HYDERABAD: “I started taking numismatics seriously seven years ago, when I was inspired by a newspaper article on coin collection,” reveals Khadar Khan from Guntur who has an array of rare coins at his stall at the ongoing Numaish.
Khan has recently made it to the Limca Book of World Records for collecting 3,800 commemorated coins besides 8,000 themed ones. Among his collection of commemorative coins are those of national and international figures like Mother Teresa and Ambedkhar. But the most interesting ones are definitely coins dating back to the times of the Satavahanas and Khushans as well as the Nizams.
The coins, on sale in packs as per their timelines, are made of gold, silver, bronze, brass, steel and even glass. “Silver edition coins as issued by the Reserve bank of India fall in the category of collectible and fund raising ones. These coins are not meant for usual rotation,’’ he explains. The cost of Indian coins from the 1950s to the 70s ranges from Rs 200 to Rs 5,000. But some of the magnetic 50 paise variety sourced from Delhi, Punjab and Mumbai cost about Rs 60,000. His prized possession, though, are plastic coins from Korea which come in the denominations of 50, 75, 100 and 150.
Asked about his customers, Khan explains, “collectors of the serious kind are professionals such as doctors, engineers, lawyers and industrialists.” His coin collection is sold in three sets --- The 100 coin set, the 150 coin set and the 200 coin set, and all of them comprise currencies from different nations and timelines.