List Of 10 Ways The Indian Rupee Has Been Written: From Ancient Coins to ₹ Symbol

Top 10 Ways The Indian Rupee Has Been Written: The Indian Rupee has changed in many ways over the centuries, from ancient coins to the modern ₹ symbol. In early times, punch-marked silver coins were used without any written text. Later, the Sanskrit word Rūpya described silver currency. During the Mughal and British periods, the rupee was written in Persian, Urdu and English. After independence, it appeared in multiple Indian languages on banknotes. In 2010, India introduced the official ₹ symbol, which is now widely used in digital transactions. This article explores the top 10 ways the Indian Rupee has been written throughout history, reflecting its rich journey.

10 Ways The Indian Rupee Has Been Written: From Ancient Coins to ₹ Symbol

1. Punch-Marked Coins (6th Century BCE - 2nd Century BCE)

Top 10 Ways The Indian Rupee Has Been Written (Image: Canva)

Silver coins with punch marks that were used by Mahajanapadas were the first to use the Indian Rupee. These coins represented value with geometric shapes, the sun, and animals instead of written text.

2. Rūpya (Sanskrit Term)

Rūpya is a Sanskrit word that means "shaped coin" or "wrought silver." Silver coins, which later became the rupee, were commonly referred to by this term in ancient texts.

3. Tanka and Dam (Medieval India)

Copper coins were referred to as dams during the Mughal Empire and the Delhi Sultanate, while silver and gold coins were known as tanka. These were widely distributed and engraved in Persian.

4. Rupiya (Mughal Period)

During the Mughal era, rupee coins were written in Persian and Urdu as Rupiya. This term was still in use in subsequent centuries, including the British Empire.

5. Company Rupee (East India Company, 17th–19th Century)

To create a standardised currency system in India, the East India Company introduced the Company Rupee, which was written in both Persian and English.

6. British Indian Rupee (1858-1947)

The rupee, which was written in English as "Rupees" on notes and coins, was made the official currency during British rule. Additionally, it was printed on banknotes in several Indian languages.

7. Post-Independence Indian Rupee (1947-Present)

Top 10 Ways The Indian Rupee Has Been Written (Image: Canva)

As a reflection of India's linguistic diversity, the rupee was still written on banknotes in Hindi as "रुपये" and in English as "Rupees" after independence.

8. The ₹ Symbol (Introduced in 2010)

Udaya Kumar from Tamil created the official currency symbol (₹) that India adopted in 2010. The tricolour flag is represented by two horizontal lines that combine the Roman letter "R" and the Devanagari letter "र" (Ra).

9. Abbreviations (Rs., Re., ₹)

With time, various abbreviations spread throughout India, such as Re. (for a single rupee) and Rs. (for multiple rupees). Both print and digital media now frequently use the ₹ symbol.

10. Digital & Unicode Representation (U+20B9)

The rupee symbol (₹) was given the Unicode U+20B9 as technology advanced, enabling its use in digital formats across the globe. It can now be found on keyboards, websites and financial systems all over the world.