History of the rupee
India is one of the earliest issuers of coins in the world (circa 6th century BC), along with the Chinese wen and Lydian staters. The origin of the word "rupee" is found in the word rūp or rūpā, which means "silver" in many Indo-Aryan languages such as Hindi. The Sanskrit word rupyakam (Devanagari:रूप्यकम्) means coin of silver. The derivative word Rūpaya was used to denote the coin introduced by Sher Shah Suri during his reign from 1540 to 1545 CE. The original Rūpaya was a silver coin weighing 175 grains troy (about 11.34 grams) [1]. The coin has been used since then, even during the times of British India. Formerly the rupee was divided into 16annas, 64 paise, or 192 pies. In Arabia and East Africa the British India rupee was current at various times, including the paisa and was used as far south as Natal. InMozambique the British India rupees were overstamped, and in Kenya the British East Africa company minted the rupee and its fractions as well as pice. It was maintained as the florin, using the same standard, until 1920. In Somalia the Italian colonial authority minted 'Rupia' to the exact same standard, and called the paisa 'besa'. Early 19th century E.I.C. rupees were used in Australia for a limited period. Decimalisation occurred in Ceylon (Sri Lanka) in 1872, India in 1957 and in Pakistanin 1961.
Among the earliest issues of paper rupees were those by the Bank of Hindustan (1770-1832), the General Bank of Bengal and Bihar (1773-75, established by Warren Hastings), the Bengal Bank (1784-91), amongst others.
The Rupee (₨ or Rs.) (Hindi: Rupiya, Sanskrit: Rupyakam Sinhala: Rupiyal meaning coins of silver) is the common name for the currencies used in India, Sri Lanka, Nepal,Pakistan, Mauritius, and Seychelles; in Indonesia the unit of currency is known as the rupiah and in the Maldives the rufiyah, which are cognate words of Hindi Rupiya. TheIndian rupee is subdivided into one hundred paise or pice (singular paisa), the Sri Lankan rupee into 100 cents and the Nepalese rupee can be subdivided into one hundred paisaor pice (both singular and plural) or four Sukas (sing. Suka) or two Mohors (sing. Mohor).
Etymology
The origin of the word "rupee" is found in the Sanskrit word rūp or rūpyāh, which means "wrought silver," originally "something provided with an image, a coin," from rupah "shape, likeness, image." [1] The Sanskrit word rūpyakam (Devanāgarī: रूप्यकम्) means coin of silver. The word Rupiya was coined by Sher Shah Suri during his brief rule of India between (1540-1545). It was used for the silver coin weighing 178 grains. He also introduced copper coins called Dam and gold coins called Mohur that weighed 169 grains.[2] Later on, the Mughal Emperors standardised this coinage of tri-metalism across the sub-continent in order to consolidate the monetary system..
Value
The derivative word Rūpaya was used to denote the coin introduced by Sher Shah Suri during his reign from 1540 to 1545. The original Rūpaya was a silver coin weighing 178grains (11.534 grams)[citation needed]. The coin has been used since then, even during the times of British India, defined as 11.66 grams at 91.7% silver by weight[3] (that is, silver worth about US$4 at modern prices).[4] In the late 19th century the customary exchange rate was 1 rupee to one shilling and fourpence in British currency, or 15 rupees to 1pound sterling.
Valuation of the rupee based on its silver content had severe consequences in the nineteenth century, when the strongest economies in the world were on the gold standard. The discovery of vast quantities of silver in the United States and various European colonies resulted in a decline in the relative value of silver to gold. Suddenly the standard currency of India could not buy as much from the outside world. This development was known as "the fall of the Rupee."
