Astounding Facts About Indian Rupee You Probably Didn't Know

1. Sher Shah Suri introduced the first "rupee" in 1486-1545. It was based on 40 pieces of copper (paisa) matching a rupee. The "rupiya" word was derived from the word "rupa" which means wrought silver, a coin of silver.

2. Kashmir was bought by the then Hindu rulers in the mid 19th century for a scanty 7.5 million rupees.

3. At one point there were two currencies operating in India. It was Hyderabadi Rupee from 1918 to 1959. It coexisted with Indian rupee from 1950.

4. Indian rupee has also served as the official currency of Aden, Oman, Dubai, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, The Trucial States (later UAE), Kenya, Tanganyika, Uganda, The Seychelles, and Mauritius.

5. Amount on every banknote is written in 17 languages, fifteen of them are on the back while English and Hindi are on the front.

6. 1862: New coins called regal issues were introduced. These coins had an image of Queen Victoria and the name "India". Post Independence, India had its first coin issued in 1950.

7. Approximate banknotes out there: 73,517 million pieces valuing Rs.11,648 billion. Approximate Coins out there: 84,727 million pieces valuing INR 153 billion. On 16th July 2010, India joined the group of elite countries to have its own currency symbol.