Coins emerged as a means of exchange.

Objects that occurred rarely in nature and whose circulation could be efficiently controlledemerged as units of valuefor interactions and exchange. These included shells such as mother-of-pearl that were widely circulated in the Americas and cowry shells that were used in Africa, Europe, Asia and Australia. Native copper, meteorites or native iron, obsidian, amber, beads, copper, gold, silver and lead ingots havevariously served as currency. People even usedlive animals such as cowsuntil relatively recent timesas a form of currency.The Mesopotamian shekel – the first known form of currency – emerged nearly 5,000 years ago. The earliest known mintsdate to 650 and 600 B.C. in Asia Minor, where the elites of Lydia and Ionia used stamped silver and gold coins to pay armies.The discovery of hordes of coins of lead, copper, silver and gold all over the globe suggests that coinage – especially in Europe, Asia and North Africa – was recognized as a medium of commodity money at the beginning of the first millennium A.D. Thewide circulation of Roman,Islamic, Indian and Chinese coinspoints to premodern commerce (1250 B.C. - A.D. 1450).Coinage as commodity money owes its success largely to its portability, durability, transportability and inherent value. Additionally, political leaders could control the production of coins – from mining, smelting, minting - as well as their circulation and use. Other forms of wealth and money, such as cows, successfully served pastoral societies, but weren’t easy to transport – and of course were susceptible to ecological disasters.Money soon became an instrument of political control. Taxes could be extracted to support the elite and armies could be raised. However, money could also act as a stabilizing force that fostered nonviolent exchanges of goods, information and services within and between groups.

The first Indiancoins– punch markedcoins calledPuranas, Karshapanas or Pana – were minted in the 6th century BC by the Mahajanapadas (republic kingdoms) ofancientIndia. These included Gandhara, Kuntala, Kuru, Panchala, Shakya, Surasena, and Saurashtra.