Dam (Indian coin)

{{short description|Indian copper coin introduced by Sher Shah Suri}}

File:Copper dam coin of Akbar, 1000 A. H., Zafar Qarin mint.jpg, Zafar Qarin mint, AH 1100 (1591-92). ]]

{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2018}}

{{Use Indian English|date=August 2018}}

File:Dam (indian coin).jpg issued Dam, a copper coin with lower value as compared to silver (Rupiya) and gold (Mohur) coins]]

A dam was a small Indian copper coin. The coin was first introduced by Sher Shah Suri during his rule of India between 1540 and 1545, along with Mohur, the gold coin and Rupiya the silver coin.[http://www.rbi.org.in/currency/museum/c-mogul.html Mughal Coinage] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080516085855/http://www.rbi.org.in/currency/museum/c-mogul.html |date=2008-05-16 }} at RBI Monetary Museum. Retrieved on 4 May 2008. Later on, the Mughal Emperors standardised the coin along with other silver (Rupiya) and gold (Mohur) coins in order to consolidate the monetary system across India. A rupee was divided into 40 dams.{{Cite book |last=Habib |first=Irfan |title=An Atlas of the Mughal Empire: Political and Economic Maps with Detailed Notes, Bibliography and Index |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1986 |edition=reprint |location=New Delhi |pages=VII}}

It is believed that this coin is one of the possible sources for the English word "damn" and the phrase "I don't care a damn", due to its small worth.Gorrell, Robert, Watch Your Language: Mother Tongue and Her Wayward Children, University of Nevada Press, 1994. [https://books.google.com/books?id=dqyqialyUyMC Watch Your Language at Google Books][https://greensdictofslang.com/entry/3modzlq#lzccxoq Green’s Dictionary of Slang]