HYDERABAD: A week-long coin museum was inaugurated at the Saifabad mint on Tuesday. The museum is open for visitors (entry free) from 9 am to 5 pm till June 13. It will display 120 years of coinage history of the Mughal, Nizam, British Indian and contemporary Indian periods and coin making tools.
The museum is also home a piece of granite used to fit an anvil die for the coin stamping dye-striking method. “The dye-striking method was one of the oldest methods of making coins. The method was predominantly used to make the oldest metal currency we know of until the 17th century. But, this very stone was used until the 1880s,” said Reyhan Ahmed, numismatist and curator of the RBI’s mint museum in Kolkata.
The display of coins is organised in a sequence, showcasing the evolution of well documented and preserved coins throughout the Nizams’ reign. A tablet beside each coin display cabinet informs the visitors about the history, weight and details of the original coins. “For now the museum is open for a week. However, depending on the response of the visitors, we will plan to extend the date or hope for its conversion into a permanent Mint museum,” said Tripti Patra Ghosh, chairperson and managing director of the Security Printing & Minting Corporation of India Ltd (SPMCIL).
The mint was established in Saifabad with the latest European machinery to start operations on July 13, 1903. Before this, all the coins were handmade. Though Hyderabad State was annexed to the Union in 1948, the minting of coins in the name of the Nizam continued till the 1950s, until the final demonetisation. Later in 1950, post ‘Federal Financial Integration’, the mint was overtaken by the Government of India. From 1950 to 1997, the Government of India mint operated from the Saifabad mint. Later, in 1997, the mint was shifted to its present location at Cherlapally.