In 1964 , Satya Buddu failed his matriculation exam and that became a turning point in his life. He fondly recalls his conversation with his father that led him to become a numismatist. Satya’s father told him, “Son, don’t let your academic failures define you. Pick up a hobby and devote yourself to it and success will follow.” At that time, his father was working at the city port and he introduced him to the world of stamps and coins from around the world.
Minting a hobby
As of today, he has over 6,000 unique coins and paper currency from 120 countries. He has arranged them as per themes of famous people, plants, animals and birds. “By doing this, I learned about different countries and their history which otherwise I wouldn’t have known,” says Satya, as he shows the coins of Cleopatra, Marilyn Monroe, Che Guevara and Elvis Presley. In the Limca Books of Records 2005, Satya is said to hold therecord of collecting most coins and paper currency in Andhra Pradesh.
In 1965, Satya joined an industrial training course so that he could work at the city’s port. In 1970, he finally got a job there after several attempts. The easy access to the port was a jackpot for the budding numismatist. “In the 70s there were hardly any numismatists and I too had no idea how to go about it. But 10 years later in 1986, I joined the Numismatic Society of India at Banaras Hindu University,” he says. Satya joined the society far way in Uttar Pradesh because it was one of the oldest in India and had an affordable membership and conducted exhibitions across the country. He is still associated with it and frequently visits its exhibitions. He says he has learnt greatly about correctly documenting his collections from the Numismatic Society of India and getting clearance from the for Reserve Bank of India to legally carry foreign currency up to 1000 USD.
Stories from the port
“The currency of landlocked countries yields a good exchange value in the port. I always carry a few coins from Nepal and Bhutan. In an exchange, I would sometimes get up to 10 coins for just one coin from Nepal or Bhutan,” says Satya. Sometimes he settled for imported beers instead of coins in an exchange, he says! He always looks forward to meeting other numismatists like himself. “Every 30 ships would bring at least one coin collector like me to Visakhapatnam. I’ve made friends from across the globe as a result. Some of them would even send coins by post. But not the North Koreans who visited the port some 20 years ago. They were the most tight-lipped. They never exchanged currency or even had a casual conversation.”
After numerous media reports on his collection, by the late 80s he was a public figure. This drew the attention of the customs authorities. In 1987, a team visited his home to check if he had any imported electric appliances. “Of course, I didn’t,”he exclaims.. Satya shares stories about how he has been duped many times. His coins were once stolen at an exhibition! But he says he does not dwell much on those losses. . “After all what’s gone is gone.”
Between 1988 and 1992 Satya displayed his collection at the Russians Complex in Vizag Steel Plant’s residential area. He has a lot of Russian friends thanks to interactions at the port.
Hungry for more
Today Satya is 71, yet his enthusiasm for discussing currencies is undiminished. He stays in his ancestral house at Chengal Rao Peta. “Today, we can get a coin in few clicks from the Internet. But I still like to take my coins along with me wherever I go as it allows me to start a conversation with people. By the end of the conversation, they end up exchanging coins. If that doesn’t happen, Satya still offers them a coin as a souvenir!
