Was Muhammad bin Tughlaq justified in formulating a system of token currency ? Suggest ways the system could have succeeded .
Answers
Answer:
Tughlaq was a ruler who delighted in administrative experiments. When famine-like conditions and frequent revolts began straining his coffers, Tughlaq found it difficult to maintain the supply of gold (dinars) and silver (adlis) coins on a large scale. So, he introduced a token currency system and minted vast quantities of new copper and brass coins (tankas) that could be exchanged for fixed amounts of gold and silver.
While this decision helped the Sultanate’s finances initially, it also proved to be lucrative to forgers who began issuing a large number of fake coins. Loopholes like a simple design (the coins just had some inscriptions) and no royal seals made the task easier for forgers. Every house became a mint for copper coins while gold and silver coins were zealously hoarded.
Explanation:
Answer:
Muhammad bin Tughluq was the Sultan of Delhi from 1325 to 1351. In 1330, after his failed expedition to Deogiri, he issued token currency, that is coins of brass and copper were minted whose value was equal to that of gold and silver coins. Use of token coins can be successful when the government alone makes them and takes people into confidence, but Tughlaq failed to check counterfeiting of currrency.