Not all the glitters is gold

Experts say group of cons has emerged and is selling forged Sikh-era coins

LAHORE: A group claiming to have gold coins, biscuits and statues from ancient times has come to the fore. However, it appears that not all that glitters is gold.

The members of the group claim to have hundreds of relics, saying the treasure was unearthed during an excavation at an ancient building from the Sikh era in Sialkot.

A man tells The Express Tribune over the phone that his name is Imran and he is a resident of Jhang. Imran says Liaqat, a resident of his village, is a laborer and it was the latter who found clay pots from the ancient Sikh era, apart from the mentioned gold coins, biscuits, and statues.

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He brought his treasure trove to his native area and sold some of the gold coins to a local jeweler. Imran has sent pictures of these coins and statues to Express, but he refuses to reveal the location of the “ancient building”, thus casting doubt on whether the structure even exists. His group, Imran claims, wants to hand over the treasure to the government but is also demanding a share in the spoils.

When Express contacted the Punjab Archaeology department’s director, he said three such incidents have been reported in the past. “These swindlers also claimed to possess gold coins and statues are found in the areas of Sialkot, Wazirabad, and Gujrat.”

As for these coins, the year 1910 is embossed on them and the writing is accompanied by an unidentified language. He maintains that no such coins existed in the Sikh era and nor were they minted in this region.

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“Such a language has also never been written in the region.” He adds that this is a group of con artists and their purpose or mission can only be determined when the members are apprehended.

While providing information about his “secret treasure” to Express News over the phone, Imran reveals that he needs help to sell his “valuables”.

Upon further investigation, it has been revealed that these con artists have been swindling people for a long time. It has been further discovered that the group manufactures its own coins and statues before selling them off as relics.

Department of Archaeology officials said they have only seen pictures of the coins and statues thus far. Meanwhile, Express News attempted to learn whether any recent treasure was discovered in Sialkot or its surrounding areas, but the answer was in the negative.

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Shahid Shabbir, a researcher of ancient buildings from the Sikh era, says he has heard that items were buried under the structures. However, further research revealed that there was little truth to this notion. Meanwhile, he does acknowledge that folklore of treasures being transported by Hindu and Sikh families, who immigrated to India from West Punjab, do exist. He says that the families also hoped to return to gather the remainder of such valuables.

Senior Professor Mohammad Naeem Mustafa, another researcher, says that the period the group claims these coins belong to is the biggest indication that they are fakes. “These coins cannot be from this region. Another important thing to note is that if anyone from the Sikh community hid ancient treasure, they would be in the form of gold jewellery. No one had such biscuits and coins in this quantity.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 23^rd, 2019.