The amount of money appreciates to ₹700 after 4 years and to ₹1000 after 8 years at a certain compound interest compounded annually. The initial amount of money was:

Let the initial principal amount be $P$ and the annual interest rate be $r$.
According to the formula for compound interest:

$$A=P{\left(1+\frac{r}{100}\right)}^t$$

For $t=4$ years:

$$700=P{\left(1+\frac{r}{100}\right)}^4\text{— (Equation 1)}$$

For $t=8$ years:

$$1000=P{\left(1+\frac{r}{100}\right)}^8\text{— (Equation 2)}$$

Divide Equation 2 by Equation 1:

$$\frac{1000}{700}=\frac{P{\left(1+\frac{r}{100}\right)}^8}{P{\left(1+\frac{r}{100}\right)}^4}$$

$$\frac{10}{7}={\left(1+\frac{r}{100}\right)}^4$$

Now, substitute the value of ${\left(1+\frac{r}{100}\right)}^4$ into Equation 1:

$$700=P\times \frac{10}{7}$$

$$P=\frac{700\times 7}{10}$$

$$P=490$$

Therefore, the initial amount of money was ₹490.