Sikh Empire VS1905 rupee KM-87
The first specimen was lot 33432 in Heritage sale 3049 (Long Beach, September 2016), where it did not sell. The catalog description[1] noted, "Sikh Empire gold Rupee VS 1905 (1848) MS62 NGC. A tiny rare gold type, almost never encountered. Leaf on one side, and text on the other." The second specimen was lot 1769 in Goldberg sale 106 (Los Angeles, September 2018), where it sold for $1,440. The catalog description[2] noted, "India: Sikh Empire. Rupee, VS1905 (1848). Persian legend. NGC graded MS-64." The third specimen was lot 922 in Stephen Album sale 39 (Santa Rosa, CA, January 2021), where it sold for $2,640. The catalog description[3] noted, "SIKH EMPIRE: AV rupee (1/15 mohur), Multan, VS1905, struck by Diwan Mulraj during the British siege of Multan, choice EF. The siege of Multan was a prolonged event between the British East India Company and the city and state of Multan. The siege lasted from April 19, 1848, when a rebellion against a ruler installed by the East India Company started the Second Anglo-Sikh War, until January 22, 1849, when the last of the defenders surrendered." This product of the Multan mint is noted for VS1905 only. Other mints included Lahore, Amritsar, Nimak, Peshawar and Malkarian but they issued silver.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 0.75 g, gold, the third specimen 0.65 g.
Catalog reference: Fr-1395; KM-87.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- [1]Cristiano Bierrenbach, Warren Tucker and David Michaels, Heritage World Coin Auction 3049, featuring the Ohio Valley Collection, the Redwood Collection and the F.P. Briand Collection, Dallas, TX: Heritage Auction Galleries, 2016.
- [2]Goldberg, Ira, Larry Goldberg, John Lavender, Yifu Che, Jason Villareal and Stephen Harvey, Goldberg Sale 106: the Pre-Long Beach Auction, Los Angeles: Goldberg Coins and Collectibles, 2018.
- [3]Album, Stephen, Joseph Lang, Paul Montz, Michael Barry and Norman Douglas Nicol, Auction 39, featuring the John Sylvester, Jr., Collection of Annamese Medals and Orders, Santa Rosa, CA: Stephen Album Rare Coins, Inc., 2020.
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