It is believed that metal coins were first used in our country sometime during the 7th century BC and consisted mainly of silver and copper.
The earliest coins were punch-marked coins, that is, metal pieces were stamped with symbols. They were known in general as puranas, karshapanas or pana.
Empires like the Kushanas and Satavahanas imitated the ‘silver drachms and tetra drachms’ of the Indo-Greek kings. Satavahanas made coins in copper, bronze, and silver.
Slowly, kingdoms across the country began issuing their coins. Some had different images of nature on them, like the sun, animals, trees etc.
The Gupta Empire produced a large number of gold and silver coins bearing images of the Gupta kings too. The currencies used then with inscriptions in Sanskrit, are thought to be among the best in Indian history.
The Rajputs too, are known for their contribution to Indian coinage system.
