COIN COLLECTION OF A SCRAP DEALER
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| Anil.M.D of Paravur, Ernakulam |
Anil.M.D of Paravur is not the quintessential numismatist who devotes considerable time to the collection of coins. Not that he wouldn’t like to. It is that he has to spend a major portion of his time traveling all over Kerala, collecting scrap utensils and silver artifacts for a living.
Anil, a school dropout, met with his passion when one day a cute little coin landed in his hands during scrap collection. He pursued his interest with diligence. He even used to keep aside a share of his weekly profit of Rs.150 for the newfound hobby.
A few persons were willing to give him old coins but others were demanding money. Slowly his collection grew.
Anil would hold impromptu exhibition before any interested person by unpacking several crudely wrapped paper packets.
Among hundreds of coins he has managed to collect so far are 2 Sangram medals – awarded to National Heroes during Silver Jubilee of Independence, which were sold to Anil by some desperate freedom fighter.
The oldest coin in his collection is ‘Kalivanam’. Another 800-year-old coin has Sri Rama Pattabhishekam on it. His vast collection includes Indian and foreign coins.
Anil is not willing to part with the coins even for a price. “For the rich, exchanging, buying and selling of coins may be a fashion but for a pauper like me, the value of these metal pieces is more than any amount of money,” he says.
Courtesy: Manoj K.Das, The New Indian Express
Contributed by: Administrator
