For the Mumbai-based museum known for its immersive storytelling and exhaustive archives, this exhibition marks its most ambitious venture yet, a 500-year chronicle of the Indian Rupee told through coins and maps. "Odyssey of the Rupee is not just about currency; it is a journey of the Rupiya becoming a global subject of currency," says Paul Abraham, the founder of Sarmaya.
The history of the Rupiya travels all the way back to the reign of the Mughal emperor Sher Shah Suri, when he decided to create a standard weight and denomination of exchange, and hence the Dam (a copper coin), the silver coin called Rupiya, whose unique mark was that it should weigh 11.5 grams, and the gold coin, Mohur were born. "After these coins were adopted, all the kingdoms from northern Afghanistan to kingdoms in Trichy and Gingee (both locations in Tamil Nadu) slowly adopted them as a trusted currency," reveals Abraham.
Internationalisation of the Rupee
The show gathers the museum's rarest and most extensive coinage collection, charting the rupee's journey from the silver tankas of medieval sultanates to the paper notes of modern India. But more than a numismatic showcase, it is an exploration of how powerful the coin was.
1840 Indian Rupee used in the Kingdom of Najd (Saudi Arabia) and Java (Indonesia) Rupee of the Dutch East India Company (right) 15 Rupien of German East Africa; Peacock Rupee of Burma
"The large-scale Western internationalisation of the rupee happened when the East India Company defeated the Mughals, and their main motive was to excel at intraregional trade," explains Abraham. He also mentions how other colonial powers, for example, the Germans, French, and Italians, were so heavily influenced by Rupiya that they moulded and modified their own versions and used it as a currency.
Rupiya dominates trade
From there, the narrative sails outward to the Indian Ocean trade routes, where the rupee circulated alongside Arabian dinars and Portuguese cruzados, symbols of a world increasingly bound by commerce. By the 19th century, the coin had become so trusted that it was accepted as far afield as East Africa, Java, and the Gulf, quietly shaping local economies long before globalisation became a word. "One very interesting fact about the power the Rupiya held was that it was found on a small atoll called Cocos and Keeling, which lies in the Indian Ocean region and now belongs to Australia," explains Abraham. The rupee was a form of soft power; it proved that India's economic and cultural influence extended far beyond its borders.
(Left) Paul Abraham and Dr. Shailendra Bhandare
Curated by Dr Shailendra Bhandare, numismatist and assistant keeper at the Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford, the exhibition places the rupee within the grander sweep of world history. "The Rupiya was a symbol of global domination and absolutely fascinating if we take geography into consideration. The most interesting coin out of all on display would be the coin during the reign of Emperor Akbar in 1602 minted at Agra, as it has the mention of the word Rupiya written on it," notes Dr Bhandare.
They are political statements as much as economic tools. Yet amid all the glitter of silver and gold, Odyssey of the Rupee feels grounded in humanity. Each coin is a fragment of lived experience through history. More than a coin, the Rupee was a symbol of greater acceptance which went beyond power, and it played a major role in the liberty to maintain a standard of currency.
A moment from a coin workshop at the museum
Tracing the Rupee's odyssey, this exhibition offers more than a history of money; it presents a meditation on power, exchange, and identity. The journey of the Rupiya from Sher Shah Suri's mint, to the modern-day subcontinent, has its own evolution.