The Sikh Empire's copper paisa coinage was struck at numerous local mints operating under varying degrees of central oversight from Lahore, which is why KM#7.18 carries a specific mint identifier within a series that sprawls across dozens of catalogued varieties. Ranjit Singh's administration never fully standardized copper — silver was the prestige metal, and small denomination coinage was largely left to regional minting conventions inherited from earlier Mughal and Durrani practice.
Die alignment and flan preparation vary considerably across this series, a direct consequence of decentralized production.
The Sikh Empire's copper paisa coinage was struck at numerous local mints operating under varying degrees of central oversight from Lahore, which is why KM#7.18 carries a specific mint identifier within a series that sprawls across dozens of catalogued varieties. Ranjit Singh's administration never fully standardized copper — silver was the prestige metal, and small denomination coinage was largely left to regional minting conventions inherited from earlier Mughal and Durrani practice.
Die alignment and flan preparation vary considerably across this series, a direct consequence of decentralized production.