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Sikh coinage
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Sikh coinage
Sikh coinage refers to the coins issued by various Sikh states for commercial purposes and as symbols of sovereignty. Sikh coinage may vary by region, such as Majha versus Malwa or trans-Sutlej versus cis-Sutlej. Coins from various Sikh states have been discovered, namely Banda's short-lived state, the misls of the Sikh Confederacy, the Sikh Empire, and coins from the Sikh polities of Patiala, Nabha, Jind, Bhadaur, Kaithal, Kalsia, Faridkot, and Buria/Jagadhri. Kapurthala State did not issue their own coinage. Another tradition was Sikh temple-tokens. Some fakes, forgeries, and hoax coins also exist.
The Punjabi word for coins is sikkā, which is borrowed from a Persian word, meaning both "a die for coining" and "rule, law, regulation" (implying sovereignty). Coinage issued pre-1777 are termed Gobindshahis whilst coins issued post-1777 are called Nanakshahis. The coinage minted by Patiala State from 1767 onwards are termed Rajeshahis. Coins issued by Jind State are known as Jindias whilst those issued by Nabha State are called Nabhashahis.
Earlier Sikh coinage issued by Banda Singh Bahadur (1709–1715) and misls of the Sikh Confederacy (1748–1799) are termed Gobindshahis. The "Gobindshahi" term conveys the message that they belong to or are dedicated to the tenth Sikh guru, Guru Gobind Singh. Coins struck in the name of the gurus are called Nanakshahis. Coins struck that are related to Bibi Moran are term Moranshahis. Other terminology includes Gurushahi and Nazrana.
Traditionally in the Punjab, coins struck contained either a bust of or an inscription of the name of the ruler and an inscription on the other side with their reigning years, however Sikh coins differed from the earlier format in-that they do not usually contain information about the ruler under whose reign they were struck, rather being dedicated to the Sikh gurus. Sikhs coins are an imitation of earlier Muslim and Mughal designs, whose prototype consisted of a kalima on one side and the name of the ruler, mint, and date on the other side. Islamic coins did not feature symbols but they did contain legends. In-contrast, the Sikh coins do not bear the name of the ruler under whose reign the coin was struck but they do contain different types of symbols. They also contain legends attributed to the Sikh gurus. For example, Sikh Empire coins contain the legend: Akal Sahai Guru Nanak in various variations and formats, usually abbreviated and rarely in-full. Over-time, verses from the Guru Granth Sahib were inscribed on the coinage.
Under Maharaja Ranjit Singh (r. 1799/1801–1839), coins bearing the following symbols were created:
Some have identified possible khanda symbols or their pre-cursors in the Sikh-era coins, although this is controversial. A Mughal coin minted in Lahore during the reign of Bahadur Shah in c. 1711–12 has been identified as possibly containing a khanda symbol, which has been described as an enigma. Hans Herrli believes the supposed khandas are actually misidentified lotus symbols or recent counter-marks.
Various mints were used by the Sikhs throughout their history, some mints which have been identified are:
The dates on Sikh coins normally correspond to the traditional Bikrami calendar, which is usually 57 years ahead of the Gregorian calendar (except during January to April, where it is ahead by only 56 years).
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Sikh coinage
Sikh coinage refers to the coins issued by various Sikh states for commercial purposes and as symbols of sovereignty. Sikh coinage may vary by region, such as Majha versus Malwa or trans-Sutlej versus cis-Sutlej. Coins from various Sikh states have been discovered, namely Banda's short-lived state, the misls of the Sikh Confederacy, the Sikh Empire, and coins from the Sikh polities of Patiala, Nabha, Jind, Bhadaur, Kaithal, Kalsia, Faridkot, and Buria/Jagadhri. Kapurthala State did not issue their own coinage. Another tradition was Sikh temple-tokens. Some fakes, forgeries, and hoax coins also exist.
The Punjabi word for coins is sikkā, which is borrowed from a Persian word, meaning both "a die for coining" and "rule, law, regulation" (implying sovereignty). Coinage issued pre-1777 are termed Gobindshahis whilst coins issued post-1777 are called Nanakshahis. The coinage minted by Patiala State from 1767 onwards are termed Rajeshahis. Coins issued by Jind State are known as Jindias whilst those issued by Nabha State are called Nabhashahis.
Earlier Sikh coinage issued by Banda Singh Bahadur (1709–1715) and misls of the Sikh Confederacy (1748–1799) are termed Gobindshahis. The "Gobindshahi" term conveys the message that they belong to or are dedicated to the tenth Sikh guru, Guru Gobind Singh. Coins struck in the name of the gurus are called Nanakshahis. Coins struck that are related to Bibi Moran are term Moranshahis. Other terminology includes Gurushahi and Nazrana.
Traditionally in the Punjab, coins struck contained either a bust of or an inscription of the name of the ruler and an inscription on the other side with their reigning years, however Sikh coins differed from the earlier format in-that they do not usually contain information about the ruler under whose reign they were struck, rather being dedicated to the Sikh gurus. Sikhs coins are an imitation of earlier Muslim and Mughal designs, whose prototype consisted of a kalima on one side and the name of the ruler, mint, and date on the other side. Islamic coins did not feature symbols but they did contain legends. In-contrast, the Sikh coins do not bear the name of the ruler under whose reign the coin was struck but they do contain different types of symbols. They also contain legends attributed to the Sikh gurus. For example, Sikh Empire coins contain the legend: Akal Sahai Guru Nanak in various variations and formats, usually abbreviated and rarely in-full. Over-time, verses from the Guru Granth Sahib were inscribed on the coinage.
Under Maharaja Ranjit Singh (r. 1799/1801–1839), coins bearing the following symbols were created:
Some have identified possible khanda symbols or their pre-cursors in the Sikh-era coins, although this is controversial. A Mughal coin minted in Lahore during the reign of Bahadur Shah in c. 1711–12 has been identified as possibly containing a khanda symbol, which has been described as an enigma. Hans Herrli believes the supposed khandas are actually misidentified lotus symbols or recent counter-marks.
Various mints were used by the Sikhs throughout their history, some mints which have been identified are:
The dates on Sikh coins normally correspond to the traditional Bikrami calendar, which is usually 57 years ahead of the Gregorian calendar (except during January to April, where it is ahead by only 56 years).