A note on India's commemorative coins, what's in demand and how to buy

India has issued more than 150 sets of commemorative coins since 1964 that are sold by govt mints; the Rs 75 coin is the latest

There are plenty of takers for the clink of commemorative coins, such as the Rs 75-denomination currency released by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to mark the inauguration of the new Parliament building on Sunday.

According to experts, commemorative coins are a popular draw among numismatists, particularly the beginners, in India. Commemorative coins are not for circulation and so, aren’t used to carry out transactions.

India has issued more than 150 sets of commemorative coins since 1964. The first coin honoured the country’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, who died that year.

These coins are minted and sold by the government mints. Some collectors resell them for a profit, and they are also auctioned.

The commemorative coins of older vintage naturally draw higher prices at auctions than those issued in the more recent years.

Ravi Shankar Sharma, secretary at the Numismatic Society of Calcutta, says that the number of collectors is growing, especially for commemorative coins, because they can be easily deciphered.

He explains that he collects coins from the Northeast, which demands an understanding of local scripts and languages to be able to appreciate its value. “Those who collect ancient coins have to understand scripts such as Brahmi and Kharosthi. That is tough for new collectors, so they opt for modern or post-British India coins. A majority are now interested in British India and Republic India coins,” he says, adding that the objective of the commemorative coin is to spread understanding of history and culture.

The Numismatic Society of Calcutta, which has 500 life members, conducts workshops at educational institutes and holds an annual exhibition in Kolkata to spread awareness.

Sharma also observes that nowadays coins of odd denominations such as Rs 125 and Rs 150 are favoured by collectors, with the highest denomination being Rs 1,000.

Sharma points out that the mints issue two types of commemorative coins — proof coins and uncirculated coins — mainly for numismatists and not the general population. The difference is in the way they are minted, with proof coins being more defined and shinier as well as rarer than uncirculated coins.

Commemorative coins are composed of 50 per cent silver. The newly-minted Rs 75 coin weighs 35 gm and is made of 40 per cent copper, 5 per cent nickel and 5 per cent zinc, besides silver.

Coin collectors as well as the lay public like to possess odd denominations, says Sharma, who estimates that the Rs 75 coin could cost Rs 3,000 or more. Its price has not been revealed yet.

According to Sharma, the government used to issue two to three sets of commemorative coins annually, but in the last five years, the figure has gone up to 10-20 a year.

Farokh Todywalla, founder of Mumbai-based a numismatic auction house Todywalla Auctions, points out that a majority of collectors are in search of silver and gold coins that have greater intrinsic or antiquated values. The mint sets also find some takers, he adds.

“It all depends on the quantity the mint has struck. They generally strike it at a particular set of 2,000 or 5,000 coins,” Todywalla says.

If a coin costs Rs 100 a gm, it’s good value because there is also a lot of money involved in the packaging, he says. At Todywalla Auctions, modern coins also go under the hammer, albeit only a fraction. “Approximately 8 per cent of our total sales are of mint sets, and we sell about 1,000 sets of commemorative coins per year,” says Todywalla.

In Todywalla’s latest auction that closed on Sunday, 194 lots of commemorative coins were up for grabs. Of these, 136 found buyers. “Many of these coins, which may not have been well-publicised and because their value gets appreciated over time, find collectors,” says Todywalla.