When Mughals turned to demonetisation and Akbar's army seized local coins

Akbar's army was ordered to seize all the local coins after conquering a territory

The Indian rupee, which draws its name from the Sanskrit word rupyakam, has been at the centre of many discussions and debates following the demonetisation of high-value currency notes on November 8. But this is not the first time that India’s currency of the time has faced the axe.

The Mughals, after invading a territory, would effect the demonetisation of the local currency with the aim to cripple the economy of the land, says art historian Chandramani Singh. They would then exchange the previous ruler’s coins invariably for a lower value to ensure that the local people became dependent on