India Sikh Empire Maharaja Dulip Singh AV Emergency Rupee VS1905 Multan Herrli 11.09.04 MS66. Top of the Population. Bold Leaf, Clear inscription & Date rarely found on these issues. No other Sikh Coin has got a higher grade than a 65. Complete Date 1905 and Complete Legend Sahai SatguruMay the true Teacher help! This coin was struck during the siege of Multan by the British in VS 1905 (1848 CE). The garrison was led by Diwan Mulraj, who found himself in possession of no silver but did have a considerable store of gold. Consequently, he struck these small gold pieces to pay his troops. They were meant to pass as one rupee coins. The coins were struck with either plain or reeded edges; this one has a plain edge. The legends on the coin reflect the dire circumstances in which it was struck. On the obverse Sahai Satguru, there is an appeal to the Guru to help, and on the reverse is the word mundarka, probably related to the word mundra, which means ring or collar. During the siege, the city was surrounded by British troops, who eventually broke through and occupied Multan. The East India Company’s Bengal Army under General Whish began the siege of Multan. But it was too small to encircle the city, Currie decided to reinforce them with a substantial detachment of the Khalsa under Sher Singh Attariwalla. Sher Singh’s father, Chattar Singh Attariwalla, was openly preparing to revolt in Hazara to the north of the Punjab. On 14 September, Sher Singh also rebelled against the East India Company and joined the revolt. However, Dewan Mulraj and Sher Singh could not agree to combine their forces and fought separately against the British. On 27 December, Whish ordered four columns of troops to attack the suburbs of the city. Mulraj’s forces were driven back into the city, and Whish’s force set up batteries 500 yards from the city walls causing great damage in the city. On 30 December, the main magazine in the citadel exploded, killing 800 of the defenders. Mulraj nevertheless maintained his fire and sent a defiant message to Whish, stating that he still had enough powder to last a year. He attempted to mount a sortie against the besiegers on 31 December but this was driven back. Whish ordered a general assault on 2 January 1849. The attackers successfully scaled the breaches, and the battle became a bloody house-to-house fight in the city, in which many defenders and civilians were killed indiscriminately. Mulraj offered to surrender if his life was spared, but Whish insisted on unconditional surrender, and on 22 January, Mulraj gave himself up, with 550 men. The British gained vast quantities of loot. Mulraj’s treasury was worth three million pounds, a huge sum for the time. There was also much looting in the town, by both British and Indian soldiers. With the fall of Multan, Whish’s army was able to reinforce the main Bengal Army force under Sir Hugh Gough. Whish’s heavy guns were decisive at the Battle of Gujarat, which effectively broke Sher Singh’s and Chattar Singh’s armies and ended the Second Anglo-Sikh War. A SUPERB example of a VERY RARE type of great historical interest. All item(s) I sell are guaranteed to be Authentic. I follow the American Numismatic Association (ANA) Dealers Code of Ethics. Pictures: All pictures are taken under natural light and are not retouched. The item(s) you see in the picture is what you’ll get. References: For World Coins, we use Krause Mishler Numberse(KM), for others such as Islamic Coins Steve Album’s Checklist References are provided. I expect for you to do the same when you get the item. If you are not satisfied with your item and/or service. Please inform me immediately. If you have a problem with the item or the service, all you have to do is inform me and I will do everything to resolve the problem. With prior approval, please make sure that the return is trackable so both parties know where the item is. The item “India Sikh Empire Diwan Mulraj Gold Emergency Rupee Multan VS1905 KM87 NGC MS66″ is in sale since Wednesday, March 20, 2019. This item is in the category “Coins & Paper Money\Coins\ World\Asia\India\Independent Kingdoms”. The seller is “shredplayer” and is located in Lee’s Summit, Missouri. This item can be shipped worldwide.
- Modified Item: No
- Country/Region of Manufacture: India
- Certification Number: 2830228-014
- Certification: NGC
- Grade: MS 66
- Year: 1848
- Composition: Gold
