BELAGAVI: Centenarian philatelist and coin collector Krishna Gopalkrishna Kadekodi passed away at his residence in Sadashiv Nagar in Belagavi at 2.30 am on Thursday. He was 102 and is survived by three sons and a daughter. He started his career as a revenue inspector and retired as a special deputy commissioner at the Regional Commissioner’s Office in Belagavi. He was the first tahsildar of Panaji after the liberation of Goa from Portuguese occupation.
Kadekodi was popular not only in India, but also aborad for his hobby of collecting stamps, coins and antiques.
His collection includes a coloured stamp of Queen Victoria issued in 1854.
He was also instrumental in the release of stamps on Kittur Rani Channama, N S Hardikar and other freedom fighters. In recognition of his hobby, the United States government released a stamp for 41 cents on his 90th birthday.
Kadekodi has collected all the stamps on Mahatma Gandhi released in 64 countries, including India. The government of India had conferred him with a gold medal.
Kadekodi, who set up a philatelic and coin collectors association in Belagavi in 1975, had served as state advisor for the state philately collectors association. He has been awarded several gold medals at the philatelic exhibition in Bengaluru, Belagavi, Dharwad and other places. Not just stamps, Kadekodi has collected gold, silver and other metal coins from the period of Mughals, Peshwas and notes from the year 1860. His collection includes coins released by the British between 1835 and 1947. The Gold Mohar coin of the East India Company released in 1765 is also part of the collection.
His hobby was not just collect the coins but to preserve the history behind the coins. In addition to this, he had also collected and preserved traditional antique items. The old and traditional utensils used by the people of Malnad to prepare food are also part of his collection.