RHODES COLLECTION OF COINS OF NORTH EAST INDIA

This September, Spink are pleased to announce, will see the second auction of the magnificent collection of Nicholas Rhodes' Coins of North East India. The sale will take place on the 27th in London, and is brimming with some of the finest coins of this region. Spink are thrilled to be handling such a stunning collection amassed over a lifetime of passion and dedication to numismatics. The catalogue itself is sure to become a reference work for numismatic enthusiasts to come as it documents some of the most interesting social movements from medieval Bangal, Tripura, Cooch Behar, Manipur, Assam and Jaintiapur.

Nick Rhodes started to collect coins from an early age and as a seven year old was first taken to AH Baldwin & Sons, receiving excellent guidance from the late Albert Baldwin. In 1962, Nick started collecting oriental coins, particularly the coins of Nepal, which at this time presented the opportunity to build a meaningful collection and provided a fertile field for original research. Over the years he made many journeys to India, Nepal and Bhutan, where he had a large number of friends and contacts.

The culture of the north-eastern states of India is very distinct from that of the rest of India as from the fifteenth century they can be linked to the spread of Brahmanical religion from the Ganga valley. In order to smooth the conversion from tribal religions to the new order, the Brahmins sometimes explained how certain important tribal deities could be identified as Hindu deities. The familiar tribal iconography could thus be seamlessly retained and merely translated into the Hindu context by means of the Sanskrit language. As part of the ceremonies associated with the new Hinduised state, expensive rituals would be performed, and naturally the Brahmins would benefit from offerings and donations.

The Brahmins later realised that it would be in their interests if these donations could be in portable assets, such as precious metals, and for this reason they encouraged the striking of coins. On the occasion of important ceremonies, such as the installation of a new king, the Brahmins dictated that silver and gold coins ought to be struck in the name of the new ruler with appropriate religious invocations celebrating the date of the event.

Lot 19

On lot 19, a grotesque human-faced winged dragon appears, which has been interpreted as a unique representation of the Hindu deity, Narasimha, but would once have probably been instantly recognised by the tribal community as a powerful local deity, whose memory is now lost. This coin is extremely fine, and probably unique, its like has never been offered at auction before.

Lot 143

To read the complete pressrelease, see:
The Exceptional Second Auction of the Nicholas Rhodes Collection of Coins of North East India (www.spink.com/press-releases/the-exceptional-second-auction-of-the-nicholas-rhodes-collection-of-coins-of-north-east-india.aspx/?id=coins&year=2016)

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