NEW DELHI NATIONAL MUSEUM NUMISMATICS GALLERY

A tableau shows workers engaged in coin-casting process

“II am visiting this gallery for the second time in a month,” says Ayushi, a New Delhi-based history honours student. “The glimpse into the past is so fascinating that I have brought along my friends to have a first-hand experience of the remarkable collection of Indian currency,” she adds. The coins gallery on the first floor of the National Museum at Janpath is certainly remarkable for its variety, rarity and antiquity. It provides a trip back in time to a world when coins were the sole currency. Sanjib Kumar Singh, archaeologist and museologist, National Museum, remarked, “It traces the journey of Indian coinage from its shell avatars to the modern-day plastic version of credit cards. Aptly called, ‘From Cowries to Credit Cards’, it has on display more than 1,500 most famous coins from the museum’s vast collection.” “The entire history of Indian coinage, starting from about 6th century BCE to the beginning of the 21st century CE, is well represented along with the dioramas depicting various techniques of coin production. It has been set-up in such a manner that not only historians and researchers but even the general public find it interesting,” Singh, also spokesperson for the museum, added.

Bringing alive the money trade in all its hard forms, several sections depict, through clay models, how different forms of coins were moulded, punched, cast and marked.

Interspersed with coins on display are historical facts that provide an insight into these coins. A panel reads, “Between 6th century BCE and 1st century CE, merchant guilds and royal families used punch-marked silver and copper coins all over India. The process of making the metal sheets, cutting them into strips and then to pieces of uniform sizes and weight varied from one period to another.” Barring minor variations, it remained the same during the Imperial period. These coins bear various symbols including: bulls, elephants, rabbits, deer, turtles, palm tree, fig tree, wheels and the sun. For a punch-marked coin, a blank coin and one or more punches are required. Pande explains, “The punch is a narrow cylindrical metallic bar bearing the outline of a symbol. Impressing upon a pre-processed and highly heated blank coin produces the punch-marked coin.”

A series of inscribed and non-inscribed copper coins were also used in several north-Indian states. While the early coins bore symbols from tribal and popular cults, they paved the way for Buddhist and Brahmanical religious symbols.

While talking to the curators, I spy a young student taking pictures of a particular section with his smartphone. “I will show these to my teacher,” he says. On display are Babur’s coins inscribed with his name and title. His son, Humayun followed the tradition. Akbar issued coins in gold, silver and copper. His coins were round and square in shape. The commemorative gold coins during his reign were hexagonal. “The Mughal coinages have been ranked among the greatest currencies in the world for their originality and innovative hallmarks,” the curator says.

To read the complete article, see:
A museum tracing the journey of Indian coinage (https://gulfnews.com/culture/heritage/a-museum-tracing-the-journey-of-indian-coinage-1.2296121)

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