Coins of courage: A Sikh history exhibition in Birmingham

It’s a typical Saturday at the Guru Nanak Nishkam Sewak Jatha (GNNSJ) complex on Soho Road in Birmingham. Families arriving in waves, the ‘langar’ being served with care, and the gurdwara resonating with the sounds of Gurbani. Yet the day carries a deeper resonance.

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Inside a hall, scholars, spiritual teachers, and educators have come together under the theme "Unpacking Gurmat Education".

The dialogue reflects a shared vision between GNNSJ, led by Bhai Sahib (Dr) Mohinder Singh Ahluwalia OBE KSG, and The Kalgidhar Trust of Baru Sahib, under Dr Davinder Singh.

The partnership is rooted in a simple but powerful idea, that education should build not just minds, but character.

A side room full of history

As the discussion unfolds, a smaller, adjacent hall catches my eye. A bold banner marked Sarkar-e-Khalsa of Maharaja Ranjit Singh stands at its entrance, inviting curiosity. Inside, I meet Ravinder Pal Singh Kohli, a UK-based Sikh whose voice carries the lilt of old Rawalpindi.

He introduces himself as the curator, but more than that, he is the inheritor. This exhibition is not a public archive. It is personal history, passed down from his great-grandparents in Rawalpindi, now in Pakistan. What he has assembled under his Global Sikh Vision non-profit and under the patronage of Bhai Sahib reveals a beautifully presented, moving experience.

A journey through coins, from 1469 to 1849

The room is filled with glass cases containing Sikh currency from Guru Nanak Sahib’s time to the British annexation of Punjab in 1849. Each coin, each shell, is a relic of a larger moment.

Among the rarities

Copper coins reflecting the denomination Guru Nanak Sahib used for his 20-rupee Sacha Sauda, marking the beginning of langar

Silver pieces tied to Makhan Shah Lubana, who discovered Guru Tegh Bahadar at Baba Bakala in 1664

Gold mohurs from the early 1700s used to buy land for the cremation of the Chhote Sahibzade after their martyrdom in Sirhind

Coins issued under bounty orders, including those minted during Lahore governor Mir Mannu’s brutal repression of Sikhs in the mid-1700s

Each artefact is labelled with dates and context. Some bear images of traditional weapons -- Khanda, Katar, Kirpan -- etched not for war-glorification, but as reflections of self-defence during times of survival. Others are marked with inscriptions like Sat and Akal Sahai, truth and divine support.

Many early coins are in Farsi, but later issues begin to feature Gurmukhi, hinting at a growing public embrace of the Sikh script. Remarkably, some coins also include symbols from non-Sikh communities, a quiet nod to Punjab’s pluralism under the Sikh leadership.

When metal becomes memory

The collection is much more than numismatics. It’s a journey through resistance, identity, and everyday life.

What stood out, too, was the care with which Kohli has preserved and presented the collection structured into historical phases:

From the Gurus (1469–1708)

To the early Sikh rule of Baba Banda Singh Bahadar (1710–1716)

Through the Misl period preceding Maharaja Ranjit Singh's rule

Maharaja Ranjit Singh's rule (1799–1849)

Values, then and now

While the conference a hall away explored how the Guru’s teachings can inform the future of education, this exhibition complemented that conversation.

In one room, they spoke of teaching children the Guru’s path. In another, I saw how that path once moved through every marketplace, every act of courage, and through every coin in a pilgrim’s pocket.

(The writer is a career journalist currently serving as Communications and Advocacy Director at UNITED SIKHS (UK), a charity registered in England and Wales.)