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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Parthicus, post: 8357389, member: 81887&quot;]Just as another data point, old (including ancient) coins were regularly being exchanged for current pieces by money-changers in 19th century India.&nbsp; I found this description (apologies in advance for the lengthy quote) in a book titled &quot;Coin-Collecting in Northern India, by Charles J. Rodgers, Honorary Numismatist to the Government of India&quot;, published in Allahabad in 1894.&nbsp; From the first chapter:</p><p><br /></p><p>&quot;Some time ago in going through the bazar of one of our large commercial towns, I noticed a money-changer seated behind a large heap of cowries and a vast array of ordinary pice piled up in four anna piles, ready for changing into silver!&nbsp; Besides his cowries and his change, I noticed that he had also pyramids of other copper coins.&nbsp; Being naturally of an inquisitive turn of mind, I desired permission to examine the pyramid.&nbsp; Permission was at once granted, and I turned over every coin of the heap, which contained at least a thousand.&nbsp; Behind the money-changer I noticed many bags which, upon inquiry, proved to be full of the same kind of coins as were in the pyramid- coins of dynasties long since passed away, or of towns far distant from the one in which I was.... Having a fair knowledge of the vernaculars and of the characters in which they are written, I commenced sorting the coins.&nbsp; To my astonishment the number of kinds approached fifty... On further examining the coins I found that not only were the kings&#039; names on them, but the dates and the names of the places of mintage.&nbsp; [handwritten note in margin by a previous owner of the book: &quot;This is only on Muhammadan kings&#039; coins, the Delhi sovereigns especially&quot;]</p><p><br /></p><p>&quot;I purchased two or three coins of each kind and took them home for further study.... I found then that the pyramid of coins was a historical treasure-house, a place where the only records of many kings are to be found.&nbsp; I again visited the money -changer and again made purchases.&nbsp; [He goes on to visit other money-changers.]&nbsp; Hitherto, I had only purchased copper coins, my means being limited and my home expenses very heavy.&nbsp; It seems that, as a matter of course, I began to know the sarrafs, the gentlemen who deal in bullion and who trade in silver and gold coins now no longer current.&nbsp; They sit behind heaps of rupees instead of pyramids of copper coins.&nbsp; They, too, have their bags and their stores.&nbsp; In the bags are silver and gold in every possible shape- old gold and silver lace, old jewels, cakes of gold and silver, or jewels melted down, ingots of gold from the banks of England, wedge-like lumps of silver from China, boat-like lumps of the same metal from the same country, and gold and silver coins from every nation under the sun that ever had a gold and silver coinage...</p><p><br /></p><p>&quot;The other day, we came across some silver coins of Athens, which had been found in some sands exposed by the river Oxus.&nbsp; It is quite possible that these coins had been in the pockets of the soldiers of Alexander the Great on the occasion of their expedition in that direction.&nbsp; Some time ago we met with a coin of Nero in a Punjab bazaar.&nbsp; How had it come there?&nbsp; Had it come in trade?&nbsp; Did one of the disciples of Paul bring it to India?&quot;</p><p><br /></p><p>So, it&#039;s apparent that all sorts of coins besides the current were circulating in northern India (well, it&#039;s mostly Pakistan now) in the late 19th century, though the older ones were probably not continuous, rather they were sometimes dug up and then exchanged for whatever the finder could get from the money-changers.&nbsp; The book covers coins all the way back to the early punch-marked coinages, which started in India roughly the 6th century BC.&nbsp; It&#039;s an interesting book historically, though of course there are much better and more recent guides available to Indian coins.&nbsp; Hope you enjoyed this excerpt.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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