Qadeem sikke yaani ancient coins, duniya ke sabse pracheen aur gahare sabhyataik dastavezon mein se ek hain. Yeh sirf dhatu ke tukde nahi, balki har sikka ek samay, samraajy aur sanskriti ka jeevit pramaan hota hai. Qadeem sikkon ki duniya ek aisī duniya hai jahan aapko rajyon ki unhe dekhe bina pehchaan milti hai, aur har naqsh, lekh aur design apne samay ki kahani bayan karta hai.
1. Qadeem Sikkon ki Utpatti
Qadeem sikkon ki shuruaat lagbhag 2600 saal pehle hui thi. Sabse pracheen sikke Lydia (vartaman Turkey) mein 7th century BCE ke dauraan prachalit hue, jo electrum (sona-chandi ka prakrit mishran) se banaye jaate the. Yeh un dauron ke pehle sikke the jinke do taraf design tha.
Bharat mein sikkon ka itihas bhi lagbhag 6th century BCE se shuru hota hai. Inhe “Punch-marked coins” kehte hain, kyunki inmein mohron se chhap lagakar nishaan banaye jaate the.
2. Qadeem Bharat ke Sikke
-
Mahajanapad Kaal: Is daur ke sikke adhikatar chandi ke the aur un par surya, janwar, peepal ke patte jaise prateek banaye jaate the.
-
Maurya Samraajy: Punch-marked coins ka vistaar hua, aur inka wajan aur aakar standard ban gaya.
-
Post-Maurya Period: Indo-Greek, Shaka, aur Kushan rajvanshon ne sikke banaye jisme pehli baar raja ki moorti dikhayi gayi.
Indo-Greek sikkon mein pehli baar likhit naam, Greek script aur realistic chitraayein dekhi gayi. Ye sikke Sanskriti ke mel ka pramaan hain.
3. Kushan aur Gupta Sikke
Kanishka, Kushan samraajy ka mahan raja, ek numismatic kranti lekar aaya. Uske sikkon par Greek aur Bauddh devtaon ke naam the. Uska dhatu-prayog aur kalaatmak design European sikka nirmataon ke barabar tha.
Gupta yug ko “sikkon ka sone ka yug” maana jaata hai. Unke sikkon par:
-
Raja ke shikaar karte ya veer bhav mein chitra milte hain
-
Lakshmi aur Durga jaise devi-devtaon ke sundar pratibimb hote hain
-
Sanskrit mein likhit lekh hoti hain
Gupta sikke na sirf kala, balki dharmik aur samajik jivan ke maapdand bhi dikhate hain.
4. Dakshin Bharat ke Sikke
Satavahana, Chola, Pallava, aur Vijayanagar samraajyon ne bhi behtareen sikke banaye. Inmein vaakya Sanskrit aur Tamil dono mein likhe milte hain. Bahut se sikkon par unke devtaon, dhvajon aur samraajy ke prateek milte hain.
Chola sikkon par Shiva aur Nandi ka prateek aam tha, jabki Vijayanagar sikkon mein Vishnu aur Lakshmi pramukh the.
5. Qadeem Islamic Sikke (Early Islamic Coins)
Arab vistar ke baad 7th century mein Islamic sikke aaye. In par sirf likhawat hoti thi — image-free design, jahan Quran ke ayat aur shasak ka naam hota tha.
-
Umayyad aur Abbasid sikke: Gold dinar aur silver dirham mein jaari hue.
-
Bharat mein Delhi Sultanate ke sikkon mein Persian likhawat aur geometric patterns pramukh the.
6. Mughal Sikke: Shano-shaukat ka Prateek
Babur se le kar Aurangzeb tak, Mughalon ke sikke bahut suvidhajanak, sundar aur kalaatmak hote the. Kuch khas baatein:
-
Jahangir ke sikke artistic design ke liye mashhoor the — falgun, vaisakh jaise mahino ke naam aur surya-chandra ke prateek unhone sikke par diye.
-
Shah Jahan ke daur ke sikke unki architecturally inclined soch dikhate hain.
7. Qadeem Sikkon ka Kalaatmak Paksh
Har purane sikke mein kuch kalaatmak tatva hote hain:
-
Nakashi aur design: Hast-nirmita hone ke kaaran har sikka thoda anokha hota tha.
-
Dev-ta aur Rajaon ke chitra: Jisme unka vastra, abhushan, aur hathiyar dikhaye jaate the.
-
Likhat aur Font: Har daur ki script alag hoti thi, jaise Brahmi, Kharoshthi, Persian, ya Greek.
Yeh tatva purane sikkon ko na keval saundarya mein visesh banate hain, balki inka vishleshan humein us samay ki kala aur bhasha samajhne mein madad karta hai.
8. Puratatva aur Sikkon ki Khoj
Kai baar jab puratatva vigyaani kisi prachin nagar ki khudai karte hain, toh sabse pehle jo vastu milti hai — woh hoti hai sikke. Yeh batate hain ki:
-
Wahaan kaun si sabhyata thi
-
Unka vyapar kin shetron se tha
-
Unka dharm, samaj aur kala kaisa tha
Yeh khoj kai baar humein naye itihasik tathyon se avagat karwati hai.
9. Qadeem Sikkon ki Aaj ke Yug Mein Relevance
Aaj bhi qadeem sikkon ki demand bahut adhik hai — sangrahakon, museums, aur researchers ke beech:
-
Auction Houses mein yeh sikke laakhon mein bikte hain
-
UNESCO aur National Museums inhein dharohar ke roop mein rakhti hain
-
Coin Collectors inhein shauq aur heritage ke roop mein ikattha karte hain
10. Jali Sikke aur Dhokaadhadi se Bachav
Jab qadeem sikke itne moolyaavan hote hain, toh jali sikke bhi banaye jaate hain. Isliye kisi bhi sikke ko kharidne se pehle uska authentication, weight, metal composition aur source verify karna zaroori hai.
Nishkarsh
“Qadeem Sikkon ki Duniya” ek aisi rochak aur gahari duniya hai jismein har tukda ek kahani sunata hai — kisi shasak ki, kisi samaj ki, kisi dharm ya vyavastha ki. Yeh duniya un logon ke liye bhi akarshak hai jo itihaas ke premi hain, aur unke liye bhi jo kalpana se aage dekhna chahte hain.
Har purana sikka ek safar hai — mitti ke neeche se upar aata hua, rajyaon ke haathon se guzarta hua, aaj tak apni pehchaan banaaye hua. Isliye jab bhi aap kisi qadeem sikke ko dekhen, samjhein — aap sirf ek sikka nahi, ek yug ki dhadkan chhoo rahe hain.