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8 amazing facts about Indian currency (Rupee ₹)

The Indian currency is the official currency of India and has been so since independence in 1947. The term rupee comes from the Sanskrit word rūpya, which means silver coin. The Indian currency symbol is ₹ and is available in denominations from five to ten rupees, with banknotes ranging from one to two thousand rupees; coins are available in denominations from five to fifty rupees. Find out eight amazing facts about the Indian currency (Rupee ₹) below!

Table of Contents

8 Amazing Facts About the Indian Currency (Rupee ₹)

1. The Rupee Symbol (Rs)

Over centuries, many currencies have come and gone in India. But before getting to know some amazing facts about Indian currency, it is necessary to get acquainted with a few facts about its symbol. The Indian currency symbol is Rs. And just like how £ indicates pound sterling in Great Britain, or $ indicates United States dollar in USA or ¥ indicates Chinese yuan in China, so does Rs indicate Indian rupees. Rs is also called paisa or rupiya to Indians but rupiya itself came from rupya which means silver in the Hindi language. To simplify matters further for an international audience, it would be nice if ‘R’ could universally represent Indian rupees and maybe even other currencies around the globe – that would certainly make our lives easier!

2. The first coin in India

Modern Indian currency in India is directly descended from a coin system that originated in the 6th century BC and continued to be used for around 1000 years. The first coins were introduced in India by king Kalapahad of Kalingan. In those days, commodities such as grains, salt, etc. were usually paid as tax payments. They used to put a hole through a fixed weight of silver and use it as coins to pay taxes instead of using Silver bars or bullions which they considered too heavy. The modern-day Indian Rupee was originally based on a similar concept but some fundamental changes took place with British colonial rule c 1600 AD. Below are some amazing facts about the Indian currency

3. Where do coins come from?

Where do coins come from? It turns out, that there’s a surprising amount of work that goes into creating India’s currency. For example, each year more than 80 billion coins are manufactured—that is a lot of hard work! To learn more about how these amazing facts about Indian currency came to be click here. In fact, it takes close to 9 months to make all those coins and less than 8 hours for one machine to produce 2 million coins! You can learn more amazing facts about Indian currency here.

4. Should you tip using coins?

When you want to tip, should you give your waiter a stack of coins or paper money? Actually, it’s a little of both. Whether or not you should tip in cash vs. tips is a contentious issue – some people say that tipping with bills is good karma while others maintain that cash makes things easier for both parties involved; having said that, no matter what kind of currency you use, there are clear benefits and disadvantages to each. Here are some interesting facts about Indian Rupee and its monetary system: 8 Amazing Facts About Indian Currency. In order to know if anything has changed for Indian currency over the last few years which could impact the decision about coin vs bill for tips, one can check recent news on these topics.

5. Coins are called Pice, Paisa, and Anna

Anna is derived from the ancient Tamil word ‘Anner’ which means to divide or cut. In medieval times, Anna was one-sixteenth of a Rupee and was used for trading grains and spices. As per the modern Indian currency system, one Anna is equivalent to 1/50th of a Rupee. 50 Annas make up one Rupee, i.e., One Rupee = 16 Pice = 64 Paisa = 100 Poinis = 400 Paise = 10,000 Fils. The name paisa has also been derived from the Persian word ‘Pishak’ which means penny.

6. Coins vs Notes – Which holds value better?

If you’re into economics, you’ll know that a country’s currency usually loses its value over time. That’s because once a government has printed too much money, that extra currency will hold less value and buy less in return. To combat this, countries periodically come up with new banknotes and coins to replace older ones so they can save some of their existing cash for more useful stuff. However, when comparing notes vs coins it appears there are pros and cons to both currencies—particularly on whether keeping small change is a good idea. Which side do you fall on? To help you decide, here are 8 amazing facts about Indian currency (Rupee ₹): 1) There are 200-rupee notes but only Rs.

7. Coins with a face value of Rs 500 and above

The highest denomination coin of India is with a face value of 100 rupees. The coins have a hole on their left side which can be used to put them on a string and worn as a necklace called Hawala. Prior to 1957, Indian currency was denominated in Rupaye or just rupayas, which translates as money in Urdu. In those days, while one rupaya was worth 8 annas or 1/16th of a rupee, one anna equaled 1/64th of a rupee; eight annas would make up one rupee.

2. Banknotes

You see them, touch them, and handle them almost every day. But have you ever really looked at a banknote? India’s banknotes are called Legal Tenders, or L-Ticks in financial parlance. Indian currency notes can be of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, and 50 denominations as of 2017. The Reserve Bank of India issues these banknotes after printing them in one of its 4 printing presses located at Dewas in Madhya Pradesh; Mysuru in Karnataka; Nashik in Maharashtra and Salboni in West Bengal. Each note has a unique number called a serial number which is imprinted on it by specialized banks machines when they are issued from Banks after collection from RBI Issue Offices.