History of the rupee

The history of the Rupee traces back to the Ancient India in circa 6th century BC. Ancient India was the earliest issuers of coins in the world, along with the Chinese wen and Lydian staters.

The word "rūpiye" is derived from a Sanskrit word "rūpaa", which means "wrought silver, a coin of silver", in origin an adjective meaning "shapely", with a more specific meaning of "stamped, impressed", whence "coin". It is derived from the noun rūpa "shape, likeness, image". The word rūpa is being further identified as having sprung from the Dravidian.

Vedic origin is more likely compare Sanskrit rūpá, n.,m. A form, beauty (Rigveda), rūpaka adjective and n.,m. A particular coin Pañcatantra, rūpya,*rūpiya-, adj. beautiful, bearing a stamp Pāṇini., n. silver Mahabharata. There is no evidence of transmission to Indo-Aryan from Dravidian and textual evidence dates to well before any references in the later Dravidian.

Arthashastra, written by Chanakya, prime minister to the first Maurya emperor Chandragupta Maurya (c. 340–290 BCE), mentions silver coins as rupyarupa, other types including gold coins (Suvarnarupa), copper coins (Tamararupa) and lead coins (Sisarupa) are mentioned. Rupa means form or shape, example, Rupyarupa, Rupya – wrought silver, rupa – form.

Sher Shah Suri, during his five-year rule from 1540 to 1545, set up a new civic and military administration and issued a coin of silver, weighing 178 grains, which was termed the Rupiya. The silver coin remained in use during the Mughal period, Maratha era as well as in British India. Among the earliest issues of paper rupees include the Bank of Hindostan (1770–1832), the General Bank of Bengal and Bihar (1773–75, established by Warren Hastings), and the Bengal Bank (1784–91).

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