Coins

The ancient coins of Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa which dated back to the 2500 BC or even earlier are popularly known as the punch marked coins. Punch marked coins became very famous during the 7th-6th century BC and 1st century AD. The basic reason that these coins are called punch-marked coins was because they had special manufacturing technique. The coins were mostly of the metal silver and they bore symbols which were punched on the coin with another punch. The symbols and the designs found on these coins were mostly inspired from nature. Symbols of the sun, various animals, trees, hills etc. were punched on the metal. Some of the coins had geometrical designs too.
Another significant type of ancient Indian coins is the Dynastic coin. These coins are generally from the period between the 2nd century BC and 2nd century AD. These silver coins were used for trading by the Indo-Greeks. The coins predominantly bore symbols of the Greek Gods and Goddesses. Keeping the Greek mythology in mind, these coins are very important from the point of view of studying Greek legends. The Saka coinages of the Western Kshatrapas are perhaps the earliest dated coins. The Saka era represents the official calendar of the Indian Republic.
The ‘Satavahanas’ who were the early rulers of the Godavari and the Krishna river region brought the Western-Deccan and Central India under their control. They more often traded with copper and lead coins, however, silver issues of this period are found as well. These coins carried the motifs of elephants, lions, bulls, horses, etc. often put besides the symbols of hills, tree, etc. The Western Kshatrap coins are considered to be the earliest coins which bore dates. The common copper coins of this period contained the ‘bull and hill’ and the ‘elephant and hill’ symbols. The legends on the coins were generally in Greek and Brahmi.

The Gupta era too are known for their antique Indian coins of the 4th, 5th and the 6th century AD. The coins of this era depicted the king on the face and a deity on the tail side. The coins bore Indian deities and the legends were in the Brahmi language. The earliest Gupta coins are attributed to kings like Samudragupta, Chandragupta II and Kumaragupta. The Gupta coins often honor dynastic succession as well as significant events like marriage alliances, the horse sacrifice, etc. Post-Gupta coinage of the 6th-12th centuries AD is epitomized by a droning and visually less interesting series of dynastic issues. The Bull & Horseman type of coins were the most common design appearing on coins struck by the Rajputs. The South Indian coin depicted motifs on bull, tiger, fish, bow and arrow, lion etc.
Ancient India had trade links with the Middle East, Greece, Rome as well as China. Even today, Ancient Indian coins have a considerable demand in the numismatic market. [Reference RBI India].