2020-07-13 Mon

This copper coin was minted in Ladakh by the Dogras of Jammu in 1868/1925 AD/VS.

Ladakh is located near the Western Himalayas in the valley of the upper Indus River. In 1639 Mughals marched to Ladakh and a tribute was sent to Mughal Kings after that. In the coming century, there was no mention of its coinage but one can find the reference of ja’u (Ladakhi timashas) by a goldsmith from Leh.

One cannot get the evidence of Ladakh coinage in a flow due to many missing periods and there were Ladakh coins with Hijri dates. The next change was due to the conquest of Ladakh by Gulab Singh and the Dogra army in 1835 AD. Ladakh was a part of the Jammu Empire and monarchy was established.

This copper paisa was minted after this conquest; it belongs to the occupation coinage. This coin was minted for local use between 1867 and 1870. The obverse flan of the coin depicts the Persian legend “ Qalam rue Jammu & Zarb Ladakh” and reverse flan depicts Nagari legend.

This copper coin didn’t have any commercial impact on Ladakh. These coins were suspended after 1871 and no other coin was minted by Ladakh after this.