The coinage system of Sikkim

It is more or less a forgotten part of the development process of the then-small Himalayan kingdom, Sikkim. The introduction of the coinage system in Sikkim ceased the way it started. A study of the coinage system of Sikkim sheds light on the socio-economic and political history of the then-small state. The coins of Sikkim ended the way they appeared; they came from nowhere, and finally, they got lost out in the darkness. A handful of people around Sikkim and in the districts of Darjeeling now have these rare items in their collections. The coin of Sikkim is much sought after by numismatists interested in countries that no longer exist today.

Before the British invasion of the land of Sikkim, the capital revenue system was never heard. Sikkim, being an agricultural foreground, had some parts of food grains given to the king as tax. Trade was carried out where things were exchanged between individuals. This system was prevalent even in the mid-19th century; oranges were exchanged with a hen while broomsticks with bamboo caskets and many other things were exchanged as needed. It was only after permission from British officials in 1849 AD that Nepal's coins were accepted as legal tender. Handing over the territory of Darjeeling in 1835 AD brought the Indian rupee to the land of Sikkim. This was seen as the first change as far as economic development was concerned. In his account, John Claude White, a political officer in 1889 AD, said that Maharaja collected in taxes “what he required as he wanted it from the people.”

There were six Taksari families in Sikkim who were addressed as “Taksari”, an owner of a minting house. Those Taksari included Lachhimidas Pradhan, Kancha Chandbir Pradhan, Chandbir Pradhan Maskey of Pakyong, Jitman Singh Pradhan, Prasad Singh Chettri of Tarku Estate, and Bharaddoj Gurung of Khani Goan.

Lachhimidas Pradhan, a newar tradesman who fled Nepal, was the man behind extracting copper from the mines in Sikkim. It was in the year 1868 that Lachhimidas Pradhan and others secured a mining lease for copper mines and agriculture estates in Sikkim. Then, the Maharaja of Sikkim, Thutob Namgyal, took an interest in minting the coins in Sikkim and asked for approval from the British authority. It was finally, on July 20, 1881, a letter from the Secretary, Government of India in the Foreign Department intimated to the Government of Bengal that there was no objection to the request of the Maharaja of Sikkim to make Dooba price at the copper mines within the territory of Sikkim. British had no problem in letting the small and poor country of Sikkim set their own minting.

The British wrote that the Dooba pice requested by the Maharaja of Sikkim were lumps of irregularly shaped copper of the kind well known in Bihar as Loheea pice, and there were no provisions in the treaty of 1861 with Sikkim prohibiting coining. The coins of Sikkim known so far are of two types. Dooba Paisa, also known as Doli or Dheba, is a lump made of copper. These coins were cut from copper sheets to a particular size and weight. They are plain on both observe and reverse, weighing around 8.265gms to 10.755gms. These small metals are found to be 1.7 x 1.4 cm to 1,9 x 1.3 cm in size. The minting of Dooba Paisa began sometime in 1882 AD i.e. 1939 according to the Nepali calendar.

It should be noted that the coins of Sikkim were highly influenced by those of Nepal and similar types of Dooba and Chepte Paisa were also found in Nepal. The inscription was also written in Devanagari script and bore the Nepali calendar years 1939 to 1942. The weights of Sikkim coins vary from 4.18gms to 5.55gms, whereas the copper coins of Nepal range from 4.8gms to 10gms.

The second type of coin, the Chepte Paisa, is “fashioned in a rude way with the hammer and anvil and has plain unmilled edges. Stamping is carried out in a similarly rough manner, with one workman holding the piece of metal between the dies, while a second with a blow from a heavy hammer completes the coin. With very few inceptions, the coins bear only portions of the inscriptions carried by the dies”.

The second type of coin, the Chepte Paisa, is more or less circular in shape with the inscription “Sri Sri Sri Sikkim Maharajpati” written on observing and “Sri Sri Sri Sikkim Sarkar” in the reverse. It weighs around 7.60 grams and is around 2.6cm in size. A floral design was also found on the edge of both sides of the coins. The coins of Sikkim do not bear any mintmark, but it appears that the minting of these coins was generally done in places near Tukkhani and Pacheykhani, while few were minted in Duga too.

The new beginning in Sikkim's decimal history of currency was short-lived. The new coins were accepted as legal tender in Nepal's territories. However, the inconvenience provided by the Nepali traders meant that Sikkim's coins had a setback to face. The Newar traders presented a petition to the Prime Minister of Nepal to put restrictions on the Sikkim currency within Nepal's territory.

It was in the month of September-October 1885 a letter was sent to Lachhimidas Pradhan in Sikkim by Col. Gajraj Singh Thapa forwarding a restriction of the entry of the coins of Sikkim into the boundary of Nepal and said that the pice of Sikkim was found to be lesser in weight than that of Nepal. This was a big blow to the rising economic development of the small state.

No coins of Sikkim have been found after the Nepali calendar, 1942, i.e., 1885 AD. Thus, a sad part of great hope in Sikkim has to bow to premature death.

Reference:
1. Aspect of Cultural History of Sikkim
2. Documents on Sikkim and Bhutan