Sailana Princely State (1736-1948) and Coins

 

Sailana Princely State was part of the Malwa Agency of Central India. Founded by Raja Jai Singh, great grandson of Maharaja Ratan Singh, founder of Ratlam State. In 1716, Jai Singh took revenge against his uncle for murdering his father and killed him in battle and secured Ratlam for his elder brother. The two brothers then divided the state between themselves. Jai Singh's capital was initially at Raoti. He built Sailana as his new capital in 1736.

                                            

Sailana State, 1/2 Paisa, Duleh Singh, 1850-1898 AD, 

Flag

                                             

Coat of Arms

                                           

                                            

Map showing the division of Sailana and Ratlam

Raja Jai Singh fought 22 battles in his lifetime during the period of the Maratha influence and established himself as an independent ruler. Jai Singh was succeeded by a string of weak rulers. Raja Jaswant Singh was the second ruler (1757-1772). During Raja Mokam Singh's rule much of the territory of Sailana was annexed by Scindia and Holkar. Raja Lakshman Singh tried to push the Scindia's out of his kingdom. In 1818, he refused to pay chauth which was regularly levied. However, in 1819, John Malcom mediated between Gwalior and Sailana and Raja Lakshman Singh accepted British protection and agreed to pay a tribute to Gwalior until 1860, in return for no interference in Sailana.

Sailana Palace comprises two palaces, Rang Mahal and Jaswant Niwas

                                          

Rang Mahal Palace, built in 1849 by Raja Takht Singh as an extension of the Juna Mahal (old palace). The palace was later renovated by Raja Jaswant Singh, who constructed the upper floors

During the British rule, Sailana saw development under the rule of Raja Jaswant Singh II and then under his son Raja Dileep Singh, many reforms were introduced over the next few years, with particular attention to education and educational facilities. It was a 11-gun salute state.

                                           

          Raja Jaswant Singh II, 1895-1919. 

                                                 

Jaswant Niwas Palace, originally built in 1750, later added upon in early 1800's and a new portion completed in 1898 

                                           

          Kirti Stambh of Sailana

                                                   

          Kirti Stambh Information
  

The chiefs of Sailana are Rathore Rajputs and have a common ancestry with the Maharajas of Jodhpur and Ratlam. 

By 1947, education and medical aid were provided free of charge. The economy was primarily agricultural, few industries too developed. In June 1948, Raja Dileep Singh signed the accession to the Indian Union.  

Coins of Sailana State

                                               

1/2 Paisa, Duleh Singh, 1850-1898, copper, weight 5.0 gm, Obverse: Pennant points either up or down

                                              

1/2 Paisa, Duleh Singh, 1887, copper, weight 6gm, Diameter 18 mm

                                              

1 Paisa, Duleh Singh,1850-1895, copper, weight 8.3 gm, diameter 19 mm, thickness 4.3 mm

                                                                     

Paisa, Duleh Singh, 1887, copper, weight 10.6 gm, diameter 20 mm, Obverse: Pennant points right, Reverse: Nagari legend ''Sailana VS 1944

  

                                               

1/4 Anna, Edward VII, 1908, copper, Obverse: Un-crowned head right, lettering Edward VII King and Emperor, Reverse: Value within circle

 

                                              

1/4 Anna, George V, 1912, copper, weight 4.7 gm, diameter 25 mm, Obverse: Crowned bust of King George V left, Reverse: Legend within circle, outer margin legend in English and Devnagari ''Sailana Raj''

                                           

2 Paisa, unlisted, 1880-1898, copper, weight 11.4 gm, diameter 19.2 mm, thickness 5.3 mm

  

                                                

2 Paisa, Duleh Singh,1880, copper, weight 11.4 gm, diameter 19.2 mm, thickness 5.1 mm

Sailana Princely State

Coins of  Sailana

Datia State (1626 -1950) and Coins

 

Datia State was founded in 1626 AD by Bundela Rajputs. Rao Bhagwan Rao, the first Rao (1626/1656 AD), received Datia and Baroni from his father, Raja Bir Singh Deo of Orchha in 1626 AD, and established his own State. Datia had formerly been a state in the Bundelkhand region. The ancient town of Datia is mentioned in the Mahabharata, ruled by King Dantavakra

                                           

One Rupee, Datia, Parichhat/ Bhavani Singh, 1778-1899 AD

It was the second highest in rank of all the Bundela states after Orchha, with a 17-gun salute, and its Maharajas bore the hereditary title of Second of the Princes of Bundelkhand. The land area of the state was 2,130 square miles (5500 square km), its population in 1901 was 53,759. 

                                              

Datia State in the Imperial Gazetteer of India

Coat of Arms                                           

 

The state came under British control with other territories in Bundelkhand under the Treaty of Bassein in 1802, by the seventh Raja, Parichhat. The ancient title of the family was Maharaja Rao Raja, but in 1865, the Government recognized only the title of Maharaja as hereditary. The Maharaja maintained a military force of 945 cavalry, 5203 infantry and 124 guns. The motto of the family is ''Wir dalap Sharandah'' (lord of the brave army, giver of refuge)

67 km away from the city of Gwalior lies the Datia Palace where no one has ever lived. The Palace called as Bir Singh Palace, named after Maharaja Bir Singh Deo is an imposing beauty that is unlike most other palaces in the country, as its builder never lived here. The seven-floor palace built in Hindu domestic architectural style is stunning to look at.

                                          

     Bir Singh Deo Palace, Datia, 1928

                                           

      Bir Singh Palace as seen now                                           

 

In 1947, Datia became a part of India. It became part of the new state of Vindhya Pradesh in 1950 and in 1956, formed part of Madhya Pradesh.    

Coins of Datia. Datia and Orchha Gaja Shahi series coins are very similar and are separated by the obverse symbol, which usually has five dots, ''lobes'' for Datia coins, but three for Orchha.

                                           

Bhawani Singh, 1/2 Paisa, 1796-1817 AD, copper, weight 6.1 gm, reverse has Datia mint mark

 

                                               

Bhawani Singh, One Paisa, 1816-1903 AD, copper, weight 12.2 gm, Obverse has RY Date 33, reverse has Datia mint mark

                                              

Half Rupee, Bhawani Singh, 1894-1900 AD, silver, weight 5.4 gm, Obverse: Inscription and AH Date, Reverse: Inscription, mint mark and regnal year

                                             

One Rupee, Raja Shahi Series, 1758-1774 AD, silver, weight 10.9 gm, Obverse: AH and Date, Reverse: Regnal year 6

                                            

One Rupee, Shah Alam II, Dalipnagar mint, 1765 AD, silver, weight 10.8 gm, Obverse: Inscription Shah Alam II, AH, Date, Reverse: Mint name, RY 6 

                                             

One Rupee, Parichhat/ Bijai/ Bhavani Singh, 1778-1899 AD, silver, weight 11.3 gm, Obverse: Mint name and AH Date 1277, Reverse: Datia Mint mark and RY Date 41

Datia State

Coins of Datia State

  

Honey Bee on Ancient Coins

 

Before mankind developed agriculture and lived in organized settlements, honey gathered from the hives of bees was valued as a precious commodity. The honeybee is native to the areas around the Mediterranean Sea. Domestication of the honeybee as a pollinator was important for the growth of many fruit crops. The importance can be seen in the hieroglyph for ''bee'' (a profile of the insect) that started to be used as a symbol for the ruler of Lower Egypt.

                                           

Ephesos, silver Retradrachm, 350-340 BC,

Ephesus and Artemis. Images of the bee as a symbol appear very early in Greek coinage, in particular, the prosperous city of Ephesus in Ionia (on the Aegean coast of Turkey) adopted the bee as is civic emblem. Ephesus was the location of a famous temple of the goddess Artemis (one of the seven wonders of the ancient world). The high priest of the temple was known as the ''king bee''. Greeks believed the queen bee was male and the priestesses were called melissae (honeybees). There are many different known types of bee and stag and few bee and Artemis coins from Ephesus, from 550 BCE onwards.

                                            

Location of Ephesus on the coast

                                           

Temple of Artemis. If visited now you can only see the ruins of the foundations of this construction entirely made of marble. Remains of this temple are exhibited in the London British Museum. Date back to 6th century BC. The new Artemis has been rebuilt in the 2nd century BC and is located on top of the previous one. Now, one of the Seven Wonders of the world

 

Bees have two pairs of wings, but conventional ancient representations of the bee, as viewed from above, typically only show one pair.

                                         

Ephesos, 480-450 BC, AR Drachm, weight 3.4 gm, Obverse: Bee with curved outlined wings, curls on either side, Reverse: Quadripartite incuse square.
 

Early in the classical era (480-450 BCE), the bees on Ephesus coins were drawn with curved wings, giving the insect a funny appearance. By the 4th century BCE, with better skill, realistic bees were being engraved. These coins are inscribed with the abbreviated name of the city on the obverse, and the stag on the reverse. These coins were issued to about 133 BCE.

                                          

Ephesos, silver Tetradrachm, 350-340 BC, weight 15.1 gm, Obverse: E-O, Bee, Reverse: Forepart of stag right, head turned to look back, in left field, palm tree, in right field, magistrate's name

                                           

 

Troas, Gentinos, 4th century BC, weight 1.9 gm, Obverse: Female (Artemis ?) head right, Reverse: Bee, palm tree to left

  

                                            

Ephesos, Ionia, 305-288 BC, Obverse: female head left, Reverse: E-O, Bee

                                            

Ephesos, Ionia, civil issue, 390-300 BC, Obverse: Head of Artemis left, astragalos behind head, Reverse: Bee with squared wings

The bee disappears from the Ephesian coinage after Ephesus became part of the Roman empire as the capital of the province of Asia. The image of the Emperor appeared on the obverse of the Roman provincial coins.

As other towns and cities had ties with Ephesus, they too adopted the bee as an image on their coins as well. In 202 BCE, Ephesus established an alliance with the Phoenician city of Arados (now Arwad), a small island off the Syrian coast. Coins of Arados can be distinguished by the name of Aradion inscribed in Greek on the reverse. The alliance evidently continued for decades.

                                               

Phoenicia, Arados, AR Drachm, 172-110 BC, weight 4 gm, Obverse: Bee, monogram, date CY 88, / 172 BC to left, monogram to right, Reverse: Stag standing right, palm tree behind   

The town of Gentinos in the area of Troas used a bee and palm tree on its 4th century BCE local bronze. 

Honey Bee on Ancient Coins

EID MAR Coin : Cruel Assassination of Julius Caesar.

 

One of the most famous coins of all times is the EID MAR (15th March) denarius issued by Marcus Junius Brutus in 43/42 BC. This coin is the only Roman coin to mention a specific date, the only Roman coin to openly celebrate a murder, and one of the very few coins mentioned by a classical author, historian Dio Cassius who wrote in his account of the Roman civil wars of 49-31 BC, ''Brutus stamped upon the coins which were being minted his own likeness and a cap and two daggers, indicating by this and by the inscription that he and Cassius had liberated the fatherland''. 

                                           

EID MAR (Ides of March is the 74th day in Roman calendar, corresponding to 15 March) denarius, issued by Marcus Brutus 

When Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon, he threw Rome into more than three years of civil war, eliminating his opponents along the way. In 49 BC, many leading citizens, including some sixty Roman Senators, had come to see Caesar as a power-grabber who wanted to make himself king. This state of affairs was an unacceptable situation for men like Brutus, who wished to retain their Republic.

                                               

               Gaius Julius Caesar

Brutus, who was a trusted friend of Caesar's, conspired with a group of his fellow senators to assassinate Caesar. This group of conspirators called themselves the Liberators. They believed that they would liberate the Roman Republic from the threat of tyranny by a monarch if they could remove Julius Caesar from power.

                                               

Marble bust, Brutus, at the Palazzo Massimo alle Terme in National Museum of Rome

  

In 44 BC, on the 15th day of March, a day  know in the Roman calendar as the ''Ides of March'', Brutus and his co-conspirators struck. Using daggers they had hidden beneath their tunics, they flew at Caesar in a hail of knife blows, stabbing him at least 30 times. When Caesar realized his good friend Brutus was among his attackers, he asked, ''Et tu, Brute''? (you, too, Brutus''?). As Caesar lay dead on the steps of the portico, Brutus jubilantly shouted, ''People of Rome, we are once again free''.

                                              

The Assassination of Julius Caesar by William Holmes Sullivan, 1888, Royal Shakespeare Theatre

Unfortunately for Brutus, the general populace was very fond of Julius Caesar. Marcus Antonius (Mark Antony) took advantage of the breach in leadership and loudly condemned Brutus' action. Brutus was forced to flee Rome with his soldiers. After several military encounters, Brutus's forces fell to Mark Antony and Octavian (who later became Caesar Augustus) in 42 BC. Brutus committed suicide before he could be taken prisoner using the same dagger he had plunged into Caesar.

Ancient Roman military commanders like Brutus had to pay their soldiers, and they generally did so with silver coins called denarius. They frequently minted their own coinage. Brutus issued a series of gold and silver coins commemorating the assassination of Julius Caesar.

                                          

Denarius, Brutus, 43-42 BC, silver, weight 3.72 gm, diameter 18 mm

Two Daggers and a Liberty Cap, and the Portrait of a king. Brutus issued the EID MAR silver denarius to remind his soldiers that they fought. The reverse of the coin bears the images of two daggers, between which is a liberty cap, an ancient symbol of freedom. The inscription reads EID MAR, meaning ''Eidibus Martiis'', or the ''Ideas of March''. The obverse of the coin features a portrait of Marcus Brutus. The inscription reads BRVT IMP L PLAET CEST, which means Brutus, Imperator, Lucius Plaetorius Cestianus, Lucius Plaetorius Cestianus was the moneyer who managed the mint workers 

                                         

Aureus, Brutus, 42 BC, gold, weight 8.06 gm, diameter 19mm
    

In Harlan J Berk's 100 greatest Ancient Coins, the EID MAR denarius is listed in the number one slot. About 80 specimens of this remarkable coin are estimated to exist in silver, with two known in gold. The relative rarity of this coin is because these  were deliberately recalled and melted by Marc Antony and Octavian. Silver coins in extremely fine condition have sold at auction for around $120,000. Lower grade silver coins are occasionally seen in the market for around $50,000 making it an extremely expensive option to add in one's collection.

A gold EID MAR, aureus was sold for $4,188,393 US on Oct,29, 2020 setting a record price for any ancient coin. This particular coin is the only publicly available example of this. The other examples are displayed at the British Museum and in the permanent collection of the Deutsche Bundesbank, the central bank of the Federal Republic of Germany.    

EID MAR Denarius

Assassination of Julius Caesar

Marcus Junius Brutus  

The 1933 Double Eagle: The most valuable coin in the world

The 1933 Double Eagle, sold for a record shattering $ 18.9 million at a Sotheby's auction in New York, in June 2021, sold by shoe designer and collector, Stuart Weitzman.

                                            

   The 1933 Double Eagle Coin

The 1933 Double Eagle has a richly captivating history which encapsulates large swathes of United States history and has been the center of intrigue for more than 80 years. It is America's last gold coin struck for circulation, ending a tradition that began in 1795. Designed by the well known sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens at the behest of President Theodore Roosevelt, its imagery of Liberty striding forward on the obverse, with the American eagle in flight on the reverse is lauded as America's most beautiful coin design. In 1933, President Franklin Roosevelt, as par of his effort to lift America's tattered economy out of the Great Depression took the country off the gold standard.

                                               

Theodore Roosevelt (left) and Franklin Roosevelt (right) had a great impact on America's gold coins
 

Struck but never issued for use, all 1933 Double Eagles were ordered to be destroyed with the exception of two examples sent to the Smithsonian Institution. 

                                             

Citizens returning their gold coins to the Federal Reserve Bank in New York in 1933. (Credit: General Research Division, New York Public Library)
 

In 1937, in the same month the 1933 Double Eagles were melted. several examples appeared in the market, which ultimately led to a Secret Service investigation in 1944 that determined all 1933 Double Eagles in collectors' hands had been stolen from the United States Mint, and therefore illegal to own.

However, only weeks before the Secret Service investigation began in 1944, one of the 1933 Double Eagles was purchased and erroneously granted an export license  to a representative of King Farouk).

                                           

Cheque for the first Double Eagle sold in February 1937, for $500, from James G Macallister to Israel Switt, only 10 days after mint began melting the coins

 

 It entered the famed coin collection of King Farouk of Egypt in 1944, sold by coin dealer B Max Mehl for $ 1,575, where it remained diplomatically untouched until 1954 when his collection was offered at auction by Sotheby's, acting on behalf of the new Republic of Egypt. Upon learning of its presence in the sale, the United States government successfully requested that the coin be withdrawn. But it was not returned as the coins whereabouts remained a mystery until 1996 when it was seized by the Secret Service in a sting operation at the Waldorf Astoria in New York. Following a five year legal battle, which unearthed the improvidently issued export license, the case was settled and the government permitted this single 1933 Double Eagle to be privately owned.

In 2005, ten more 1933 Double Eagles surfaced in the family of one of the prime suspects in the 1944 Secret Service investigation and another legal battle ensued. More than a decade later, after a jury trial and appeals (to the Supreme Court) the 1933 Double Eagles were ruled the property of United States (another example was voluntarily surrendered following the litigation), and confirmed the government's statement in 2002 that Stuart Weitzman's (American shoe designer and collector), 1933 Double Eagle is the only example the United States Government has ever authorized, or ever intends to authorize, for private ownership. 

Weitzman had purchased the coin at the Sotheby's/ Stack's auction in 2002 for $7,590,020. At the conclusion of the sale, in a historic moment, the Director of the United States Mint, signed a Certificate of Monetization that, in return for twenty dollars, authorized the issuance of this single example.

                                              

20 Dollars, Saint- Gaudens, Double Eagle'', 1933, gold, weight 33.43 gm, Obverse: Standing Liberty with torch and olive branch, Reverse: Eagle flying left over rays from the sun.

                                            

         Certificate of Monetization

                                             

Letter from David N Redden to US Mint Counsel Greg Weinman with $20 Bill to officially ''Monetize'' the 1933 Double Eagle, 2002.

The 1933 Double Eagle, sold for a record shattering $ 18.9 million at a Sotheby's auction in New York, in June 2021, sold by shoe designer and collector, Stuart Weitzman.

                                               

The 1933 Double Eagle, at the Sotheby's auction in New York

                                            

The 1933 Double Eagle