The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Coins from antiquity, wide range of stamps on display

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, May 07, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Coins from antiquity, wide range of stamps on display

Staff Reporter

An opportunity for stamp and coin collectors to showcase their collections A rare opportunity for numismatists, philatelists

A TREASURE TROVE: A member of Chennai's philately community looks curiously at the exhibits in the city on Friday. — Photo: S.R. Raghunathan

CHENNAI: A wide range of coins and stamps that reflect epoch making events and lives of personalities is on display at the Good Shepherd Hall, Kodambakkam High Road.

The collection ranges from south Indian stamps to coins from the Tipu Sultan period. There are 600-year-old coins and an array of stamps of different countries and genres.

The exhibition features a range of pebble-like coins belonging to Sangam Age and those of Arcot Mughal and foreign rulers, including French and Dutch.

Syed Baasha who had come from Madurai showcased his collection of coins depicting historical events and personalities. "I have collected about 1,000 such coins since 25 years," he said.

There were also fascinating range of commemorative coins, marking events such as Mahatma Gandhi's Centenary and Jawaharlal Nehru (Rs. 5) centenary, there were coins in honour of movements such as Water for life (Rs.2) and Food for All.

Inaugurated on Friday by G. Balakrishna Das, president of South Indian Philatelic Association, the exhibition is hosted by South India Philatelic and Numismatic Dealers Association, which has 50 members.

The thematic stamps collection had those on birds and Cinema. Mahatma Gandhi was the one of the few leaders featured in stamps and special covers of 70 countries, said treasurer of the Association, M.V.N.S. Murthy.

Actor Mohan Ram, also an ardent philatelist, has showcased his collection on World Cinema, which turned out a crowd puller. Besides silver and gold coins and replicas of various currencies, the coins heaped for sale, fascinated children. The city had about 3,000 coins and stamp collectors. The dealers buy in kilos, segregate them and sell them thematically, said Mr. Murthy.

A free seminar will be organised this weekend on Philately and Numismatism from 10 a.m. and identifying fake stamps and coins. The exhibition is on till Sunday between 10.30 a.m. and 7 p.m.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Tamil Nadu