Uttarakhand: Where have coins minted by 'Raja of Harsil' Frederick Wilson gone?

During British time, naturalist, explorer, hunter and writer Frederick Edward Wilson enjoyed a king like status in Harsil (Uttarakhand). He was so powerful and economically influential that he even minted coins in his own name and was even called as ‘King of Harsil.’ The coins were used for various economic activities, including for trade and paid as salary to workers. But, most of the Wilson coins have disappeared from the Bhagirathi valley. It is very hard to find the coins in Uttarkashi and other places associated with Wilson. Only a few are surviving. Information about just three Wilson coins are publically available — one is with a villager in Harsil and two with a famous Mussoorie based writer. Where have all the copper coins with a hole in the middle vanished? An ex-British army bombardier Frederick Wilson, who was famous as Pahadi Wilson, made Harsil his home in the 1840s. He adopted hunting for his livelihood and by selling animal and bird skins he made a decent living. From a hunter, Wilson’s career took a new turn when he began working as a forest department contractor. By cutting deodar trees and floating down the sleepers from the hills to plains, Frederick became one of the richest men in this part of the world. The sleepers were used for railway projects. Though he was living and doing business in Tehri Garhwal native state, he minted parallel currency for use as he was heading a force of over 1200 workers. He was possibly the first individual European to mint his coin. Anyone keen on watching the Wilson one rupee coin, physically, needs to go to Balam Dass’ residence in Harsil. He is the only known person who has the rare coin in his collection in the entire Bhagirathi valley. Another is famous writer Ganesh Saili who resides in Mussoorie. There is a possibility of others having the Wilson coin in their individual collection, but the information is not available in public. Seventy-four year old Balam Dass found the coin in his family collection. Terming it a family heritage he says, “The coin was locally called ‘Hundi ka Rupaya.’ Many people claim they had sold it in bulk to junk dealers as they found it useless. There is a possibility of some other having the Wilson coin, but the information is not in the public domain.” Balam Dass occasionally displays the coin in public functions like the Harsil apple festival. The Wilson coin was in circulation, (possibly) as no record is available, from late 1850 till the start of 1900. The iconic Wilson bungalow, constructed in 1864 and a landmark of Harsil, was gutted in a fire in 1997. The photographs of Wilson and his two wives were on display in many forest guest houses. Even these photographs have disappeared and are possibly lying neglected in some damp store rooms of the forest department. The villagers lost the charm of the Wilson coins and discarded them. Wilson led a mysterious life but he was extremely popular among the local villagers as he introduced many economic generation activities in the area. He brought big transformation in the agriculture sector by introducing apple and potato cultivation. On his coin disappearing rather too early, Gangotri temple committee’s Secretary Suresh Semwal, says, “The coin was made of copper, not of any valuable metal like gold and silver. It was in circulation for a few decades. In Bhagirathi valley, villagers use old King George silver coins for making necklaces, but never saw anybody wearing the Wilson coin which had a hole in the middle like old one Paisa.” Searching for the Wilson coin has remained a challenging task for history enthusiasts and writers. When writer Robert Hutchison was working on his ‘The Raja of Harsil: The Legend of Frederick ‘Pahari Wilson’’ book project he visited Harsil, Mukhwa and other villages in Uttarakhand, but he failed to locate the Wilson coin. On the experience Hutchison says, “In one of my visits to Harsil and Mukhba I was shown a bagful of Wilson coins. They were all worn and not suitable for photographing or keeping as a souvenir.” Providing details about the use of the coin, Hutchison adds, “They were never meant to be legal tender but simply as a brass bookkeeping token. However as there was a scarcity of real coinage in those days, the Harsil rupee was accepted as fair tender throughout Garhwal, presumably only for as long as Wilson remained active. Afterwards it was worthless.” Wilson found a big challenge in paying salary to his 1,200 plus workers-involved in his business of hunting, timber cutting, floating, collecting and dispatching sleepers. The work area was from Harsil to Haridwar and to pay the workers Wilson had to get money from banks located in Mussoorie. Ferrying money from Mussoorie to Harsil was tedious and insecure- a distance covered on foot in 13 days. The trek used to pass from Phedi, Balati, Lalooree, Than, Dunda, Barahat, Maneri, Bhatwari, Yalung, Dongully, Suki, Jhala to end at Harsil. Robert Hutchison saw the Wilson coin in Mussoorie, at renowned writer, photographer and historian Ganesh Saili’s collection. The coin remains one of the most prized possessions of the Mussoorie writer and Saili has an interesting story to share on the rare coin. “Jack Gibson, the founder of the Mayo College (Ajmer), gave me the coin. He found some porters gambling with the coin at Jadh Ganga valley during a trek in 1934. Jack while sending me said, ‘I found these two coins in Garhwal and this is the way I am sending them back.” It is estimated the coin was used widely in Harsil and some parts of Tehri Garhwal. The death of Frederick Wilson in 1883 and his family making their base in Mussoorie/Dehradun made the legacy of Pahadi Wilson fade from the public mind. Even his coin is disappearing fast from the area. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost_’s views._ Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.