COINAGE & TAXES IN MEDIEVAL INDIA :INDIAN HISTORY : CIVIL SERVICES (PRELIMS), 2026

 SET: COINAGE & TAXES IN MEDIEVAL INDIA :INDIAN HISTORY : CIVIL SERVICES (PRELIMS), 2026 

Topic : MEDIEVAL INDIA (for G S  Papers) {Prepared on 18.10.2025 } 

For Study purpose only 

NB: For any doubts clarification, please refer to the recommended text books 

 For QUESTIONS  in UPSC(CSE)(Prelims) 

Exams.2026 

COIN SYSTEM IN MEDIEVAL INDIA: 

By the turn of 12th century AD, the Turkey Sultans, who had seized power in Delhi, started printing the Islamic (Arabic, Persian) seals on coins instead of those related to Indian kings. 

Tanka : Golden, silver and copper coins were called 'Tanka' in those days.

 Jithal : The coins with lower values were called 'Jithal'. 

The Delhi Sultans had tried to implement a systematic coin system with different denominations of coins. 

Tanks: Allauddin Khilji was giving a salary of 234 Tanks to a soldier per year.

Mohammed Bin Tughlaq conducted several experiments in the coin system (1329 to 1330 AD). Several new coins were issued during his time. 

Dinar: He had issued 'Dinar', a coin of 200-grain weight. 

Adali : Besides, golden coins with 174-grain weight and 'Adali', a 150-grain weight silver coin, were also in circulation 

‘King of Moneyed People’ : 

Numismatist Edward Thomas has called Tughlaq as the 'King of Moneyed People'. Tughlaq had issued copper coins and said that they could be used instead of golden and silver coins. Taking advantage of this, goldsmiths minted copper coins in their workshops. This led to the circulation of a lot of fake coins and it gave a blow to the economic system. On learning this, Tughlaq withdrew the copper coins and instead gave golden and silver coins to the citizens. This further hit the treasury. 

Aada and Bikh : Firoz Shah Tughlaq (1351 to 1388 AD) brought out small coins 'Aada' (Half Jital) and 'Bikh' (Quarter of Jital) made from an alloy of gold and copper for the poor. 

Shashpani : Foreign traveller Ibn Battuta's writings inform us that he had also issued 'Shashpani' (Six Jithals) coins 

The monetary system entered into a new phase with the establishment of the Mughal Empire in the 16th century. The Mughals brought a uniform and organized monetary system in their empire. 

Sharukhee or Dirham : Later, the Rupee was introduced. Mughal emperors Babur, Humayun and Akbar had introduced silver Sharukhee or Dirham coins. They were minted in the minting units in Agra, Janpur, Kabul, Lahore and Samarkhand. 

Silver Rupiya or Rupee : SherShah Suri - Rupee had not entered India until the middle part of the 16th century. The system of measuring the coins with the standard of Rupee came later than 1540 AD. Sher Shah Suri, the founder of the Sur Dynasty in India, was responsible for this development. Originally, he was a king of Pathan origin, Afghanistan. In a sudden development, Sher Shah Suri defeated Mughal emperor Humayun and ruled over India (1540 to 1555 AD). He brought a silver coin, weighing 178 grains (the minimum weight), into circulation and called it a 'Rupiya' (Rupee). It was the precursor of the modern Rupee.

Paisa : Paisa calculation was also introduced at this time. A silver coin was divided into 40 copper pieces. These copper pieces became Paisas. Coins were minted with Devnagari script at Agra, Gwalior, Ujjain, Lucknow, Shergarh (Sasaram ) and Abusakar. After Sher Shah, the Mughal emperors continued the Rupiya system. 

Mohurs : Mughal emperor Akbar issued golden, silver and copper coins. Akbar's golden coins were called 'Mohurs'. 

Kalim : Kalim kind of golden and silver coins was in circulation in 1585 AD. The aspects of religious reforms can be seen in the coins issued by Akbar after 1585 AD. He had released golden and silver coins with various images to mark the 45th year celebration of ascending the throne. These coins have images of Ram and Sita. Aurangzeb cancelled the Kalim kind of coins in 1659 AD. 

[Mohamud Ghazni : Mahmud Ghazni began raiding the Indian territories on a regular basis between 1001 and 1021 A.D. and established a Ghaznavid province in Punjab consistent with his Afghan territories in 1028 A.D. He issued coins with the Kalima (Islamic expression of faith) inscribed in Arabic with the title ‘Leader of the faithful’ on the obverse. His Indian coins have reverse inscriptions stating ‘Dinara struck for cities captured during the Holy War with India’. One Silver Dinara issued by Mahmud in 1028 A.D. from Mahmudpur (Lahore) has a unique bilingual legend with the Kalima in Arabic on the obverse and its translation in Sanskrit on the reverse!] 

Mumadi (Silver), Dam (Copper), Pi (Half Dam copper), new Pagoda (Gold), Entera Raiyal (Silver), Old Pagoda (Gold) and Fanam (Gold) were the other coins of the Mughal era. 

COINS IN SOUTH INDIA : 

Vijayanagar Empire : 

The coin system of ancient India continued in the period of the Vijayanagar Empire (1336 to 1678 AD). Their emblem was Varaha (Wild boar). But they also printed the emblems of Hanuman, Garuda and elephants on the coins. The name, 'Sriveeraharihara', in Devnagari or Kannada script, was also inscribed on the coins. They had issued the coins Varaha, Gadyana, Pon and Pagodas. 

The structure of Vijayanagara currency was carefully standardized. The monetary system was made uniform throughout the empire. Varaha a gold coin with an approximate weight of 3.4 grams (52 grains) was made the basic monetary unit. This coin was also called as Gadyana and Pon or Hon. To the English the coin was known as Pagoda. There were three varieties of varahas:- 1. Ghattivaraha 

2. Doddavaraha and 

3. Suddhavaraha.

The Gold issues of the first two kings namely Harihara I and Bukka I were debased. In these coins the gold content was less compared to the subsequent issues of Harihara II and his successors. 

The weight standard of the gold coins was based upon the Kalanju, an indigenous seed, or Molucca bean (Caesalpinia bonduc). The manjadi seed (Odenathera pavonina) served as the radical unit of measurement. Ten manjadis were regarded as equivilant to one Kalanju seed. The seeds are popularly known as Gundumani in Tamil and Guriginja in Telugu. 

In the brisk foreign trade of the empire, currencies of foreign countries played a vital role. The Dinar of Egypt, the Portuguese Cruzado, Venecian Ducat and Sequin and the Florentine Florine were nearly equal to the varaha coins in weight. Example: The weight of Venecian Sequin was 52.40 grains and Duct was 53.40 grains whereas Varaha weighed 52 grains. This weight standard of varahas facilitated the foreign trade of the empire. 

The animals that are portrayed are bull, camel, elephant, horse, lion, varaha(boar) and the mythological double-headed eagle Gandabherunda 

Han : Han', the golden and silver coins, were in vogue during the Bahmani Sultans period (1347 to 1687 AD). Copper coins were more in circulation than their golden counterparts. The golden, silver and copper coins were in circulation during the reign of Adil Shahi rulers of Bijapur 

Chola coins : (1020 to 1044 AD) : 

South India evolved with its own gold measurements and standards based on the indigenous seeds. The Kalanju and Manjadi seeds were used for making the gold coins as these coins were the largest. The ratti coins were used to measure as the gold standards in North India.South India developed a gold based currency with gold coins as the major form of currency in the region. The coins made with the kalanju seed weight are termed as pon/ han or Achchu, Mada/ Madai, etc. 

According to Tamil inscriptions, the gold coins of the Chola kingdom weighed around 52 grains of Kalanju. The other seeds such as Manjadi were used for lower standard weights and the coin made in the lower standards weighed 4.5 – 5 seeds/grains. That is one tenth of the coin weight of Kalanju seeds gold coin. The inscriptions of the Chola period give the names of different coins that are under circulation. The coins such as Rajarajan Madai, Rajendran madai and the Madurantakan Madai suggest that the coins were named after the rulers or their titles.

From the inscriptions of the Cholas we can find some terms denoting the currency circulated in gold, silver and copper. Following are a few of such terms; ➢ Pon 

➢ Kasu 

➢ Kalanju 

➢ Manjadi 

➢ Madai 

➢ kunri 

➢ Kani etc. 

From the above references from the epigraphs one can understand that the coins were used as the minted ones such as pon, mada, kasu etc. and the weighting standards of Kalanju, Manjadi etc. stand for the gold in grams. There are three denominations of coins ranged between 60 to 70 grams, 7 grams and 1.7 grams 

Note: About Roman Silver Denarii : 

Roman Coins : 

‘‘The composition of hoards of Roman silver Denarii found in India however is very different from that hoards of Roman silver Denarii found inside the Empire’’. The Denarii that they contain have been very carefully selected. Chosen for export were issues of Denarii which contained high quality Silver, especially those that could be easily recognized as such by the use of distinctive reverse types. During the Roman Republic the Denarii had been the standard coin denomination struck in good Silver 95-97% pure. The relatively rare Roman Republican Denarii from India usually occur in hoards with a terminal date in the early 2nd Century CE, the period when they were disappearing from Denarius hoards found inside the Empire. The Indian finds contain any of the Denarii issues in the 1st two phases of Augustus between 31BCE and 15CE, that had been struck to a mere variable standard of Silver purity, or struck after CE 54 or 55- the year when Nero first reduced the Silver purity and weight of the Denarii, ten years before his more drastic and celebrated debasement in 64 CE

Halli Sikka in Nizam’s Hyderabad : 

One of Salar Jung’s significant contributions was the introduction of a new currency. In 1855, he established a State Bank in Hyderabad city and introduced a silver currency — Halli Sikka. A central Mint was established in the capital, and the district mints as well as the mints by the Samsthanas were abolished. The government treasury was established in Hyderabad, and the Customs department was taken over by the government. By 1868, the government of India also adopted the Halli Sikka as the Rupee for Hyderabad and fixed the official rate of exchange between it and the British Government Rupee at 16-14. The rate of Exchange between the Halli Sicca and the British coins was 100 to 116/10/8  .

There was no paper currency at that time in Hyderabad. Salaries to the government employees were paid in coins. 

During Asafjahis’s time from  I  Nizam to VII Nizam introduced the new coins. Mir Osman Ali Khan was the last Nizam of Asafjahis he issued gold, silver,nickel, copper and bronze coins from Hyderabad mint. These coins were struck in the denomination of Asarafi, rupee, pain and Anna in a round and square shape. The Gold Ashrafi of Mir Osman Ali Khan was minted at Hyderabad. Not only VII Nizam but also the all the Nizams minted the different coins. From the time of Asafjahi – I to Asafjahi – VII, the Nizams continued the use of the Mughal coinage in the Deccan and incorporated the names of the Mughal Emperor on the coins minted within the state at the mint.

The gold coins bear the same inscription of the observe and reverse as the silver coins with the word rupee changed to Ashrafi. The Ashrafi was not a legal tender coin but was very popular and freely used by the public for ornamental and freely used by the public for ornamental and ceremonial purposes.

Sl.No.	Name of the coin
1	Silver Tanka	A little more than a Rupee	Shamshuddin Iltutmish (1211 AD to 136 AD) introduced it . Coinage system under Iltutmish possessed some distinctive features. Iltutmish introduced the silver Tanka and the copper Jital-the two basic coins of the Sultanate period, with a standard weight of 175 grains.
2	Jital	A copper coin ,  equal to ½ of a silver tanka of  175 grains and  corresponding in value to 1 farthing (quarter of a penny)

3	Adali	Revived by  Mohmmed  Tughluq. It was equivalent in  weightto140  Grains of silver
4	Shushghani	jital piece
5		Vijayanagar  Kingdom :  Coinage in the  Vijayanagar  Kingdom was  both in gold and silver. There was one specimen of a silver coin. Coins bore emblems of gods and animals	Vijayanagar  Kingdom:  Theiremblem  wasVaraha  (Wild boar). But they also printed the emblems of  Hanuman,Garuda and elephants on the coins. The  name,  'Sriveeraharihara' , in Devnagari or Kannada script, was also inscribed on the coins.  They had issued the coins Varaha, Gadyana, Pon and Pagoda
6	Pulsiyah	Maratha  Kingdom :  The copper  money (in the  Maratha kingdom)
7		In Akbar’s time: The silver rupee of about 175  grains was equal to 2s 3d sterling	Jalali was the square silver rupee issued in 1577 AD. The chief copper coin was the Dam. It was also called Paisa.  10 Dams were equivalent to One Rupee .
		Jalali: a square rupee issued by Akbar

		Dam: also called Paisa or Fulus;  weighed 323.5  grains. It was the chief copper coin in Sher Shah’s  currency. In  Akbar’s time it  was divided into twenty-five parts, known as Jitals
		One Rupee was equal to forty  dams upto  A.D.1616 and  thirty dams , or a little more or less

TAXES IN MEDIEVAL INDIA 

Sl.No.	Name of the Tax
1	Ghari	It was House tax
2	Charahi	It was Pasture tax

3 Kharaj It was a tax 

on gross 

produce of 

lands of non - 

Muslims. Land 

tax mainly 

from Hindus

4	Ushraf	Itwasatax  ongross  Produce of  lands held by Muslims
5	Zakat	It is alms .It is from  well-to-do  Muslims for  helping the  needy
6	Jazia	A poll tax on the  non-Muslim  And other  heretics
7	Khams	One-fifth of  The spoils of war and of  The produce of mines
8	Sharb	Irrigationtax attherateof 10%ofthe  produceof  thefield
9	Sist	Land revenue (under the  department  called the  athavane) in Vijayanagar  kingdom
10			(i)The  Vijayanagar  emperors  adopted the ‘principle of  differential  taxation’  (levied taxes according to the relative  fertility of the lands)

11			(ii)The  assessment  On the  peasantry  Amounted to a little more than the  traditional  One-sixth of  The produce payable in  equivalent  moneyand  not in kind
12			(iii)  Prostitution  Was highly  taxed
13	Ghaznavidsand  TurkishSultans		The fiscal  policy of the Ghaznavids  andTurkish  Sultanswas  Modelled on the theory of finance of the Hanafi school of Muslim  Jurists
14	IbrahimLodi		Thereignof IbrahimLodi  was a period of  exceptionally low prices
15	Vijayanagarkingdom		Prices in the Vijayanagar  Kingdom were low
16	Jarib		A system of  assessment  introduced by MurshidQuli Khan . The  state-revenue wastobe  paid in kind

			And was fixed per bigha on a uniform  Claim to  one-fourthof the produce
17	Shivaji		Shivaji often levied Chauth and  Sardeshmukhi on the  neighbouring tracts, which were  completely at his mercy and also on the  Mughal  provinces as well as some districts of  the Bijapur  kingdom.
	Chauth		Chouth  amounted to one-fourth of the  government  revenue . It  was nothing but a military contribution.
	Sardeshmukhi		The  Sardeshmukhi was an  additional  levy of 10 per cent , which Shivaji  demanded on the houses of his claim as  the hereditary Sardeshmukh (Chief  Hadman) of  Maharashtra

			(i)Customs  duty at Surat was 3% on all imports and exports of  goods and  2% on money either gold or silver (In  Mughal  period)
			(ii)No  merchant was allowed to  ‘carry any  quantity of  silver’ out of the country
	Sharab		Irrigation Tax

FINANCIAL TERMS IN MEDIEVAL INDIA : 

SL.NO.	NAME	MEANING
1	Kharaj	Land tax from  Hindu chief and land lords
2	Khalsa	Crown lands
3	Iqtas	Land granted to followers and  officers (usually military)
4	Muqta	Holders of Iqta

5 Khams One-fifth of spoils 

of war 

6 Abwabs Cesses. House 

Tax , grazing tax 

etc. 

7 Ghari House tax

8	Charai	Grazing tax
9	Kismat-i-khoti	Cess , by  headmen for  themselves
10	Zakat	Alms tax on  muslims only
11	Ghanima	Plunder of war  ( 4 / 5 )
12	Muzari	Peasant
13	Balahars	Village menials
14	Khut and Muquddams	Headmen of  village
15	Sondhar	Loans granted by Mohd bin Tughlaq
16	Waqf	Land grant to  religious  institutions
17	Milk or Inam	Land grant to  grantees  perpetually
18	Khet Batai	Land revenue  fixed on the basis of standing crop
19	Lank Batai	Without  separating the  grain from the  chaff
20	Ras Batai	After separating the grain from the chaff
21	Masahat	On the basis of measurement of land
22	Nasq	On the basis of estimate
23	Muqtai	Mixed system

CATEGORIES OF LAND

SL.NO.	NAME OF LAND
1	Iqta	Under Muqtis and Iqtadars
2	Khalsa	Royal land under Amirs
3	Milk and Inam	Rewards and gifts

Akbar : 

The Coins issued by Akbar were those of gold, silver and copper. Gold coins were of 26 varieties of different weights.and value. 

The Shansah weighed a little more than 10 totals.

 The Illahi was worth Rs.10 .   There were other gold coins of smaller value. The coins were struck at 4 Mints only viz., Delhi, Bengal, Ahmedabad and Kabul.