Hinglish

The Journey of Money: Coins and Paper Money

Class 7 Social Science · Chapter 11: From Barter to Money · NCERT Exploring Society: India and Beyond section 11.4

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Coins were among the earliest forms of money. Rulers minted them, and the coins of powerful kingdoms were accepted far and wide, helping trade. Ancient Indian coins of gold, silver, copper or their alloys were called kārṣhāpaṇas or paṇas, with symbols (rūpas) punched on them; Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam still say paṇam and Kannada haṇa for money. Their two sides, obverse and reverse, showed animals, trees, hills, rulers and deities: Chalukya coins showed Varāha and a royal parasol; Chola coins a tiger. Roman gold coins found at Pudukkottai show that trade with Rome favoured India.

Before decimal coins, one anna was 1/16 of a rupee; in 1947 an anna could buy a dozen bananas. Today's coins are alloys largely of iron, with Hindi and English on each, and special coins mark national events. The ₹ symbol, adopted in 2010, was designed by Udaya Kumar of IIT Bombay, blending Devanagari "Ra" and Roman "R". As carrying and storing many coins became hard, paper money arrived, first in China and in India in the late 18th century. Coins serve small denominations, notes larger ones, and only the Reserve Bank of India may issue currency; notes have security features and marks that help people with visual impairments.

Explore: the journey of money.

  1. Put the forms of money in the order they appeared.

Remember

  • Ancient paṇas were punch-marked coins of precious metals; Roman coins in Tamil Nadu show trade with Rome.
  • Paper money followed coins; one anna was 1/16 of a rupee; the RBI issues currency; the ₹ symbol dates from 2010.

Quick check

Who alone may issue currency in India today?

  1. the Reserve Bank of India
  2. any shop
  3. each state
  4. every bank
Answer

the Reserve Bank of India. In ancient times, rulers minted coins.

Think about it

What can old coins tell a historian?

One answer

Who ruled and when, what they valued (symbols, deities), the metals and skills available, how far trade reached, and even the language and script used.

Practice

Practise with fresh questions at three levels (easy, medium, hard), some answered hands-on, with hints and worked answers. Get 4 of your last 5 right to finish the topic.