A reading guide from Life in the Sikh Kingdoms ·
What a Sikh coin can tell you
Sikh coins often named or invoked the Gurus rather than placing a ruler’s portrait at the centre. The Encyclopaedia of Sikhism describes Persian legends, Gurmukhi elements and dates in the Bikrami calendar. A coin can therefore carry several kinds of information at once: devotional language, issuing authority, place and time.
A date visible in a modern illustration is not evidence that a real coin existed with exactly that design. For identification, compare both sides with a catalogue record and check the calendar being used.[1]
Gold, silver and everyday copper
The Gold Mohur of Lahore, Nanakshahi Rupee and Khalsa Copper Paisa cards point to different parts of the monetary world. Gold mohurs were struck at Lahore from 1828; copper denominations belonged to everyday exchange. Mint records also connect coinage with the expansion of the state into Multan and Kashmir.
Read value, circulation and ceremonial use separately. A small copper coin may reveal a different social world from a jewel displayed at court.[1]
Kaukab-i-Iqbal-i-Punjab: a surviving honour
A Christie’s catalogue records an Order of the Star of the Prosperity of the Punjab made at Lahore in 1838 and awarded to Sir Claude Martine Wade. The radiating form surrounds a miniature portrait, described as probably Ranjit Singh, with gem setting and enamel work.
This is a specific surviving object with a documented recipient. It helps ground the campaign’s Star of Punjab imagery, but a digital badge is a modern game reward, not the historical decoration itself. Different transliterations of Kaukab-i-Iqbal-i-Punjab refer to the same named order.[2]
A sarpech: look behind the glitter
A sarpech is a turban ornament. Qatar Museums’ nineteenth-century Jaipur example includes hinged gem-set panels, a curving plume, emerald pendants and floral enamel on the reverse. It offers a useful comparison for courtly ornament across South Asia.
Its Jaipur attribution matters. An object from another court can illuminate a shared artistic tradition without establishing the provenance of a Lahore object. Our Sovereign Court card is an imaginative design within that broader tradition.[3]
The Koh-i-Noor and a changed appearance
The Koh-i-Noor was surrendered after the East India Company’s conquest in 1849. It reached Queen Victoria in 1850 and was recut in 1852. The modern stone’s appearance is therefore different from what the Lahore court knew.
Read the Armlet and Departing Koh-i-Noor cards as paired interpretations of possession and loss. Their settings and jewel cases are creative choices; the human history is tied to the young Duleep Singh.[4]
Sources & further reading
These museum and scholarly resources support this guide. They are independent sources, not endorsements of the experience. Follow them for object records, fuller accounts and further references.