Sikh Empire VS1895 falus
This specimen was lot 2287 in Steve Album Auction 54 (Santa Rosa, CA, January 2026), where it sold for $1,920. The catalog description[1] noted, "SIKH EMPIRE: AE falus (paisa), Dera, VS1895, legend falus zarb dera // legend rayij fath gobind (current, victory of Gobind), date below in numerals, excellent quality, unpublished and probably unique, bold VF, RRR." Dera is today a suburb of Delhi. The Sikhs were a religious sect formed in the fifteenth century and lived peacefully under the Mughals until the emperor Jahangir deemed them a threat in the early seventeenth century. Mughal attacks militarized the religion and eventually the Sikhs defeated the Mughals and established an empire in the Punjab, which survived until conquered by the British in 1849. Falus was the Arabic name and paisa was the Hindu name for any low value copper coin.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: copper, this specimen 8.10 g.
Catalog reference: KM-unlisted, Herrli-unlisted.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- [1]Album, Stephen, Joseph Lang, Paul Montz, Michael Barry and Hanbing Feng, Auction 54, featuring selections from the Kenneth A. Bovenkamp Collection of Ottoman Coins, Santa Rosa, CA: Stephen Album Rare Coins, Inc., 2025.
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