Tola (unit)

The tola (Hindi: तोला / Urdu: تولا, romanized: tolā; also transliterated as tolah or tole) is a traditional Ancient Indian and South Asian unit of mass, now standardised as 180 grains (11.6638038 grams) or exactly 3⁄8 troy ounce.

[2] The tola is a Vedic measure, with the name derived from the Sanskrit तोलः tolaḥ (from the root तुल् tul) meaning "weighing" or "weight".

[1][5] The first rupee (Urdu: رپيا; rupayā), minted by Sher Shah Suri (1540–45), had a mass of 178 troy grains, or about 1% less than the British tola.

[6] The British East India Company issued a silver rupee coin of 180 troy grains, and this became the practical standard mass for the tola well into the 20th century.

[1] The tola formed the base for units of mass under the British Indian system, and was also the standard measure of gold and silver bullion.