Muhammad Tughlaq's Token Currency

notesonindianhistory.com/2018/12/muhammad-tughlaqs-token-currency.html

Sultan Muhammad Tughlaq (reign: 1325-1351) was a very ambitious ruler. We have already learned
about one of his curious schemes: the transfer of the capital to Devagiri and its desertion thereafter.
According to Barani, Muhammad's third project was the introduction of a token currency, ie, copper
and brass coins.

Muhammad Tughlaq, the Prince of

Moneyers

[Muhammad's coins may be divided

into four classes: those struck in
memory of his father; those struck in
his own name; those recording the
names of the Khalifas; and the forced
currency. Two kinds of tankas: silver
and gold, of 175 grains each were
current in the Delhi Sultanate until the
age of Muhammad Tughlaq.
Muhammad, soon after his accession,
introduced a gold dinar of 200 grains
and an adali or a silver coin of 140
grains. It seems that there was a
relative scarcity of silver in the
country.]

Barani writes that the Sultan's bounty

and munificence had caused a great
deficiency in the treasury. The transfer
of the capital to Devagiri had also
caused a huge expenditure. [However, the Sultan's treasury was not empty; see below] Moreover,
says Barani, the Sultan, in his lofty ambition, had conceived it to be his work to subdue the whole
habitable world and bring it under his rule. To accomplish this impossible design, an army of
countless numbers was necessary, and this could not be obtained without plenty of money. As the
number of his troops and his revenue were not sufficient for this, he introduced copper money, and
gave orders that it should be used just as the gold and silver coins, in buying and selling. "Among
other sources of loss to the treasury was this that the Sultan enacted that the mohur of copper
should become current on an equal footing with the mohur of silver and anyone who showed
reluctance to receive it was punished severely", says Badauni.

This enactment led to many corrupt practices in the kingdom. Barani says, 'the proclamation of this
edict turned the house of every Hindu into a mint, and they coined krors and lacs of copper coins.
With these fake coins they paid their tribute, and purchased horses, weapons and goods. Every
goldsmith struck copper coins in his workshop, and the treasury was filled with these [fake] copper
coins'. Ferishta says that the mint was under bad regulations. "Unscrupulous and contumacious
rascals used everywhere in their own houses to set up mints and stamp coins, and taking them into
the cities used to purchase with them silver and horses, weapons and fine things, and thus rose to
great wealth and dignity", says Badauni.

1/3
Some time after people of distant countries refused to accept these copper coins and one gold coin
rose to the value of fifty or sixty copper coins. [Barani says a hundred] Trade and commercial
activities were interrupted. "When the copper tankas had become more worthless than clods, and of
no use, the Sultan repealed his edict. He ordered that whoever possessed copper coins should bring
them to the treasury, and receive gold coins in exchange. People who possessed thousands of these
copper coins, and had flung them into corners along with their copper pots, now brought them to
the treasury, and received in exchange gold and silver tankas, shashganis and duganis", says Barani.
People profited greatly by this arrangement and they became wealthy. Great sums went out of the
treasury in exchange for the copper, and a great deficiency was caused. For a long time the copper
coins remained lying in heaps in the palace of Tughlaqabad, as late as the time of Sultan Mubarak
Shah Sayyid according to Yahya.

Was Muhammad bin Tughlaq the first ruler to introduce a token currency?

The Sultan had not issued copper tokens to refill his treasury. His treasury was not empty; this is
proved by the fact that after the failure of the token currency, he had enough gold to pay in
exchange for all the copper tokens, genuine and fake. [Ferishta alone states that after the treasury
was emptied, there still remained a heavy demand, and this debt the Sultan struck off.] In the
opinion of Agha Mahdi Husain, perhaps the necessity of providing an adequate substitute for the
much needed silver was the immediate cause of this experiment in credit currency made by the
Sultan. According to Ferishta, Muhammad had adopted his idea of token currency, from a Chinese
custom of using paper money. "Muhammad Tughlaq, instead of stamped paper, struck a copper
coin, which he issued at an imaginary value, and caused it to pass current by a decree throughout
Hindustan", says Ferishta.

Kublai Khan, the Mongol emperor of China, had introduced a paper currency called Chao, in 1260.
"He orders people to collect the bark of mulberry tree. The thin rind between the bark and the
interior wood is taken, and from it cards are formed like those of paper, all black. It was then cut into
pieces of different sizes and on each piece was printed the value to be placed on the note. Each bit
of paper was issued with as much solemnity and authority as if it were pure gold or silver; on every
piece, a variety of officials, whose duty it is, have to write their names, and to put their seals. And
when all is prepared duly, the chief officer deputed by the Khan smears the seal entrusted to him
with vermilion, and impresses it upon the paper, so that the form of the seal remains stamped upon
it in red; the money is then authentic. Any one forging it would be punished with death. By an
imperial edict the Great Khan caused his paper currency to be accepted as money all over his
dominions; and none dares to refuse them under pain of death. Furthermore, all merchants arriving
from India or other countries, and bringing with them gold, silver, gems or pearls, are prohibited
from selling to any one but the Emperor. He has twelve experts chosen for this business; these
appraise the articles, and the Emperor then pays a liberal price for them in those pieces of paper.
And with this paper money they can buy what they like anywhere over the Empire. Moreover,
several times in the year proclamation is made through the city that any one who may have gold,
silver, gems or pearls, by taking them to the mint, shall get a handsome price for them. And the
owners are glad to do this, because they would find no other purchaser give so large a price. Still, in
this way, nearly all the valuables in the country come into the Khan's possession. When any of those
pieces of paper are spoilt, the owner carries them to the mint, and receives fresh ones in exchange,
with a deduction of 3 percent", says Marco Polo.

History records that similar notes were issued by the Chinese as early as the ninth century; and
before Marco was born, money made of stamped leather was current in Italy. The Japanese also
used paper money before the days of Kublai Khan. In 1294, a similar experiment was tried by
Gaykhatu, the ruler of Persia (1291-1295), which was a complete failure. It happened thus:
Gaykhatu was lavish in his expenditure. It soon happened that the treasury was empty. Thus he
introduced Chao, the Chinese paper currency. The notes consisted of oblong rectangular pieces of

2/3
paper inscribed with some words in Chinese, over which stood the Muhammadan profession of
faith, "There is no god but God, Muḥammad is the Apostle of God" in Arabic. Lower down was the
scribe's name, and the value of the note inscribed in a circle. A further inscription ran as follows:
"The King of the world issued this auspicious Chao in the year A.D. 1294. Anyone altering or
defacing the same shall be put to death, together with his wife and children, and his property shall
be forfeited to the exchequer." But people refused to accept the Chao. Soon, bazaar riots broke out
and economic activities came to a standstill. And Gaykhatu finally consented to abolish the paper
currency.

Because of its failure in Persia, Sultan Muhammad Tughlaq did not adopt paper as the medium of
exchange, but preferred copper to paper. But he did nothing to prevent fraud and forgery; there
was no medium or machinery to distinguish the royal mint from private forgeries.

This experiment was tried after the transfer of capital; according to numismatic evidence the token
currency lasted only for a brief period, from 1329 to 1332. And there were no riots or rebellions
occurred as in Persia. People just forgot the token currency; when Ibn Battuta came to Delhi in
1334, he heard nothing about the token currency.

"He who obeys the Sultan, truly he obeys the Merciful one (Allah)"

Reference:

The story of Marco Polo By Noah Brooks

Related Posts:

3/3