Pre-Buddhist India: A Political, Administrative, Economic, Social and Geographical Survey of Ancient India Based Mainly on the Jataka Stories c5.t4.186

c5.t4.186

On the *Kahāpaṇa*, Prof. Rapson’s remarks make everything clear: “To both of the standard coins in question, the silver *purāṇa* of 32 *ratis* and the copper *paṇa* of 80 *ratis*, the same name *kārṣāpaṇa* was sometimes applied. This double use of the term was probably in ancient times only confusing whenever the currency of one district had to be compared with that of another. We may gather both directly from the statements of the Law Books, and more generally from the study of the coins, that in Ancient India silver and copper coinages were often independent of each other and circulated in different districts. A copper currency was not necessarily regarded as merely auxiliary to the silver currency; but a copper standard prevailed in some districts just as a silver standard prevailed in others. The word *kārṣāpaṇa*, therefore, may in any particular district be supposed to mean the standard coin whether of silver or copper.”³