A History of Sanskrit Literature c9.62

c9.62

Trade in those days consisted in barter, the cow being the pecuniary standard by which the value of everything was measured. The transition to coinage was made by the use of gold ornaments and jewelry as a form of reward or payment, as was the case among the ancient Germans. Thus *nishka*, which in the *Rigveda* means a necklet, in later times became the name of a coin.