NORTH LAKHIMPUR, Aug 8 - A number of antique coins of immense numismatic value and some antique jewellery were recovered in an interior village in Lakhimpur district recently. These were recovered when two villagers were fishing on lowland in a paddy field in Aamguri village in Rongoti, near Dhalpur in Lakhimpur district on Wednesday. One Nitul Dihingiya and Tulin Gogoi discovered the coins made of silver and two bangles of the same metal in Nimurijan. The coins, 14 in number are in different shapes and sizes with both Persian and Devanagiri inscriptions. It is widely believed that the coins may belong to the 18th century Ahom period in Assam and of Mughal India.
It may be mentioned that in November, 2019, similar antique octangular coins belonging to the mid-18th century era of Ahom King Swargadeo Rajeshwar Singha (1751-1769) and some Mughal coins with Persian inscriptions were found in a paddy field at Dhakuakhana, Lakhimpur.
Our Biswanath Chariali correspondent adds: According to eminent historian Dr Nityananda Gogoi, four of the coins belonged to the era of Ahom King Rajeswar Singha (from 1758 Shaka to 1767 Shaka) and the languages encrypted on the coins are Sanskrit and Persian. Five coins belonged to the era of Ahom King Lakshmi Singha�s reign in 1700 Shaka and the language is Sanskrit. Another two coins, larger in size, belonged to the era of Jayantiya King Ram Singha dating back to 1630 Shaka.
The Ahom kings, counselors and ministers used to wear such silver bangles and this is for the first time that such type of Jayantiya king�s coins were recovered in North Assam, he added.
The coins are of one rupee, fifty paisa (aadhali) and twenty five paisa (shiki). The use of the Persian language in the Ahom era coins presents the business foresightedness of the Ahom kings and the coins were perhaps used in business transactions with the Mughal Empire, Dr Gogoi claimed.
