The history of the rupee traces back to Ancient India in circa 6th century BC. Ancient India was the earliest issuers of coins in the world, along with the Chinese wen and Lydian staters.The word rūpiya is deived from a Sanskrit word rūpa, which means "wrought silver, a coin of silver", in origin an adjective meaning "shapely", with a more specific meaning of "stamped, impressed", whence "coin". It is derived from the noun rūpa "shape, likeness, image".