Rare coins exhibition fascinates numismatists in Jamshedpur

Jamshedpur : About 300 rare coins, a few dating back to the old centuries, displayed at a coin exhibition here, turned out to be a big draw for numismatists from different parts of the country.

The coins included ancient Indian gold coins of the Gupta age and those from the times of the Mughal empire from emperors Babur. The 24th edition of Jamcoin, a three-day exhibition by the Coin Collector’s Club in Jamshedpur offers at Red Cross Bhawan is a big hit. The exhibition was inaugurated on Sunday and will continue till December 11. SDO Chandan Kumar inaugurated the fair.

The collection also included coins from different princely States in pre-Independent India. �Collection of coins is not only a great hobby but it is also an investment. The coins are priceless for their historical value,� said official of the club.

Other than bringing numismatists together, the exhibition also generated awareness about the significance of coins. He added that sometimes valuable gold and silver coins are destroyed only to obtain the metal.

Euro Coins , commemorative coins , proof coins, coins on Sports, coins on great personalities have been also displayed at the exhibition.

The coins issued by various kingdoms that ruled India in the past, foreign stamps, coins and currency notes issued on diverse themes and subjects were all put for display here.

In the exhibition, there were stalls where the customers could purchase currency notes having serial numbers that replicate their date of birth, wedding anniversaries of their near and dear ones. Preethish, who works for a pharmacy company purchased a Rs. 10 currency note from one such stall having the serial number in top right corner 210586. �My sister was born on May 21, 1987 that is written as 21-05-87. I will present this note as a gift to her on her next birthday,� he said.

Numismatist Jayesh Gala who participated in the exhibition had a collection of currency notes that have the serial numbers that replicate the date of birth of prominent personalities. A Rs. 10 note in his collection had the serial number 26091932 that replicates the date of birth of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh (he was born on September 26th, 1932 written as 26-09-32). He also had currency notes that had printing and cutting errors in his collection.

The books to guide the beginners on stamp and coin collection, the accessories for coin collection that includes magnifying glass, coin albums were sold at the event.