We can thank Indian emperor Ashoka for the some of the world’s earliest coins. A devotee of nonviolence, Ashoka was an early proponent of Buddhism and ruled almost the entire Indian subcontinent from 269-232 BC. During his reign, these silver “Punch” coins circulated widely. Each flat piece of silver was cut to the proper weight and punched with a series of symbols indicating the coin’s place of origin. These specimens circulated from 300-100 BC, and are great for any collector of early coinage.
