Age-old numismatics, weaponry treasures on display

Gurvinder Singh

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, November 18

Coins of different antiquities and mints from different eras were showcased at the Numismatics and Heritage Exhibition that started today.

Weapons used by Sikh Army were also a part of the exhibition. The two-day exhibition is being organised by Narinder Pal Singh.

Coin collectors and dealers from different places, including Surat, Ahmedabad, Delhi, Dehradun, Hoshiarpur and other places brought their collections and showcased the same.

Kamal Sharma from Kota, Rajasthan, brought coins from different eras. While showing a coin, he said the coin was from the mint of Taxila, while another one was from BC era. “I have a complete collection of coins of the Mughal era,” Sharma added. Showing another coin, Sharma added: “This coin is rare, minted during the reign of Noorjahan.”

Mukesh Verma from Delhi said he had a special collection of the coins of British India. “I have all the coins from different mints during the British Raj. The cost of all these coins depends on the rarity of these. The costs of the 1955 ‘do anna’ and 1920 ‘aath anna’ cost more than Rs one lakh,” he said.

A variety of weapons, including swords, daggers and arrows of different varieties, were also showcased. Talwar, sangeen, teg, kiraihi, firangi, peshkabza, bicchua, etc were also on display. Arrows and arrowheads of different shapes were also showcased. “Though people tend to call all these as ‘swords’, but these had a large variety and are used in different ways. While ‘talwar’ was used for attacking a person on the ground, some of the other swords were used for stabbing directly from a distance,” Narinder Pal said. “The weaponry used here was also influenced by the weapons from other regions and countries as well. For instance, the ‘Afghani chhura’ was used here, but is originally from Afghanistan,” he added.

The weapons also show the fitness of the warriors of that time. For example, the heads of the spears were so heavy and long, while the spears would be at least 9-feet long and heavy. “Only a strong and tall person would be able to use such a spear,” he said.

Narinder Pal added that the purpose of organising the exhibition was to showcase the heritage and history through coins. “These coins are part of our history and heritage, and must be preserved,” he said. Narinder further said he had been collecting a variety of rare items of antique value for a long time, and had a large collection of coins as well.