideas— hinting at the multi-cultural forces that shaped this country.

“Akbar issued coins of Ram-Sita,’’ says Mr Bhandare, who curated a coin exhibition, ‘Imagining India’, in which he examined the fluid nature of culture. “Mohammad Ghouri, whom we usually see in negative, fanatical terms, issued a Lakshmi coin, while a coin from the time of Shah Alam II has Urdu inscriptions surrounded by, of all things, holly, shamrock and thistle.’’

Given that most rulers and kingdoms had their own numismatic whims, Indian coins offer immense diversity. “Under Islam, especially, coinage was considered a divine function of the king,’’ says Mr Bhandare. “So even those who ruled for a few days had coins struck in their name, largely to stake their claim.’’ So, for example, Nikusiyar—one of the four emperors who ruled briefly in 1719—may not be a major player in history but is a big name for coin collectors.

“We know he had coins struck, but we haven’t found any yet,’’ says Mr Bhandare, pointing out that this particular market is more fickle than Nasdaq. For example, the price of the doublerupee of Tipu Sultan quadrupled with Sanjay Khan’s TV serial. “It’s not just intrinsic value or rarity which determines price. Although Shivaji gold coins are really rare, they don’t have a market. But Jehangir gold mohurs— especially those he struck with the signs of the zodiac—command anything up to Rs 3.5 lakhs.’’

While it would take many sessions at auctions and coin conventions to master the eccentric world of numismatism, however, there is one aspect which is easy to grasp. “Old Indian coins are material evidence of our syncretic past,’’ says Mr Bhandare pointing out that, for example, many Islamic rulers today portrayed as rabid jehadis issued coins with Hindu symbols and deities. “At a time when right-wing versions of history are gaining prominence, we need to examine the material evidence and heed what it says.’’

An exhibition at National College highlighted the fact that old coins are more than bits of metal—they are bookmarks of the past Coins dating back to Kanishka feature Iranian goddesses and Zoroastrian ideas—hinting at the multi-cultural forces that shaped this country.

[vannrox]

Very Interesting.

[Orion78]

The Gold Standard, A Breakdown by Alan Greenspan

[Nick Danger]

This ancient ruler of North America lived for over 200 years and appeared not to age during much of that time.

Millions of these likenesses have been found preserved in cylindrical metal containers and glass jars. Their significance has not been determined.

[Mulder]

When Mohammad bin Tughlaq introduced copper currency in the 14th century, he made a critical mistake—he failed to put an official stamp on the coins.

LOL!

The sand bastards can even screw up their coin currency. No surprise there.

[Dog Gone]

“At a time when right-wing versions of history are gaining prominence, we need to examine the material evidence and heed what it says.’’

Statements like that tend to piss me off.

[jimtorr]

Sand people? No, no, this is India in the article, friend. You need to get beyond the name.

[yankeedame]

Ancient coins refute what myth? "A fool and his money are soon parted"?

[Sacajaweau]

We called them slugs and they worked in the nickel coke machines.

[NovemberCharlie]

The sand bastards can even screw up their coin currency. No surprise there.

Personally, I would be very surprised if counterfeiting was only invented this recently.

[blam]

"This ancient ruler of North America lived for over 200 years and appeared not to age during much of that time."

There is one period where these North Americans seem to have lost the secret of copper, many have been found that are made from zinc during a period in the 1940's. Investigations are continuing.

[philman_36]

We called them slugs and they worked in the nickel coke machines.
There are slugs, without the holes of course, even today. They're known them by their common name...coins.
Weight and size.

[aruanan]

People paid their taxes with copper coins, but demanded their wages in silver.

Back then people knew the score. These days I hear people cackling about how much they're "getting back" from the government from their withheld taxes as though they're really, really clever. This is but one example of people in the modern age being more ignorant than folks in the past.

[metesky]

When Mohammad bin Tughlaq introduced copper currency in the 14th century

A Comparative Chronology of Money from Ancient Times to the Present Day 9,000 - 1 BC

c. 640 - c. 630 BC	The first true coins produced in Lydia
The earliest coins made in Lydia, Asia Minor, consisted of electrum, a naturally occurring amalgam of gold and silver.
History of Money from Ancient Times to the Present Day

[SunkenCiv]

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