Table of Contents of 'Sikh Coinage' By Surinder Singh

List of Illustrations    9
Preface   11
Introduction     15
I:     The Initial Sikh Coinage AD 1710-1712        27

      Establishment of the Sikh State   27
      Historical Accounts of the Initial Sikh Coinage   30

     Numismatic Investigation of the Initial Sikh Coinage   36
 

II: The Coinage of the Misl Period AD 1765-1799   48
     A Brief Account of the Sikh Struggle upto 1765   48

    The Most Controversial Sikh Coin   54
   Assumption of Sovereignty by the Sikhs and
   the Striking of Sikh Coins in AD 1765    61
   The Early Lahore Coins, Incorrectly Called
   the Gobind Shahi Coins    66
   Proliferation of Sikh Coinage after 1783    71

   The Leaf Motif on Sikh Coinage     74
   The Place of the Akal Takht in Sikh Polity

       as Observed from Sikh Coins    77
Mughal Coins Countermarked with the Sikh Khanda Ensign   82
 

III: Sikh Coinage during the Lahore Darbar:
      The Period of Ranjit Singh AD 1800-1839     93
      Historical Developments upto AD 1800    93

      The Myth of Moran's Coins    95
       The Fallacy of Hari Singh Nalwa's Coins   104

       Sikh Pictorial Coins    117
 

IV: Sikh Coinage of the Lahore Darbar:
    The Post Ranjit Singh Period AD 1839-1849       129
    Historical Developments during 1839-1849    129
    Influence of Sikh Coinage on the Coinage
    of the cis-Sutlej States    131
   Brahminical Influence on Sikh Coinage   140

   Nimak Shahi Coinage    142
   Sikh Coinage from Kashmir   147
 

V: Sikh Coins as a Symbol of Sikh Sovereignty: An Assessment
    Appendix A: Sikh Religious Tokens        199
    Appendix B: Encyclopaedia on Sikhism: Numismatic Discrepancies      209
    Appendix C A Critique: 'On the Coins of the Sikhs'
                         by C.J. Rodgers        216
    Appendix D: Chronological Data on Sikh History (AD 1469 to 1850)
                          with Special Reference to Sikh Coinage       231
    Appendix E: Genealogical Table: Maharaja Ranjit Singh's Family       264
   Appendix F: Genealogical Table: Sindanwalia Family    265
    Bibliography     267
    Index    279
 

ILLUSTRATIONS
 
 

PLATES   
I: Initial Sikh Coinage     41
II: Early Coins, 1765 onwards, Lahore and Amritsar Coins     64

 III: Mughal Coins Countermarked with the
      Sikh Khanda Ensign      83
IV: Moran's Coins, Amritsar and Lahore Mints     101

V: Kashmir Coins 1876-1879 Sambat  114
VI: Sikh Pictorial Coins 1885-1893 Sambat     118

VII: Guru Sahib Coins, Patiala State   136
VIII: Nanak Shahi Coins, Nabha State Coinage   139

IX: Brahminical Symbols on Sikh Coins    141
X: Nimak Shahi Coinage, 1905 and 1906 Sambat  143

XI: Kashmir Coins, 1881-1903 Sambat   148
XII: Sikh Religious Tokens   203
 
FIGURES     
I:     Banda Singh Bahadur     33
II:    Jassa Singh Ahluwalia     65
III:     Hari Singh Nalwa     106
N:     Guru Nanak     170
 
 

From the Backcover of 'Sikh Coinage' By Surinder Singh
 
The Sikh coinage has a number of distinct and unique features vis-a-vis prevailing currencies in India. Almost every Sikh historian, European or Indian who wrote about Sikhs, has commented on Sikh coins, based on earlier accounts with some modification but without any examination of the coins which were readily available. These accounts have spread disinformation and distortions to such an extent that the few numismatists who examined the Sikh coins also succumbed to the historical fiction based on hearsay.

An attempt has been made in this study to correct various disinformations and distortions, e.g. the incorrect translation of the legends, incorrect nomenclature of Sikh currency, coins alleged to having been struck by Maharaja Ranjit Singh in the name of a courtesan, coins struck by Hari Singh Nalwa in his own name, etc. From the evidence collected from detailed examination of historical accounts and meticulous numismatic investigation, the true perspective has been arrived at about Sikh coinage, in its pristine beauty and as a symbol of Sikh Sovereignty.

Sikh coins were first issued by Banda Bahadur between 1710 and 1713 and after a gap of almost half a century they were again issued from 1765 till 1845. In the field of Indian numismatics, Sikh coins in particular have received scant attention. Scholars and academics have been guilty of neglecting the subject. The present work attempts to fill this gap.

About the Author 'Dr. Surinder Singh' of 'Sikh Coinage'

Dr. Surinder Singh, after a short spell as a research scholar in University of Delhi and as a Lecturer in Political Science, Government College, Gurdaspur, was selected to the Indian Defence Accounts Service, where he served from 1956 to 1987.

After retirement, Surinder Singh took up the study of Sikh coinage, of which he had collected over a thousand pieces, during the last few years of his service in Punjab.

He has published over thirty research papers in reputed national and international journals and books.

Dr. Singh is at present working on the 'Concept of Sikh Sovereignty' as a Senior Fellow of Indian Council of Historical Research, New Delhi.