Very few things say more about a country in fewer words than the coins it produces.
Coins hold a wealth of information on their small faces, from the year of their birth to the language spoken at the time, from the metals a country holds valuable, to the cultural influences and historical figures that its people hold valuable.
After Diwali, while cleaning and counting old “pushtainy” coins, a thought came into my mind on how about collecting coins like my father and grandfather did. Every year in Diwali, they add circulated coins for the worship of goddess Laxmi. So I decided to start a new segment to this collection i.e. collection of coins from foreign countries. To start with, I had few coins from South Africa and USA.
So the journey begins by collecting old as well as new shiny foreign coins. I recalled and listed friend’s names who frequently go abroad (onsite) and those who can easily share coins with me. I approached them and did the necessary follow-ups. The count of coins was growing, and so was my interest in the hobby. Not only friends in office but other colleagues, relatives helped me in pursuing this hobby. Even my clients shared coins with me which were very rare and uncirculated.
If you are pursuing any hobbies then you should be familiar with some common words related to that hobby. Like in the coins world, commonly used words are “Proof Set and Mint Sets”. Proof coins are specially minted, early-issued coins struck by the government. These are high-quality versions of circulated (common) coins which are sold for more than face value. Whereas Mint sets contains coins that haven't been circulated and receive no real special treatment before being packaged for sale.
Currently I have 300+ coins from 34 countries (like USA, UK, Norway, SA, Asian countries, UAE, Australia, etc) with different denominations and 400+ old Indian coins. Old Indian coins include different types of coins like Anna, Mohra, Asharfi and Piee. Coins of Queen Victoria, Queen Elizabeth, King George V & VI, Nizam, Bhosle, Jiyajirao shinde are also part of my collection.
As mentioned in the beginning, pursing a hobby helps in securing knowledge mainly the History of coins, where it belongs to which indirectly involves Geography, what is printed on coin i.e. King, queen, politician, animals, birds, temples, building, sports, etc. Gathering and reading all this information is also a part of this hobby. With so much information and beauty contained in such a small package, it is no surprise that coin collecting has been a hobby nearly as long as the concept of coins themselves.
These coins are precious to me and I will continue this hobby with passion and enthusiasm. I would like to thank all people who have shared coins with me.
You are always welcome to share coins with me and make this coinage journey more enjoyable. :-)
Coins hold a wealth of information on their small faces, from the year of their birth to the language spoken at the time, from the metals a country holds valuable, to the cultural influences and historical figures that its people hold valuable.
After Diwali, while cleaning and counting old “pushtainy” coins, a thought came into my mind on how about collecting coins like my father and grandfather did. Every year in Diwali, they add circulated coins for the worship of goddess Laxmi. So I decided to start a new segment to this collection i.e. collection of coins from foreign countries. To start with, I had few coins from South Africa and USA.
So the journey begins by collecting old as well as new shiny foreign coins. I recalled and listed friend’s names who frequently go abroad (onsite) and those who can easily share coins with me. I approached them and did the necessary follow-ups. The count of coins was growing, and so was my interest in the hobby. Not only friends in office but other colleagues, relatives helped me in pursuing this hobby. Even my clients shared coins with me which were very rare and uncirculated.
If you are pursuing any hobbies then you should be familiar with some common words related to that hobby. Like in the coins world, commonly used words are “Proof Set and Mint Sets”. Proof coins are specially minted, early-issued coins struck by the government. These are high-quality versions of circulated (common) coins which are sold for more than face value. Whereas Mint sets contains coins that haven't been circulated and receive no real special treatment before being packaged for sale.
Currently I have 300+ coins from 34 countries (like USA, UK, Norway, SA, Asian countries, UAE, Australia, etc) with different denominations and 400+ old Indian coins. Old Indian coins include different types of coins like Anna, Mohra, Asharfi and Piee. Coins of Queen Victoria, Queen Elizabeth, King George V & VI, Nizam, Bhosle, Jiyajirao shinde are also part of my collection.
As mentioned in the beginning, pursing a hobby helps in securing knowledge mainly the History of coins, where it belongs to which indirectly involves Geography, what is printed on coin i.e. King, queen, politician, animals, birds, temples, building, sports, etc. Gathering and reading all this information is also a part of this hobby. With so much information and beauty contained in such a small package, it is no surprise that coin collecting has been a hobby nearly as long as the concept of coins themselves.
These coins are precious to me and I will continue this hobby with passion and enthusiasm. I would like to thank all people who have shared coins with me.
You are always welcome to share coins with me and make this coinage journey more enjoyable. :-)
