VISAKHAPATNAM: A 37-year-old Indian Navy employee from Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, has earned a Limca Book of Records achievement for having the largest collection of sports-themed coins, with 400 coins from 81 countries, including 228 Olympic coins.
SVVR Prasad, a numismatist and philatelist, received the Limca Book of Records recognition in February 2026 for his collection titled ‘Largest collection of sports-themed coins from most countries of the world’.
His wider collection includes British India coins, Republic of India coins, Indian commemorative coins, coins from different countries, unique world currencies, sports-themed currency notes, high-denomination currency notes, Olympic and sports stamps, Meghdoot postcards, advertisement postcards and inland covers.
The collection features coins commemorating sporting events and athletes from different countries. Among them are Argentina’s 1978 Football Championship coins, Armenia’s 1996 Chess Olympiad coin, and Australian coins featuring Sir Donald Bradman and the Sydney 2000 Olympics. It also includes coins issued for the Commonwealth Games and cricket.
His collection has coins linked to the 1996 Olympic Games featuring Australian gold medallists Shirley Strickland, Betty Cuthbert, Sarah and Edwin Flack.
Other pieces include Austria’s 1976 Winter Olympics coin, the Bahamas’ 1993 FIFA World Cup coin, Belarus’ coins commemorating the World Ski Championship, FIFA World Cup and basketball, and Bhutan’s Olympic coins featuring football, basketball, archery and boxing.
Speaking with TNIE, Prasad said his interest in collecting coins began in childhood, when his grandfather gave him one-paise and two-paise coins. He also collected commemorative coins that he came across in everyday circulation. After getting his job in 2015, his interest developed into serious collecting.
He began studying coins, learning about their history, identifying different varieties and searching for pieces to add to his collection.
His collection now includes coins from approximately 230 countries and territories. He has also developed collections around different themes, with sports-themed coins forming a major part of it.
His collection also includes a 23-carat gold banknote issued by Antigua and Barbuda, which he describes as the world’s first gold banknote. His philatelic collection includes stamps on the Olympics and sports. He has also collected Meghdoot postcards, advertisement postcards and inland covers. His Olympic philately exhibit received a silver medal at the State level.
Prasad said he sees coin collecting as a way of preserving history. He said the designs, inscriptions, metals and denominations of coins provide information about the period in which they were produced.
