My Father – A Numismatist!

 The term 'Numismatist' applies to collectors and coin dealers as well as scholars using coins as source or studying coins. My father’s casual coin collection began as a hobby by saving notable coins found by chance. These coins were may be pocket change left from an international trip or an old coin found in circulation.

As and when the enthusiasm increased over time, random coins found in circulation were not enough to satisfy his interest. So, Dad started buying coins from dealers or mints. Thus his collection takes on a more specific focus. Given enough resources, it will eventually result in a vast collection…which is not far! His coin collection as of now is itself splendid. Scroll down and explore some of the rarest collection....

Coins can become famous for many different reasons. Sometimes a coin becomes well-known because it is worth a princely sum of money. Other times, the coin is famous because it depicts an important historical event and some coins are famous just because they exist and hundreds of millions of people use them every day.The first coins were made in Lydia, Turkey 600 BC. Early coins were made of precious metals. Today, they are more likely to be made of common metals like aluminium, nickel etc.

Silver coins dated 1888 n 1901

silver coins dated 1907 n 1912

Silver coins dated 1913, 1915 n 1917

Silver coins dated 1919, 1920 n 1922

Coins issued depicting historical events are designed to be commemorative coins, and never intended to be put into circulation.

Birth Centenary of Mother Teresa



Coins issued in the Birth Centenary Year of Dr. Homi Bhabha



Coin issued to celebrate 75 years of the Dandi March


Coin issued on 150 years of the First War of Independence



There are 4 Mints in India based in Mumbai, Kolkota, Hyderabad and Noida. Indian coins have a particular mark of the mints which are found under the date (year of issue) of the coin. Each mint has its own distinguished mark on the coin it issues. The following are the marks of the different Mints in India -

Mumbai  - It has a small dot or Diamond mark under the date of the coin.
Kolkota - It has no mint mark beneath the date of coin
Hyderabad - It has a split diamond or a dot in the diamond or a five pointed star under the date of the coin.
Noida - It has a small or thick dot under the date of the coin.

100 rupees coin issued by Mint 

150 rupees coin issued by Mint 

1000 rupees coin issued by the Mint

On independence, India was left with a legacy of non-decimal coinage. One rupee was divided into 16 annas or 64 pice, with each anna therefore equal to 4 pice. In 1957, India shifted to the decimal system. To distinguish between the two pice, the coins minted between 1957 and 1964 have the legend "Naya Paisa" ("new" paisa).

One Pice

The denominations in circulation were 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 25, 50 (naya) paise and one rupee which remained as the same pre-decimal value. In 1964, a new denomination the 3 paise was introduced and in 1968 a 20 paise coin was minted. Both these coins however did not gain much popularity. The 1, 2 and 3 paise coins were phased out gradually in the 1970s. Stainless steel coinage of 10, 25 and 50 paise, was introduced in 1988 and in 1992, a new rupee coin was minted. This coin was smaller and lighter than the older rupee. In 1992, a 5 Rupees Cupronickel coin was introduced. In 2006, 10 Rupees coin was minted for the first time.

Lets have a look at the currencies the Eurozone used before the Euro was introduced -

coins used in Euro zone before the Euro was introduced

Austria - Austrian schilling
Belgium - Belgian franc
The Netherlands - Dutch gulden
Finland - Finnish markka
France - French franc
Germany - German mark
Ireland - Irish pound
Italy - Italian lira
Luxembourg - Luxembourg franc
Portugal - Portuguese escudo
Spain - Spanish peseta
Greece - Greek drachma
Slovenia - Slovenian tolar
Cyprus - Cypriot pound
Malta - Maltese lira
Slovakia - Slovak koruna

currencies used as of today
Euro, Pound Sterling, Thai Baht, Canadian Dollar, USA - Cents, Singapore Dollar, UAE - Dirham 

Some of the old coins used in different countries centuries ago made of fine silver -

Japanese Yen, Mexican Peso

Coins of Lima, Chile - Peso

Hong kong Dollar

Silver coin struck for trade purpose in 1780

International Currencies -

Nepal Coins

Coins of New Zealand - Dollar, Pakistan - Rupee n Bahrain - Dinar

Coins of Hongkong - Dollar, Indonesia - Rupiah n South Africa - Rand

Coins of Sri Lanka - Rupee, Cyprus - Cypriot Pound, Zambia - Zambian Kwacha

Coins of Jordan - Piastres, China - Yuan, Djibouti - Djiboutian Franc

Hungarian Forint, Bahrain Fils, Czech Republic Koruna, UK - pence

Coins of Papua New Guinea, Mauritius, Bangladesh n Malaysia

Qatar Dirham, Brazilian Real, Iranian Rial, Croatian Lipa

Soviet Union coins - Koneek

The collection doesn't end here....these are just the glimpses of the coins of different countries from dad's collection. There are still different denominations of the above coins issued in different years. Dad takes utmost care for storing of the coins, maintains albums and spend hours behind organizing the coins in chronological order and segregating them. I truly admire his passion - his 'Treasure Chest!'