Coins have been crucial in deciphering history. In an endeavour to introduce to the public the significance of coins to the writing of history, the Government Museum and Art Gallery, Chandigarh, has opened a special section on Numismatics.
According to the director of the museum, Mr V.N. Singh, the 350 coins on display are the best of the 4,000 odd coins the museum has in its collection. "They are representative of the evolution of Indian coinage from the earliest times".
Both literary and archaeological evidence confirms that Indians developed coinage sometime in the 5th or the 6th century BC, i.e., well before the Greeks advanced into India (Alexander's invasion) in the 4th century BC.
The display begins with an explanation of how coinage originated from the barter system of ancient times. There are coins from the earliest silver punch-marked and copper cast coins going back to 500 BC to 250 BC to those minted during the British Raj, including the coins minted by the native Indian states from 1715 to 1947.
On display also are Larins, thin bars of fixed weight bent double and stamped on at one end on both sides. These were issued by two rulers only — Mohammad Adil Shah (1627-1657) and Ali Adil Shah (1657-1672) and were used for mercantile trade. Even commemorative coins (the first one was issued in memory of Jawaharlal Nehru to mark his 75th birthday in 1989) have been put on show so that a visitor has a complete overview of how coinage in India developed.
One of the prized collections of the museum is the display of Sikh coins, which, according to Dr Surinder Singh, a numismatic expert, is a largely neglected subject.
Banda Bahadur, a Sikh chieftan who ruled in the Punjab region for a few years, issued the first coins in the name of the Guru.
For every Sikh the coins were not only a symbol of sovereignty of their rulers but also of their Gurus. This practice was followed right till 1849 when the Sikh Raj was annexed to the British Empire. "No King or Sardar changed the legend that Banda Bahadur created," avers Dr Singh.
He goes on further to explain that the coin on the obverse read, 'Sibha zad bar har do Alam, Teg-i-Nanak wahib ast, Fateh Gobind Singh Shah-i-Shahan Fazal Sachha Sahib Ast' which means 'Coins have been struck for both the worlds, under the guarantee of Guru Nanak's sword to protect the coinage and the Sikh sovereignty of the state which these coins represent. The victory of Guru Gobind Singh has been with the grace of God Almighty.'
On the reverse is inscribed, 'Minted at the place of perfect peace, picture of a beautiful city, where the fortunate throne of the Khalsa is located'.
The display racks have been designed by the city's College of Architecture.
"The glass sandwich technique has been used for the first time in an Indian museum. This enables the coins to be seen from both sides. This gives the display a proper perspective and visual impact.
It also preserves coins from atmospheric variations because coins sealed are sealed between two glass wedges', he adds.
Art historian Dr B.N. Goswamy feels that it is important to constitute a section like this because it is only when you are exposed to such objects that you feel for them. "If you can excite a mind, then it serves a purpose and one never knows what may spark that interest off".
http://www.sikhsangat.org/publish/a...le_317.shtml
Posted 08/23/2005 2:27 pm
