19th-century silver coins in Bihar ensues rush

People were happily surprised when they found silver coins while ploughing fields on the Nepal border adjoining the Singhamadi panchayat of Dighalbank block of Bihar's Kishanganj district.

As soon as the silver coins were discovered, the villagers looted it. Some coins unearthed belonged to the East India Company from the year 1840, on which the picture of Queen Victoria is embossed and some are of 1877 with faded marks of the picture.

The owner of the plot, Tajpuria Arne was ploughing the farm when the coins appeared after which villagers noticed the silver coins scattered across the field and began collecting them. Collection, however, soon turned into outright plunder.

The earthen pot containing the coins was actually broken while the field was being ploughed with a tractor which scattered the former currency of the British Raj across the field. For the next two days, people from even neighbouring villages arrived one after the other to grab as many coins as they can.

In fact, the land once belonged to two royal landlords of the village, Chakhu Khunda and Dhumma Kirtania, and none had any heir. Hence, it is being assumed that the coins must have been buried in the ground by the brothers. Elders in the village also say that in the old days, the zamindars used to keep their jewellery, coins and other precious things buried in the ground to protect them from thieves and bandits.

Meanwhile, the district collector Yash Pal Meena said that the administration has taken notice of the matter and it will be investigated. According to rules laid down by the Antiquities and Art Treasures Act, 1972, the government needs to be notified of any findings of antiquity on public or private property and any kind of sale or distribution of such items without the government's acknowledgement is strictly outlawed.

Zee Media Newsroom