abhishreshthaa
Abhijeet S
“The Silver Inspiration of a Royal Afghan”
The monetary coinage system was remodeled by Farid-ud-din Sher Shah Suri (1538-1545). The birth of the rupee is credited to the Afghan ruler for which he was known as the “Prince of Indian Coinage.”
A man of vision, he also built the Grand Trunk Road transversing a vast sub-continent from the Khyber Pass to the Bay of Bengal. During his reign he standardized the metal used for coins. The weight of the copper paise was fixed at 19.5 gm to 20.9 gm.
Similarly the weight of the silver rupee was fixed for the first time. He standardized it as equal to one tola of silver which is equivalent to 178 grains according to the indigenous system of weights or 10.8 gm to 11.5 gm.
Hence was born the first rupee of a fixed weight and it continued to be issued and used until the British came to India. Though Sher Shah Suri reigned for just five years the rupee anna system lived for four and a half centuries.
The monetary coinage system was remodeled by Farid-ud-din Sher Shah Suri (1538-1545). The birth of the rupee is credited to the Afghan ruler for which he was known as the “Prince of Indian Coinage.”
A man of vision, he also built the Grand Trunk Road transversing a vast sub-continent from the Khyber Pass to the Bay of Bengal. During his reign he standardized the metal used for coins. The weight of the copper paise was fixed at 19.5 gm to 20.9 gm.
Similarly the weight of the silver rupee was fixed for the first time. He standardized it as equal to one tola of silver which is equivalent to 178 grains according to the indigenous system of weights or 10.8 gm to 11.5 gm.
Hence was born the first rupee of a fixed weight and it continued to be issued and used until the British came to India. Though Sher Shah Suri reigned for just five years the rupee anna system lived for four and a half centuries.