With several auctions of rare coins here recently, the city is fast catching up with New Delhi and Mumbai, the two cities in India known to have many aficionados and serious collectors of coins.
A three-day All-India Exhibition of Coins and Currencies, organised by the Karnataka Numismatics Society, concluded here on Sunday.
The increasing value of these rare coins generate is also another reason why many are turning towards numismatics.
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“We had brought 900 coins and 80 per cent of them have been sold out,” says Archie Maru of Marudhar Arts, a Bengaluru-based ASI licensed auction house.
“Mumbai and New Delhi are different in the sense that they have serious collectors whose bids are higher. But Bengaluru is soon catching up,” he adds.
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Punch-marked coins reveal its date and other historical facts, which appeal to every high-net-worth individuals (collectors who look at the value of coins), who make it part of their collection.
“Once the smallest 30-rupee value silver coin, of the Tipu Sultan era, called Khizri and the smallest copper coin for one-eighth pasia, called Qutb, were sold as a pair at a Lucknow auction for Rs. 10 lakh nearly five years ago. I came to know that it was later donated to a museum in Uttar Pradesh, increasing its heritage value,” says collector Arjun Belakawadi.
For ardent collectors like Akbar Pasha from Tilaknagar these national auctions have become an eye-opener.
“I have coins of all the 178 Princely States and I now know from bigger dealers that their value runs into lakhs. Next year I will participate in these auctions and get a better deal,” he says, showing his album of coins.
Gautam Jantakal, author of several papers on Indian coinage, says that rarity matters in determining its value. The 20-rupee notes, in the Green Underprint Series, were printed only till 1910 and it was not even popular to be considered for the portrait series of King George V and VI. “But, today their value runs into lakhs,” says Mr. Belakawadi.
Other significant bids
Marudhar Arts Auctions (Friday)
——— U-shaped Fanam gold coin weighing 0.48 gm of the 10th century Chalukya Kalyana region sold for Rs. 35,000 and another gold coin with inscriptions of ruler Jagade Kamala in Halegannada of 3.9 gm sold for Rs. 2 lakh
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Imperial Auctions (Saturday)
——— Bank note of 2.8 rupees (two rupees and 8 annas) of the 1915-18 period with a George V portrait sold for Rs. 5.5 lakh to a Madhya Pradesh businessman
——— An 1835 East India Company Mohur (gold coin) weighing 11.65 gms, equivalent to a 15-silver rupee, sold for Rs. 10 lakh by a Maharashtrian businessman
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Bombay Auctions (Sunday)
——— A 50-year-old ‘token gold coin’ from the Kutch, used as gift coins during Diwali then, sold for Rs. 1 lakh and a Dungarpur Rajasthan gold coin sold for Rs. 6.5 lakh, and a British India large 100-rupee note sold for Rs. 2 lakh.
———— A monogram belonging to a Hyderabad Maharaja sold for Rs. 57,000.
Quote: “It’s not the money value here, but the rarity of the logo that Indian Kings used on their 16 x 13 inch shield to identify their kingdom,” explained Sanjay Gosalia, Owner, Bombay Auctions.