2019-04-12 Fri

On 12 April 1801 - which was Baisakhi day - Ranjit Singh won the title of 'Maharaja' after uniting many fringe Sikh groups into one state.

Maharaja Ranjit Singh was the leader of the Sikh Empire, which ruled the northwest Indian subcontinent in the early half of the 19th century. Prior to his rise, the Punjab region had numerous warring misls (confederacies), twelve of which were under Sikh rulers and one Muslim.

After his father's death, he was raised under the protection of Sada Kaur of the Kanheya Misl. Ranjit Singh succeeded his father at the age of 18. After several campaigns, he conquered the other misls and created the Sikh Empire. He spent the following years fighting the Afghans, driving them out of Punjab. He also captured Pashtun territory including Peshawar He captured the province of Multan, Jammu, and Kashmir creating the Sikh Empire.

Ranjit Singh was crowned on 12 April 1801 (to coincide with Baisakhi). Sahib Singh Bedi, a descendant of Guru Nanak Dev, conducted the coronation. Gujranwala served as his capital from 1799. In 1802 he shifted his capital to Lahore.

During his reign, he issued many coins some in the name of Shah Alam some in independent. The above coin is a Silver Rupee issued between the years 1846-1864 AD Struck at Illustrious Amritsar under the prosperous rule of the fortunate Akal Takht. The coin is inscribed with Persian Legend “Sri Amritsar jiyo zarb Julus maimanat bakht Akal Takht sanah”.

Image Courtesy: https://www.todywallaauctions.com