Coins_of_European by srinivasareddy R

SANJAY GARG

Coins of European Adventurers in India During the eighteenth century, India witnessed a period of sustained political turmoil. This was the time when rapid decline of the central political authority, the Mughals, was marked by steep ascendancy of a number of rival powers. In this general scramble for power, not only the Indian revivalist forces but also a number of European trading companies participated. In the whole process the military prowess of the contender proved one of the decisive factors. While the history of the rise and consolidation of Indian revivalist forces such as the Marathas, the Sikhs, the Rohillas etc. as well as that of European trading companies, especially the English East India Company, has received considerable attention of the historians, the role of European mercenaries, who many a times played a crucial role in turning the tables in the eighteenth century political drama, has not received its due treatment. The earliest published source of information about the European mercenaries is by Lewis Smith (Smith, 1805). Though there had been individual accounts of several European adventurers in the intervening years, it was only in 1892 that a most comprehensive tome was published by Hebert Compton (Compton, 1892). This work primarily deals with three adventurers –De Boigne, George Thomas and Perron. However, in the Appendix, it contains short sketches of 66 other mercenaries who operated in India between 1784 and 1803. These mercenaries include the name of John William Hessing, which forms a part of the present study. Next work on the activities of the European mercenaries appeared in 1907 (Keene, 1907). It contained a masterly Preface by Sir Richard Temple. This book was, in fact, a compilation of a series of articles penned by the author for the Calcutta Review. It was originally published in 1901, under the title The Great Anarchy. Though not exclusive in its nature in the treatment of the European mercenaries, it devotes a substantial portion to their activities in India, during the period of its study. In 1929 appeared C. Grey’s European Adventurers, which had been edited by H.L.O. Garrett, the Keeper of Records of the Punjab

Government (Grey, 1929). This book presents a systematic study of the European adventurers, classifying them into categories ranging from the general ones such as general/obscure, to the specific one like combatants/ non-combatants. This work is primarily based on the archives of the Punjab Government and therefore, contains one of the best accounts of the Europeans employed by Maharaja Ranjit Singh. In the more recent times, are the works by Shelford Bidwell (Bidwell, 1971) and Maurice Hennesey (Hennesey, 1971). Coming to the numismatography, again we have to revert to the magisterial work of Compton. In a footnote in his chapter on George Thomas, Compton has illustrated a line-sketch of a silver rupee believed to have been issued by that Irish adventurer. The same sketch was reproduced by C. Grey in his book, but without any additional detail. The line-sketch of the coin was matched with an actual coin in the British Museum, and a Note was published by John Allan (Allan, 1911). There have been a few articles on individual adventurers in the last two decades. (For complete details, see Bibliography). The term ‘adventurer’ has been used in this paper to include even the non-military adventurers from Europe, who have left their imprints on Indian coins. For military adventurers, such as George Thomas, Perron or John William Hessing, the word ‘mercenary’ has generally been used, which forms the first group of adventurers discussed in this paper. In the second group are the officials of the English East India Company, at least two of whom –Henry Wellesley at Bareilly and Captain Pew at Nagpur–, are known to have caused the rupee coins struck under his administrative control bear his initials. The third category is of business entrepreneur and it is solely represented by Fredrick Wilson of Harsil, an army deserter-turned-business-entrepreneur-turned-local-Raja. Thus, an attempt has been made in this paper to include all hues of European adventurers, who were present on Indian soil during the eighteenth century and have left their numismatic imprints.

1647

SANJAY GARG

Part I Jadunath Sarkar has termed the period between the death of Muhammad Shah (1748) and the establishment of the British suzerainty under Lord Wellesley (1803) as ‘golden age of foreign mercenaries in India.’ (Sarkar, 1991, ix) The earliest of these mercenaries whose numismatic record is available to us is a Frenchman named Cuillier Francois Perron.

Cuillier Francois Perron (1753-1834) Perron was a French mercenary, who came to India in 1780 and in about 1781 entered the service of Rana of Gohad. In 1783, he was employed by Raja of Bharatpur. In 1790, De Boigne, the French General of Mahadji Sindhia’s forces, inducted him into his military service. Thereafter, Perron fought several battles on behalf of Sindhia; amongst them the battles of Patan (1790), Kanud (1792) and Kharda (1795) are well known. During the siege of Kanud, Perron lost one hand and for this reason he was nicknamed by his sepoys as Ekdast Sahib or ‘Sir One-Handed.’ In 1798, Perron succeeded De Boigne as the Commander of Sindhia’s armies. In a feud between Daulat Rao Sindhia and his governor of northern India, Lakhwa Dada, Perron skilfully sided with Sindhia and won for himself the rank of General as a reward for his loyalty. Sindhia also influenced the Mughal ruler Shah Alam II to confer upon him the rank of Haft Hazari Mansabdar (Commander of 7,000 troops) and grandiloquent titles –Nasir ul-Mulk Intizam ud-Daulah Bahadur Muzaffar Jang Fidwi-i Shah Alam Badshah Ghazi (Helper of the Country, Manager of the Empire, the Brave, Victorious in the Battles, the Servant of Emperor Shah Alam, the Warrior). These titles are seen on Perron’s official seal dated the 41st regnal year of Shah Alam II (Illus. 1).

Coinage Maheshwari and Wiggins have published a copper coin attributed to Perron and doubtfully assigned to Aligarh Mint. (Maheshwari and Wiggins, 1989, 139, No. T9). It belonged to Marsden’s Collection and is now in the British Museum. It is described below: (Illus. 2). Copper Paisa; wt. 7.5 gms; diam. 1.9 cm; AH 1213/41

The legend on the coin has not yet been read with certainty. Consequently, its attribution to Perron is based on a note in Marsden’s own handwriting attached with the coin. It reads, ‘Aligarh Paisa. Struck by Perron.’ However, there is nothing on the coin to suggest its attribution to Perron or to Aligarh Mint. Thus, we cannot say with certainty whether Perron issued any coins from Aligarh. Fortunately, an authentic evidence is available which reveals that Perron did issue coins. In the treaty of 1801 concluded between the Nawab of Awadh and the English East India Company, a large tract of land in the Doab was ceded to the East India Company and a new province was then created. In the process of overhauling the administration, the Commissioners and Magistrates in the new province were instructed to provide details of the coins along with their specimens, which were then in circulation within their jurisdiction. These specimens were later sent to Calcutta Mint for assaying. One such Assay Report is available in the records of the Mint Committee (1792-1859), now preserved in the National Archives of India, New Delhi. In the Assay Report there is a mention of ‘Sahrunpore Perron Rupee’. The Report is reproduced in Table 1. This report authenticates that certain coins were well known as Perron’s issue and were current or struck at Saharanpur, a district headquarters in Uttar Pradesh. Perron had probably dreamt of carving out his own principality and establishing himself as ruler. He made Koil (in Aligarh district) his military capital where he built a cantonment, barracks, magazines and gun parks for the troops and a ‘Government House’ for himself. He also threw off his allegiance to Shah Alam, a fact evident from his another seal. This seal is dated AH 1216 (AD 1801-1802), and here the phrase Fidwi-i Shah Alam Badshah Ghazi (Servant of Emperor Shah Alam, the Warrior) is omitted (Illus. 1a). In view of the above facts, it is not difficult to visualise that after occupying Aligarh Perron thought himself an independent ruler in his stronghold. Setting aside his allegiance to Shah Alam II, Perron might have established a mint of his own at Aligarh and issued his own coins. Though the legend on the copper coin, regarded as his issue from the Saharanpur mint, has not been deciphered with certainty, it may well be said that what is inscribed thereon is not seen on the coins bearing the

1648

COINS OF EUROPEAN ADVENTURERS IN INDIA

name of Shah Alam coins are quite distinct and express their own identity. This may be Perron’s name and/or his titles. The mint-mark seen on the coin is exclusive in itself and not seen elsewhere. It also shows its own identity. As such, Marsden’s note may well be considered reliable. Better specimens, if and when they come up, would speak for themselves. Here, it is of interest to know that while campaigning against Lakwa Dada and his supporters in 1799, Perron decided to subdue Sambhunath, the diwan of Imam Baksh Khan, the Governor of Saharanpur, who had sided with Lakwa Dada. Perron succeeded in heavily bribing Sambhunath’s forces. So their leaders were obliged to yield a portion of the districts he held, to save the rest (Atkinson, 1875, 252). It is most likely that for bribing the troops of Sambhunath, Perron would have minted his own silver coins. The Assay Report of one such ‘Sahuranpore Perron Rupee’ is given above. It bears the date AD 1802 which is only about three years distant from the bribery episode (AD 1799). It suggests that at this time these coins were current at Saharanpur and were known by that name. But in all probability these coins certainly would not have been minted at Saharanpur as that city was in no way under Perron’s control. These would have been minted only at his own Aligarh mint. Since these coins were meant to be used permanently in Saharanpur region, it is most likely that, to bestow them with better credibility, the name ‘Saharanpur’ might have been used on them as mint. The inscriptional details of these rupees are not recorded, but one may well expect to discover them some day hence and solve the mystery of ‘Perron Rupees’.

born in 1758 at Rosscrea in Tipperary. He came to India on board a ship where he served in a menial job, described variously as an ordinary seaman, cabin boy, gunner or a quarter-master. He was certainly a sailor; his nickname among his troops –Jehazi Sahib (or ‘Sir Sailor’)– is sufficient evidence for that. Thomas landed in Madras in 1780 but soon left his original assignment and entered the service of the Poligar Chiefs of the Carnatic. He next served as a gunner in the Nizam’s army, but here too his stay was short. In about 1787, he set out on foot for Delhi –the focal point of the political drama during the 18th century. At Delhi, he came in contact with Begum Samru, the widow of the German mercenary, Walter Reinhardt, and was employed by her. He soon rose in favour of the Begum, who had a keen eye for fine men like Thomas. He was granted a jagir (estate) for the maintenance of his troops. He remained in Begum’s employ till 1792, when he was forced to leave her service owing to his growing rivalries with other European mercenaries in the Begum’s army. Thomas thereafter entered the service of Appa Khande Rao, a Maratha chief in the service of Mahadji Sindhia. Soon after Appa’s death, in about 1798, Thomas established himself as the ruler of a principality that he had carved out for himself. The later history of George Thomas is that of perpetual war with the neighbouring Sikh chiefs of Patiala, Nabha and Jind, and also with the Marathas. It ended in a general combination of his rivals against him, his flight into British territory, and his death at Behrampur in 1802.

George Thomas (1758-1802)

Coinage

Among the military freebooters of the 18th century, the name of George Thomas emerges as the most successful mercenary. According to Jadunath Sarkar, he ‘… lived a life of the most romantic interest, marked by the brilliancy and briefness of a meteor.’ (Sarkar, 1991, 193). Thomas was an Irishman. The most reliable source for the exploits of George Thomas is his Memoir dictated to Captain William Francklin. (Francklin, 1805). However, this account only begins when Thomas was thirty-seven, and is not of much help in establishing the facts connected with his early life. The accepted story of Thomas’ life is that he was

In his Memoirs George Thomas states: I established a mint, and coined my own rupees, which I made current in my army and country (Francklin, 1805, 133).

Though this statement had been known for quite a long time, it was only in 1892 when Compton illustrated a sketch of a coin, and attributed it to George Thomas. Compton was no numismatist, and had drawn his authority from General Alexander Cunningham, regarded as ‘the father of Indian archaeology’, who wrote:

1649

SANJAY GARG

‘I believe this rupee to have been struck by George Thomas’, but subsequently added ‘I hope this coin may be proved to belong to George Thomas’ (Emphasis added). The sketch and its description (as given by General Cunningham) is given below (Illus. 3): The middle line of the obverse reads Sikkah Saheb, which is never used for the money of a king. Saheb Qiran Sani is used as a title of kings, but always in combination with the name of the kings. The Hegira date on the obverse is 1214 = AD 1799-1800. The Reign (Jalus) date on reverse is 42 of Shah Alam = AD 1799-1800.

The mint name was read by Cunningham as Hansi, now in the Hissar district of Haryana (Compton, 1892, 143). However, it was not until an actual coin of the above description found its way into the collection of the British Museum, that the veracity of the coin-legends read on the Cunningham’s sketch could be testified (Illus. 4). Thus, when John Allan published this coin, he noted: The obverse inscription really is a small portion of one of Shah Alam’s and not as Cunningham (quoted by Compton) thought a legend referring to Thomas (Allan, 1911).

C. Grey, while reproducing the sketch from Compton’s book added a remark of his own. According to him: The initial “T” is seen near the left rim of the obverse (Grey, 1929, facing Preface).

Two things clearly bear out from the above discussion. The date and the name of the mint are undisputed and that the coin has been issued in the name of Shah Alam II. First let us examine the date. It is AH 1214/ 42 RY. This limits the date of issue of this coin to 5 June to 5 October 1799. This date is not very distant from 1798, the date given in his Memoirs when George Thomas had established his capital at Hansi. Thomas writes: Here [at Hansi] I established my capital, rebuilt the walls of the city, long since fallen into decay, and repaired the fortification (Francklin, 1805, 133).

Hansi is situated 90 miles northwest of Delhi. Standing upon a hill, this town was particularly wellsuited to be the capital of George Thomas’s newly formed kingdom. On the coin described above this place name is adjoined with the epithet Sahibabad. According to Allan, this epithet was probably chosen by Thomas in allusion to his favourite title of Sahib Bahadur. Coming to the mint-mark ‘T’, we find that it was ‘almost obliterated’ on the British Museum specimen. Another specimen of this coin was obtained by H. Nelson Wright in the bazaar at Delhi in 1903 (Illus. 5). On this specimen the mint-mark was clearer than the British Museum piece, but Nelson Wright had his own doubts ‘on the reading of T over [Sa]’ (Allan, 1911). In fact what had been construed as ‘T’ is, in our opinion, a floral design, numerous varieties of which can be seen on the contemporary coinage. However, this assertion can only be testified by a clearer specimen of this rare mintage, which shows the complete mint-mark.

John William Hessing (1739-1803) John William Hessing makes another interesting reading in the chronicle of the coins-issuing military freebooters. John William Hessing was a native of Holland. Born at Utrecht in 1739, he entered the military service of the V.O.C. (United Dutch East India Company) at an early age of thirteen and arrived in Ceylon in 1752. Five years later he returned to the Netherlands but obviously longing for adventure he returned in 1763 to the East again. Possibly as a result of the Fourth AngloDutch War, by which in 1781 the British occupied the Dutch settlements in India, Hessing, as did many of his colleagues, took refuge with local potentates and entered into military service with them. Hessing first served in the army of the Nizam of the Deccan and in 1784 entered the services of Sindhia, where he got the command of two battalions formed by Benoit de Boigne. He took part in several large battles, Lalsot (1787), Bhondagaon near Agra (1788) and Patan (1790). After the battle of Patan, he left de Boigne, not being on good terms with him. Mahadji Sindhia, however, did not leave Hessing. He retained him to organise a Body Guard Force (Khas Risala) on the European model. His successor Daulat Rao Sindhia (1794-1827) also

1650

COINS OF EUROPEAN ADVENTURERS IN INDIA

retained the services of Hessing. On 16 April 1799 Perron captured the Agra Fort for Daulat Rao. Hessing was thereupon appointed Commander of the Agra Fort and it’s Maratha garrison and the City of Agra. He held Agra till his death on 21 July 1803.

Coinage If we look at the copper coins issued from the Akbarabad (Agra) mint during John William Hessing’s term of office as the Commandant of Agra Fort (1799-1803), we find that on these coins his initials – J.W.H. appear for a short period, thereby putting a personal stamp on the local currency. These coins may be described as follows: (Illus. 6-7). Obv. Sikka Mubarak Badshah Ghazi Shah Alam 1215 (Auspicious coin of the emperor and warrior Shah Alam [AH] 1215) Rev. Zarb Akbarabad, Sanah-i Julus 43, JWH (Struck at Akbarabad, in the 43rd year of the reign, JWH) These fairly scarce copper paisas were struck only during a limited period. The available AH/RY combinations on these coins are AH 11(or 2)xx/ RY 42, AH 1215/ RY 43, and AH 1216/ RY 43 which technically correspond to the period 11 September 1799 to 19 August 1801. It is interesting to note that on the silver rupees struck during the period of Hessing’s command of Agra Fort (1799-1803), no special marks are observed. On these coins the mint-mark ‘fish’, which occurs on coins of Akbarabad (Agra) from AH 1194/RY 24 (c. A.D. 1780) onwards, is found.

could be that it is a mint name. However, no such place exists in India. This leads us to think that this word may not be a denominational term or a mint name at all. It could be the name of a person –possibly the issuer; This third alternative points towards the subject of the present study. Was the Italian adventurer Michael Filose issuer of these coins? Michael Filose arrived in Calcutta about the year 1770, and soon entered into the service of the Nawab of Awadh. In about 1775, Michael resigned from his post and entered into the military service of the Rana of Gohad, and served the corps commanded by the French General Madoc. In 1782, when the Rana was defeated by Sindhia and his battalion broken up, Michael lost his employment. For the next eight years, he served one of the princely states in southern India. In about 1790, Michael was introduced to General De Boigne, the French Commander of Sindhia’a forces. De Boigne appointed Michael Filose to command a battalion in his First Brigade. Rising from the rank of a soldier, Michael soon rose to prominence and secured a separate command of his battalion, independent of De Boigne. It formed the nucleus of the corps he raised, which eventually numbered eleven battalions. In the feud of succession following the death of Mahadji Sindhia in 1794, Michael sided with Daulat Rao, the nephew of the deceased, and was instrumental in securing his succession by getting it approved by the Peshwa. In the process, however, Michael embittered his relations with the powerful Prime Minister of the deceased Sindhia, and fearing for his life, he decamped to Bombay, leaving the command of his regiment to his two sons –Jean Baptiste and Fidele Filose. From Bombay Michael sailed for Europe. It is not certain whether he died on the voyage or after his arrival there.

‘Filose Rupees’

Coinage

On certain silver rupees bearing the name of the Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II (1759-1806), in place of the mint name, an enigmatic word appears, which can be read as  ½«Ÿ or Falus.

The Legend: The coins bear a garbled version of the Hami Din legend of Shah Alam II on the obverse and the ‘reverse formula’ of the Later Mughals on the reverse (Illus. 8). However the die-cutting of these coins is very crudely done, obviously by someone who was not acquainted with the Persian script and who probably copied another coin, very inaccurately. The original die was probably recopied with more inaccuracies.

Falus literally means a copper coin, and if we are correct in our assumption, the appearance of this denominational term on silver rupees would be meaningless. Another possibility of interpreting this word

Dates: All coins bear the Hijri date 1198 on the obver-

1651

SANJAY GARG

se and RY 34 or 36 on the reverse. The AH year 1198 correspond to AD 1783-84, while the RY 34 = AD 1791-92 and RY 36 = 1793-94. Thus, the AH date on these coins does not synchronise with the regnal years. Most likely AH 1198 may have been the date on the original coin that was copied, in which case the regnal years 34 and 36 may be the correct dates for these coins. This would place the issue of these coins within the time bracket of AD 1791 and 1794. Typology and Provenance: Typologically these coins are very much akin to those of Datia and Orchha, and also to the coins of Sindhia issued from Isagarh and Shahdora mints. The provenance of these coins has never been ascertained, but a lot (hoard?) of these coins that appeared in Delhi market in the late 1980s, had coins of Bajranggarh and Orchha mints. Mint Marks: The only marks on these coins which may be regarded as significant are those on the reverse. The Axe: The axe mark appears on the coins of Isagarh and Shahdora (Gwalior State) The Sword: The sword in somewhat different shape is found on the coins of Gwalior Fort, Bhilsa and Jawad. It is also found on a good many other Indian coins of the 18-19 centuries. The Snake: is found on Gwalior coins of Chanderi, Isagarh, Jawad, Mandasor, Narwar, Rathgarh and Ragod. The snake found on the coins described here is similar to that found on the Isagarh rupees. The Spear or Mace: This weapon symbol is found on coins of Lashkar; it is also found on other Indian coins, e.g. Jodhpur etc. The Cinque-foil: This is a common symbol found on Mughal, Maratha and several other coin-series. Place of Issue: On these coins, the place generally bearing the mint name is occupied by the enigmatic word referred earlier. If we are correct in identifying the issuer of these coins, then it is possible that they were struck at some temporary mint in the Gwalior State, more precisely in Isagarh, Shahdora, Chanderi area, whose coin-typology they follow. Most of these suggestions are quite theoretical, but in the absence of any other information, there is no other way of proving or disproving these theories.

Part II We now come to the second group of personages, namely the officials of the East India Company. It is common knowledge that the coining activities of the East India Company in India was passed through the phases of prohibition and concession before it assumed full administration of the minting process. Initially when the East India Company assumed the control of existing mints, it generally made no or very nominal change in the prototype of the existing coinage which continued to follow the Mughal pattern. However, there are a couple of exceptions to this general rule, where we find that the mint officials of the East India Company put their numismatic signatures on the coins minted by them. One such ambitious official was Henry Wellesley.

Henry Wellesley (1773-1847) Henry Wellesley was the younger brother of Richard Marquess Wellesley, the Governor-General of India (1798-1805) and the celebrated military commander Col. Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Willington. He came to India in 1798 and served as the Private Secretary to his brother –the Governor-General of India. Towards the close of 1800 Lord Wellesley deputed Henry on a mission to Lucknow where he succeeded in concluding a treaty with the Nawab Wazir (the Treaty of Lucknow of 1801), under which the extensive territories of Doab and Bundelkhand, were ceded to the British in perpetual sovereignty. A provisional government was created for the early settlement of the ceded province, and Henry Wellesley was made the President of it. The Directors at home, however, expressed their disapprobation of this territorial acquisition as well as of the appointments in connection therewith. Consequently, Henry resigned his appointment in 1803 and shortly thereafter left India and for England.

Coinage: On a few rupee-coins issued in the name of Shah Alam II and bearing the mint-name Bareli Qit’a, some additional Persian letters are found on the reverse along with the usual mint-marks. Some of these rupees bearing Persian letters Alif, He or Waw have been listed in The Standard Guide to South Asian Coins as the issues of the East India Company (Bruce II, 1981, 155). The dates of the coins listed therein as East India Company’s issues are given in Table 2.

1652

COINS OF EUROPEAN ADVENTURERS IN INDIA

A note appended to the above illustrations in the Guide describes two of the three Persian letters viz. He and Waw as the initials of Henry Wellesley, who was the Lt. Governor of Bareilly during the period of issue of these coins. No explanation has been forwarded regarding the remaining letter Alif. Even for explaining the letters He and Waw, no authority has been cited, and, most probably, the explanation is based on surmise. However, the entire issue can now be re-examined in the light of some hard evidence contained in the records of the East India Company housed in the National Archives of India. When the English took charge of the Bareilly Mint in November 1801, the system of farming was in vouge there. The English continued this system for a while and farmed out the Mint to one Atma Ram and his partner Sheoji Mull at a Jumma (revenue) of 9001 Bareilly Rupees. This system was continued till 13 March 1802 when the English directly took over the superintendence of the Mint. About the changes introduced in the coinage on this occasion, a very interesting information is available in a letter dated 10 September 1803 written by Archibald Seton and J. Thornhill, Members of the Mint Committee at Bareilly, to J. Fornbelle, Secretary to the Government in the Department of Ceded Province. This letter records:

In 1820, Dr I. Gordon, a surgeon posted in the Nagpur Residency, was put in charge of the Nagpur mint, after adulteration in the silver rupees coined at the mint was discovered. Dr Gordon was in a look out for a trusted Englishman whom he could assign the duties of assaying the metal. By sheer chance, Gordon came across Captain Pew, who did not have any past experience related to the proposed assignment. In fact, his only association, if at all that can be called an ‘association’, with the minting activities, was that he used to reside near the Nagpur mint. Gordon picked up Captain Pew and entrusted the assaying work to him. Pew served under Gordon only for a very short period and was soon transferred to Chhatisgarh Provincial Battalion.

Coinage During this time, Nagpur mint used to strike silver rupees of the prototype of the Katak rupees of the Mughal Emperor Ahmad Shah (1748-1754). Even after the death of Ahmad Shah, the ‘Katak’ ruppes struck at Nagpur continued to bear his name. After the English took over the control of Nagpur mint in 1820, Dr Gordon introduced a mint-mark, on the reverse of the silver rupees. This mint-mark is locally known as Zari Pataka or ‘the Flag Standard.’ Captain Pew put an additional mark of his own –his initial letter ‘P’ on these coins.

When the system of farming the mint was abolished, no alteration was introduced into the standard of silver, except to rectily [sic. rectify] the abuses. But in order to mark the period, at which the change of system [from Farming to Government Superintendence] took place, the Persian letter m [H] which, as the first letter of the name of the late Subah (Hoosseyn Ali Khan) had discontinued, that of ¼ [W] being substituted in its stead, in compliment to the Honorable the Lieutenant Governor.

The details of one such coin, published by Prashant Kulkarni (Kulkarni, 1990, 173, Type 53), is given below: (Illus. 13)

Thus from the above extracts it becomes clear beyond doubt that the Persian letter He, found inscribed on the Bareilly issues of AH1216/ RY 37, stands for Hussain Ali Khan and not for Henry [Wellesley]; only the letter Waw stands for Wellesley [Henry].

In the name of Ahmad Shah (AH 1161-1167/ AD 1748-1754) Issued by the East India Company during the tutelage of the Bhonsla ruler of Nagpur, Raghuji III (AH 1233-1270/ AD 1818-1853)

Silver Rupee; Mint name: Katak; AH xxxx/ 5 RY

Captain Pew In contrast to Henry Wellesley, Captain Pew was a petty official of the East India Company who once served as an assistant to the Superintendent of Police at Nagpur. However, he has immortalised his name by etching his numismatic signature on the coins of the Nagpur mint.

This rupee is extremely rare. As soon as Captain Pew was transferred from Nagpur, his initial was dropped from the subsequent coinage. However, Nagpur mint continued to function till 1854, when the Bhonsla kingdom was annexed to the British Empire by Lord Dalhausie, under his infamous Doctrine of Lapse.

1653

SANJAY GARG

Part III

Coinage

While tracing the numismatic imprints of the European adventurers of the eighteenth-nineteenth century India we come across a name that stands apart for he was neither a mercenary nor was he employed by any of the Princely chieftain of India. He was a Raja in his own right. He was Raja Wilson of Harsil.

Certain coins, known as Wilson ‘Rupees’, are known. The term ‘rupee’ that appear on these coins is, in fact, a misnomer as these are the bronze pieces. The weight of these coins has not been recorded. As late as in 1993, these coins could be seen in the hands of common Garhwalis in the villages around Harsil. One such specimen was collected by J.T.M. Gibson in 1938, and was illustrated by Mady Martyn (Martyn, 1976). The Standard Guide of South Asian Coins also illustrates one such ‘rupee’ (Bruce II, 1981, 161), and recently one such coin has been illustrated in an article published by Ganesh Saili (Saili, 2001). This coin is described below (Illus. 14).

Fredrick E. Wilson (1817-1883) Fredrick Wilson, popularly known as ‘Raja Wilson’ or ‘Pahari Wilson’ was a native of Wakefield, England. Nothing is known of his early life, but it seems that, like most of the English youths of his times, he took up the military service under the English East India Company and came to India. He is believed to have deserted from India during the First Anglo-Afghan War (1838-39). He escaped with his gun and wondered on foot, until, in early 1840s, he arrived in the Shivalik mountain ranges of Tehri Garhwal. For fear of being detected, Wilson shunned all contacts with his compatriots and started living deep in the forest. Soon his skill as a hunter enabled him to earn more than a livelihood by preserving and sending to Calcutta the skins of Golden Pheasants and other valuable birds. This traffic soon developed to such proportions that he employed many local people to procure for him skins of birds and other animals. As his business grew, he entered into a contract with a London firm –Macheville Streel, to supply rare furs, feathers, musk etc. In about 1850 Wilson obtained from the Raja of Tehri, an unrestricted lease of many square miles of virgin forest for an annual fee of Rs. 400!! and turned a forest contractor. He purchased large tracts of land and on this estate, he established his headquarters at Harsil, a small village in the Uttarkashi district. The growing power and influence of Wilson alarmed Bhawani Shah, the Raja of Tehri so much so that he cancelled the forest lease to Wilson. Dejected by this move, Wilson, in late 1850s, set sail for England and was away for three years. On his return, he renewed the forest lease with the Raja of Tehri, now at an annual rent of 200 gold muhrs. Wilson never left the Garhwal Himalayas. He died on 24 July 1883, aged 66 years and 7 months. He lies buried next to his beloved wife Gulabi, in the Christian cemetery on the Camel-back Road in Mussoorie.

Bronze, ‘Rupee’, Mint Name: Hursil; nd Obv.: F. WILSON. ONE. HURSIL. RUPEE. Rev.: Floral patterns set in diamond-shaped double squares. Like most of the European adventurers, Wilson too amassed huge wealth. Palatial mansions at various places, a large retinue of servants and workers, fine horses, hunting elephants, Wilson had all the paraphernalia of being a ‘Raja’. It is, therefore, not surprising that he was prompted to issue his own coins. However, Wilson’s coins were less of an assertion of his sovereign status but more of a means to facilitate his ever more involved commercial transactions. These coins, therefore, open up a new vista for the coin-collectors. For the numismatists, these coins provide something of a “Lesser Coinage” –more than tokens but still less than a full-fledged coinage. The coins associated with the European adventurers that have been discussed in this paper form a distinct series of Indian numismatics, generally called ‘QuasiMughal’ or more appropriately, ‘Pseudo-Mughal’ coinage. However, their issues are so conspicuous by their rarity that they have so far eluded the proper attention of the numismatists and the historians alike. As John Allan’s article on George Thomas brought to light another specimen of that adventurer from the collection of H. Nelson Wright, it is hoped that this humble endeavour will prompt fellow numismatists as well as coin-collectors to discover many more specimens of these as well as other adventurers in India.

1654

COINS OF EUROPEAN ADVENTURERS IN INDIA

Bibliography Anonymous (nd): Representative Men of Central India, Bombay, nd. Anonymous (1804): Brief Remarks on the Maratha War and the Rise and Progress of the French Establishment in Hindustan under General De Boigne and Perron, London. Allan, John (1911): A Rupee struck by George Thomas, NS, 17, p. 129.

Holdich, Thomas (1910): Gates of India, London. Keene, H.G. (1907): Hindustan Under the Freelances, 1770-1820, London. Kulkarni, Prashant P. (1990): Coinage of the Bhonsla Rajas of Nagpur, Bombay.

Atkins, Bill (1993): Seven Sacred Rivers, New Delhi.

Lingen, Jan (1989): Jan Willem Hessing, een militaire avonturier, De Beeldenaar, (Leiden), 13 (1), Jan-Feb, p. 10-15.

Atkinson, E.T. (1875): Statistical, Descriptive and Historical Account of the North Western Provinces of India, Vol. II: Meerut Division, Pt. I, Allahabad.

Lingen, Jan, and Garg, Sanjay (1996): History and Coinage of John William Hessing: A Dutch Military Adventurer in India, ND, 20, p. 121-133.

Bidwell, Shelford (1971): Swords for Hire, London.

Maheshwari, K.K. and Wiggins, K.W. (1989): Maratha Mints and Coinage, Nasik.

Bruce II, Colin R, et al. (1981): Standard Guide to South Asian Coins and Paper Money, Wisconsin. Burn, R. (1904): The Mints of the Mughal Emperors, JASB, 73, p. 75-107. Compton, H.(1892): A Particular Account of the European Military Adventurers of Hindustan, from 1784 to 1803, London. Franklin, William (1805): The Military Memoirs of George Thomas, rep. London. Garg, Sanjay (1990): Perron’s Coins, ND, 14, p. 67-72.

Martineau, Alfred (1931): Le Général Pérron: Généralissime Des Armées De Scindia Et du Grand Mogol, 1753-1834, Paris. Martyn, Mady (1976): Raja Wilson, Imprint, May, p. 45-49. Saili, Ganesh (2001): Phantom of Raja Wilson, Asian Age, New Delhi, 6 December 2001. Sarkar, Jadunath (1991): Fall of the Mughal Empire, Vol. 4, 4th ed. rep. Delhi.

-(1997): East India Company’s Coins from Bareilly Mint, Delhi Coin Fair Souvenir, Delhi.

Smith, Lewis Ferdinand (1805): A Sketch of the Rise, Progress, and Termination of the Regular Corps Formed and Commanded by Europeans in the Service of the Native Princes of India, Calcutta.

-(1997-1998): Rupees of Raja Wilson, ND, 21-22, p. 119-123.

Swamy, K.R.N. (2003): Haunted Cottage of ‘Pahari’ Wilson, The Tribune, Chandigarh, 18 May 2003.

Grey, C. and H.L.O. Garreett (ed.) (1929): European Adventurers of Northern India, 1785-1849, Lahore.

Temple, R.C. (1889): The Coins of the Modern Native Chiefs of the Punjab, Indian Antiquary, Nov., p. 331-332.

Halim, A (1943): General Perron’s Memories in Aligarh, Proceedings of the Indian Historical Records Commission, 20, p. 84-87.

Valentine, W.H. (1914): Copper Coins of India, Vol. I: Bengal and the United Provinces, London.

Hennesey, Maurice N. (1971): The Rajah of Tipperary, London.

Whitehead, R.B. (1926): Some Notable Coins of the Mughal Emperors of India, part 2, Num. Chron., 5th Series, 6, p. 361-416.

1655

SANJAY GARG

Wiggins, K.W. (1996): The Acquisition of Indian Mints by the East India Company, in Numismatic Panorama: Essays in Honour of Late Shri S.M. Shukla, edited by K.K. Maheshwari and Biswajeet Rath, New Delhi, p. 327-344. Young, Desmond (1959): Fountain of the Elephants, London.

Table 1:

Report of the results of Assay made on coins of the Ceded Provinces, etc., exhibiting their weight, quantities of Alloy and of Pure Silver and inferiority to the Calcutta and Lucknow Standards &c. Weight in Grains of

Description of Coin

Each set of Rupees

Rate per cent Worse than Calcutta Standard

of Pure Silver

Alloy

Worse than Lucknow Standard

Deficiency in weight percent compared with Calcutta Sikka

Expenses of a new coinage equal in standard of weight to the Lucknow Less in refining

Charge including establishment

Number of each set required to coin into 100 Rupees of Lucknow Standard

1. 2. 3. xxx 24. Sahuranpore Perron

171

xxx 11.28

A True Copy signed

159.72

xxx 4.52

2.1

xxx 8.66

J. Fonbelle Secy. to Govt. Deptt. Ceded Provs.

xxx -

Bareilly, 18th December 1802 Signed Robert Blake”

Source: National Archives of India, Mint Committee Proceedings, Letters Received, 1802-03, No. 31 Enclosure)

Table 2: Silver Rupees, In the name of Shah Alam II, Mint - Bareli Qit’a. I. II.

With With

Alif

AH1216/ RY 37

Illus. No. 9

AH1216/ RY 37

Varieties: He plain He with a mark Illus. No. 12

III. With Waw

AH1216/ RY 37 AH1217/ RY 37 AH1218/ RY 37 AH1219/ RY 37 AH1220/ RY 37

1656

Illus. No. 10 Illus. No. 11

COINS OF EUROPEAN ADVENTURERS IN INDIA

2 1

1657