A named Amritsar type

In their May 1981 study of Amritsar coinage, S. Goron and K. Wiggins call their Type I rupee colloquially Nanakshahi. Their discussion identifies a British Museum example dated Samvat 1834 and explains that no earlier dated Amritsar coin had then been noted. They explicitly allow that an earlier date might still exist. Read that qualification with the proposed starting year. It describes the evidence available to those authors, rather than proving that an undiscovered earlier issue is impossible. A useful reference therefore includes the study’s date, mint, type number and page, not merely the familiar currency name. Samvat 1838 shows why a date alone cannot decide between similar catalogue types.[1]

The label’s wider scope

The State Bank of Pakistan Museum overview uses Nanakshahi and Gobindshahi for two obverse-couplet groups with minor varieties. It also discusses the Nanakshahi rupee as currency and a weight unit in the central Sikh territories. These are related uses of a name at different descriptive scales. In a catalogue note, specify whether the reference identifies an inscription group, a particular mint type or a monetary unit. The museum’s overview does not make every object carrying the label identical in metal, date, symbol or local setting. Follow a specific catalogue entry before assigning those additional fields.[2]

The examined sample

Goron and Wiggins’ Type II discussion shows why sample size matters. They had examined one specimen in the British Museum; another, dated Samvat 1839, was known through Rodgers’ unillustrated account and partial legend. Their proposed relationship was therefore supported differently for the two pieces. Preserve that distinction when comparing a later identification. An examined coin, an illustration and an earlier author’s description are different forms of access, even when a catalogue places them in one type.[1]

Sources & notes

Source records include access dates and, where known, limits on what was examined. Checks used AI assistance; independent human or specialist review has not been completed.

  1. S. Goron and K. Wiggins; Oriental Numismatic Society Information Sheet 23. The Gold and Silver Coinage of the Sikhs, PartI: Amritsar Mint ↗original numismatic study · Source date: 1981-05 · Locator: Printed/PDF pp.7–8: Type I, earliest observed dated example, explicit earlier-date caveat, and Type II sample; title/imprint p.1. Accessed 2026-11-02.Actual official 18-page PDF downloaded and relevant pp.7–8 read; p.8 visually checked, including the S.1839 line omitted by initial OCR. The paper’s broad introductory history is not adopted. Rodgers’ original paper and the original coins were not separately examined.Return to A named Amritsar type, paragraph 1 ↑Return to The examined sample, paragraph 1 ↑
  2. State Bank of Pakistan Museum. Sikh Rulers: Sikh Coinage and Misl Coinage ↗institutional museum overview · Source date: publication date not established · Locator: Complete coinage sections: two named obverse-couplet groups, rupee/weight-unit use and dated varieties. Accessed 2026-11-02.Actual complete relevant main body read. Its broad political chronology, disputed first-year narrative and translated coin captions are not used as independently established facts. The broad overview does not replace a specific coin record.Return to The label’s wider scope, paragraph 1 ↑
Help improve this entry. Suggest a correction with a source.
Record PH-COL-0057 · English edition · human review not performed