Introduction M.A. (Numismatics - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

About This Presentation
Title:

Introduction M.A. (Numismatics

Description:

Introduction M.A. (Numismatics & Archaeology) Mahesh Kalra Asst. Professor/Curator Dinesh Mody Museum and Institute for Numismatics & Archaeology – PowerPoint PPT presentation

Number of Views:1022
Avg rating:3.0/5.0
Slides: 32
Provided by: mads69
Category:

less

Transcript and Presenter's Notes

Title: Introduction M.A. (Numismatics


1
Introduction M.A. (Numismatics Archaeology)
  • Mahesh Kalra
  • Asst. Professor/Curator
  • Dinesh Mody Museum and Institute for Numismatics
    Archaeology

2
Numismatics
  • Numismatics is the study or collection of
    currency including coins, tokens, paper money,
    and related objects.
  • While Numismatists are often characterized as
    students or collectors of coins, the discipline
    also includes the broader study of money and
    other payment media used to resolve debts and the
    exchange of goods.
  • Numismatics is derived from the French adjective
    numismatique, meaning "of coins", which was
    derived the Greek Nomisma (??µ?sµa), meaning
    current coin. It was first used as a term in
    1829 in the English language to describe the
    field of study of coins.

3
Archaeology
  • The word Archaeology comes from the Greek
    archaiologia meaning knowledge of the ancient
  • Archaeology is the study of past human society
    primarily through the recovery and analysis of
    the material culture and environmental data that
    they have left behind
  • These include artifacts, architecture, biofacts
    and cultural landscapes i.e. the archaeological
    records

4
What is Money?
  • Money is anything which can be used as a
    medium to exchange goods of different values on a
    day-to-day basis and serve as a store of value
    for future purposes.
  • The ideal unit of money is
  • Easily divisible into smaller units for smaller
    transactions
  • Easy to transport from one place to another
  • Long lasting for storage of value for future use.

5
In the Beginning
  • Today, Money comes in different forms as coins,
    banknotes, valuable materials like gold, silver,
    etc. and today as fixed deposits, credit, debit
    cards, demat accounts, etc.
  • It is an important tool of smooth functioning of
    modern human society and lack of Money can lead
    to chaotic/violent transactions as in prehistoric
    or undeveloped societies.
  • However, Money did not come to human beings as a
    natural product instead it came through a number
    of painful indirect experiments coupled with a
    lot of human ingenuity.
  • The earliest form of Money was probably Stone
    tools/weapons, small curios like cowry shells,
    metal nails and other sundry household objects,
    collectively called as Money Objects, which
    were exchanged between groups of men/women.

6
Pre-historic Barter Goods
7
(No Transcript)
8
(No Transcript)
9
Human evolution timeline Courtesy Deccan
College Collections
10
Pre-Historic Timeline Courtesy Dr. Kishor
Gaikwad
11
Prehistoric Economy
  • Pre-historic Man evolved in three stages
  • Palaeolithic Era (1.5 million years ago 10,000
    B.C.) when Man was just a hunter-gatherer with no
    exchange except of basic stone tools
  • Mesolithic Era (10,000 8000 B.C.) when he began
    systematic hunting using small sharp tools called
    Microliths and beginning towards a settled life.
    This period saw an exchange of tools with setting
    up of tool factories
  • Neolithic Era (8000-6000 B.C.) when he discovered
    agriculture and domestication of animals saw a
    spurt in exchange of goods, storage of surplus
    goods leading to invention of pottery. Neolithic
    period sites are thus aceramic and ceramic i.e.
    without or with pottery. In this era, primitive
    housing called wattle and daub structures was
    invented.

12
Ghugeria Copper Hoards c.2nd Century B.C. Image
Courtesy British Museum
13
Origin of Money
  • The Origins of Money are linked to two important
    factors one the beginning of cities, and trade
    between cities and inside the city.
  • The second and most important factor, the
    beginning of Mans ability to count and thus
    maintain accounts. The earliest forms of writing
    is not historical or poetic or literary material
    but accounts!
  • This is true of all ancient civilizations like
    the Sumerian, Indus (Harappan) or the Chinese
    where writing symbols were invented initially to
    maintain accounts of trade

14
The Potter of Navadatoli Courtesy Deccan
College Collections, Pune
  • The concept of Money flourished only after the
    concept of storage of surplus goods was firmly
    established.
  • Thus, Money developed after Man learnt pottery as
    earthen pots were a vital storage tool for the
    early humans especially in the Neolithic period
    when humans learnt farming.

15
  • Indian civilization developed in 3 stages
  • Prehistoric period as elsewhere till Neolithic
    phase (1.5 million years ago - 8000 B.C.)
  • Protohistoric period (Chalcolithic or Bronze
    Age) Harappan civilization (Mature phase 3500
    B.C. 1900 B.C.) a.k.a. First Urbanization
  • Vedic period (Early Vedic c. 1500 B.C. Late
    Vedic c. 900 B.C.)
  • Pre-Buddhist period a.k.a. Second Urbanization
    period or Mahajanapada period 8th Century B.C. -
    6th Century B.C.

16
Harappan Economy
  • Indias protohistoric period i.e. Harappan era
    (c.3500 B.C. -1900 B.C.) has not thrown up any
    coin or any definite exchange medium .
  • However, archaeologists have found adequate proof
    of Harappans trade between various Harappan
    sites and external civilizations in Bahrain and
    Mesopotamian sites on a very organized level. The
    first pointer is a very definite weight system
    which is divisible into definite units
  • And other pointers are Harappan seals found in
    Mesopotamia and Bahrain pointing to the
    possibility of the seals being some form of trade
    mark.
  • Additionally, goods from either regions are found
    at sites and several factory sites for
    specialized goods are found in many Harappan
    sites on the Saurashtra coast

17
Bronze Age trade goods
18
What is a Coin?
  • A Coin is a piece of metal which has a distinct
    value conferred upon it by a stamp of official
    authority authorizing its use as money.

    Each coin has two values an intrinsic value
    i.e. the value of the metal it is made of and
  • an extrinsic or face value which is conferred
    upon it by the issuing authorities.
  • In the past, the intrinsic value was equal to its
    face value but in most modern economies today,
    the face value is much more than its intrinsic
    value

19
  • Ancient/Medieval times
  • Intrinsic value Extrinsic value i.e. 1 Rupee
    coin had silver worth 1 Rupee used in its making
  • Modern times (Post-WWII)
  • Intrinsic value gt Extrinsic value
  • i.e. Coin is a token of the value indicated on it
    and has nominal and/or devalued metals used in
    its minting

20
  • Numismatics follows some laws notable among these
    is Greshams Law which stated in simple language
    means "Bad money drives out good if their
    exchange rate is set by law.
  • Another principle is the Law of Numismatic
    Continuity which translates into the fact that
    usually a new regime cannot begin a new coin type
    immediately on assuming powers over a region or
    empire

21
Earliest Coins in the
world
  • The oldest coin recorded in the ancient world was
    the Lydian dinar from Lydia (modern Anatolia/Asia
    Minor in Central Turkey) which was made from
    Electrum, a natural alloy of Gold and Silver
    which was issued in 6th century B.C.
  • The Lydian currency benefitted from the kingdoms
    possession of mines of Electrum.
  • The Lydians issued the worlds first pure gold
    coins in the reign of King Croesus. English
    language has a saying as rich as Croesus.
    Soon, the Athenians and other European states
    began issuing their own independent coinage.
  • The Chinese took the concept of Money Objects
    to the next level and issued Knife or Spade
    Money complete with the blade and handle in the
    shape of these tools in the 6th Century B.C.
    under the Qi dynasty. However, some Indian
    scholars believe Indian coined money is the
    oldest in the world. The debate continues

22
First Indian Coinage
  • The Vedas give rich references to the use of Cow
    as a unit of money by using terms like Gow Pada
    Gow Puccha especially as donations during
    sacrifices by the Kings.
  • However, the Cow was not an ideal unit of Money
    because
  • it was not divisible,
  • b) not easy to carry and
  • c) most importantly it was perishable making
    precious metals the next likely choice as units
    of wealth.

23
  • Thus, the Rg Veda (c.1500 B.C.) uses the term
    Hiranya for both precious metals later, however,
    they were named as Suvarna (Gold) and Rajata
    (Silver) in the later Vedas. According to Dr. P.
    L. Gupta, Hiranya meant only metal and hence it
    referred to silver coins only.
  • However, the stamping of metal began much later.
    The procedure probably owed its idea to the
    branding of cows by the owners of various cow
    sheds. The Vedas speak of a variety of Gold
    coins like Nishka, Suvarna, Shatamana, Pana,
    Pada, Chandra, etc. However, no specimens of
    stamped coins especially in gold dating to the
    Vedic era have been discovered so far.

24
  • The earliest references to coins being stamped
    comes during the Mahajanapada period when
    Sanskrit textbooks by Panini, the Arthashastra by
    Kautilya or Chanakya, Buddhist Jataka tales, Jain
    Agamas, etc. speak of coins called Karshapanas or
    Kahapanas and their subunits like Pana, Mashakas,
    Kakanis, etc.
  • Paninis Asthadhyayi speaks of metallic pieces
    being stamped (ahata) by rupa (symbols) However,
    earlier texts like Upanishads and Brahmanas have
    no exact reference to the stamping of coins

25
Jetavana Roundel
  • The best numismatic reference to coins in early
    Buddhist literature is the story of Sudatta, a
    merchant from Shravasti who was very generous by
    nature and earned the nickname Anathpindika for
    feeding the poor.
  • When Anathpindika heard of the Buddhas arrival
    at Shravasti, he offered to buy the towns best
    garden and dedicate it to the Sangh.
  • However, the garden belonged to Prince Jeta, the
    son of King Prasenjita and he reluctantly agreed
    to sell it if Anathapindika covered the entire
    gardens surface with silver Kahapanas. However,
    Anathpindika actually covered the garden with
    silver Kahapanas and earned the Buddhas
    approbation! Hence this roundel tells the story
    in pictures. Note the shape of the coins is
    rectangular!

26
Janapadas and their issues
  • The oldest coinage in India was issued by a
    number of independent states called the
    Janapadas.
  • The Janapadas (JanaPeople PadaFootprint) were
    the first form of organized political structures
    based on clans, communities, ideals like
    republican character, etc.
  • Soon, the Janapadas were absorbed into larger
    units known as Mahajanapadas which are referred
    in Buddhist and Hindu literature as Solasa
    Mahajanapada.
  • Mahajanapadas were eventually absorbed into the
    Mauryan empire which rose to great heights under
    Chandragupta Maurya in 320 B.C. and further under
    his grandson, Ashoka the Great (r.276-232 B.C.)
    covering the entire Indian subcontinent till
    Mysore in the south.

27
Punch Marked Coinage
  • Dr. P.L. Gupta contends Indian coinage predates
    Lydian and Chinese coinage and was issued in 7th
    century B.C. by the Janapadas however other
  • scholars place them in 5th Century B.C.
  • These first coins issued by the Janapadas,
    Mahajanapadas and the Mauryan empire, are called
    Punch marked coinage in modern numismatic
    terminology as they are manufactured by striking
    single or multiple punches on the surface of
    the coin. In these coins, the flan of the coin
    is larger than the punch.
  • The term was first used by James Prinsep in 1834
    when he came across specimens of these coins.
  • Thus, these coins form the oldest Indian coinage
    as they meet our definition of a coin in totality
    as they indeed are pieces of metal with a
    distinct value conferred upon them by a stamp of
    official authority authorizing its use as money.
    Featured here Shakya Janapada PMC c. 4th Century
    B.C.

28
  • PMCs are however classified into various types
    based on their find spots (Janapadas), typology
    of punch marks (geometric, animal or floral) and
    number of marks (single, double, four or five).
  • Research on the number of punch marks shows an
    initial period when the PMCs issued by various
    Janapadas have less than four marks later in the
    imperial Magadha period from the reign of
    Bimbisara (604 B.C.) till the end of Mauryan
    Empire in 180 B.C. the PMCs had five punch marks.
    These imperial Magadha Punch marked coins are
    found all over the Indian sub-continent (as
    opposed to the local PMCs which are usually
    restricted to their areas of issue) and weigh
    around a uniform 54 grains (3.5 gms)

29
(No Transcript)
30
  • The important part of most PMCs is that they are
    usually punched on one side the reverse has
    either no or few small marks. The marks, if any,
    are believed to have been made by Money changers
    called Shroffs to check the purity of silver.
    Shroff marks were renewed if the coin entered a
    new market or reappeared after a long time. Thus,
    the circulation period of a coin is indirectly
    indicated by the number of shroff marks!

31
Weight standard of PMCs
  • Another important issue is the weighing system of
    ancient Indian coins was indigenously devised by
    measuring them with a seed known as Ratti or
    Gunja seed (Abrus precatorius) which was said to
    convey the weight of the coins.
  • Thus, Imperial Magadha Karshapanas weighed 32
    Ratti. The Ratti seed is used even today by
    Indian jewellers to weigh precious metals.
  • Thus, Punch Marked Coins were the earliest from
    of Indian coinage evolved by using indigenous
    technology without any influence from other
    civilisations.
Write a Comment
User Comments (0)
About PowerShow.com