Brahmi numerals

Evolution of Brahmi numerals from the time of Ashoka.
The number "256" in Ashoka's Minor Rock Edict No.1 in Sasaram (circa 250 BCE).
Coin of Western Satrap Damasena (232 CE). The minting date, here 153 (100-50-3 in Brahmi script numerals) of the Saka era, therefore 232 CE, clearly appears behind the head of the king.

Brahmi numerals are a numeral system attested in the Indian subcontinent from the 3rd century BCE. It is the direct graphic ancestor of the modern Hindu–Arabic numeral system. However, the Brahmi numeral system was conceptually distinct from these later systems, as it was a non-positional decimal system, and did not include zero. Later additions to the system included separate symbols for each multiple of 10 (e.g. 20, 30, and 40). There were also symbols for 100 and 1000, which were combined in ligatures with the units to signify 200, 300, 2000, 3000, etc. In computers, these ligatures are written with the Brahmi Number Joiner at U+1107F.