Collect Antique Coins of India to Become Financially Independent

There are some friends who keep asking me why I like collecting antique coins of India. When I tell them that I have been making a lot of money by investing in the rare coins in India, they do not even believe me. In today’s times, it takes a lot of courage to do something unconventional. I was doing a

nine-to-five job in an IT company, but was always passionate about collecting antique Indian coins. I also dreamt of becoming more independent financially some day. After working in the corporate sector for almost 4 years, I realized that a secured job is not my cup of tea. I analyzed my situation completely and also toyed with several start up ideas. Finally, it occurred to me that I can combine my passion for collecting rare Indian coins with my desire for complete financial independence. I decided to quit my job and invest some part of my savings for buying rare coins of British India.

Initially, I met with a lot of resistance from my family members and friends. They literally thought that I would end up becoming completely broke. But, I stood with my dream and kept on researching

about colonial coins and other rare coins in India. After I had built a considerably big collection of Interesting coins, I started looking for auction events and probable buyers. In my free time, I used to research about antique Indian coins so that I was aware about their market value. Every time I went to a dealer, I knew how much to quote because of my backing of sound knowledge. There have been instances when coin dealers have tried to fool me. However, I never fell in their trap because I knew the worth of my antique Indian coin collection.

When I look back today, I think I took the right decision at the right time. Some of my friends and family members who laughed at me back then, have a lot of respect for me today. So if you are really passionate about collecting rare coins in India, then you can always consider making it your profession.


    

How to Identify Categories of Old Indian Coins

As a collector, I think one must work towards building a quality collection of old Indian coins. Randomly adding coins to your collection will only make it bigger in size. Apart from that, anybody and everybody can build such a collection of Indian old coins. If you really want to earn respect in the field of numismatics or coin collection, you should constantly be seeking more interesting coins. For that, you will definitely have to invest some time in researching about these historical coins of India.

In order to get a hang of things, you can start by segregating ancient Indian coins based on their time period or era. For example, coins issued by various ancient janapadas can form one category. These beautiful ancient coins of India date back to 6th century as well. The most famous ones are those coins which were issued under Magadha-Mauryan Janapada. There were many other janapadas such as Gandhara, Kuntala, Ayodhya etc. If you truly love your hobby then you will find unique ways of building a collection of these Janapada coins.

Next, you could move on to old coins of India that were issued by ancient invaders. The most famous coins from this category in the world of numismatics are the ones issued by Kushans, Indo-Greeks
and Indo-Scythians. You could also categorize your coins based on different kingdoms and dynasties like the Gupta, Satavahanas, etc. Ancient Indian coins from the southern part of the subcontinent include the ones issued by Banwasis, Cholas, Pandyas etc.

When you are collecting coins based on category, it is but obvious that you would also have to undertake that much more research. Your collection will also look much better and diverse in that

case. When you add a coin that belongs to a new dynasty, you would naturally start upgrading your knowledge about that particular dynasty. This is how your knowledge also keeps growing along with your collection. There is no fun in building a collection of random coins. It is only when you take some effort that you will truly understand the joy of collecting rare historical coins. So identify your liking, create your own categories and start building a unique collection.

How Stamp Collecting Supplies Can be Your Saving Grace!

Times change and with that change trends as well. Stamp collection was a very popular hobby at one point in time when letters were the only means of communication. But with the advent of technology, connecting with someone has become just a matter of few clicks. That’s the reason why there is a sharp decline in the number of people who engage themselves in this exciting pastime. Youngsters should be encouraged to revive this dying hobby and that I guess is the need of the hour. There is so much to learn when you study about postage stamps. From culture, traditions, history to inventions, people and places, every stamp depicts something which represents the true essence of a country. Along with the importance of the hobby, kids should also be told about the importance of keeping their collection of stamps safe from any kind or dust or moisture. And for that, you would have to invest in quality Philatelic supplies.

Image Courtesy: www.mintageworld.com

Stamp collecting accessories come in different shapes and sizes like stamp collection albums, stamp stockbooks, stamp binders, stamp stockpages etc. Based on what your requirements are, you will have to pick the right ones. This will ensure that your priceless collection of stamps stays fresh with respect to their colours. Moreover, stamps that are stored in quality stamp collecting supplies would not get folded or torn. If your stamps have even the slightest of folds, they will not be looked at or even considered by potential buyers. If you start collecting stamps now, there could be a time when you will acquire a really rare stamp. You might want to sell them off after a few years. If you are negligent and are not disciplined, then there are chances that you might lose this precious stamp. But if you have taken the effort and purchased quality stamp collection albums, then you can be rest assured that your stamp will remain the same even after many years.

What I always advice young philatelist is that collecting stamps should be considered as a long term investment. You never know what you will add to your kitty or who is going to come looking for you just to buy a special stamp that very few own. When there are so many ifs and possibilities, the only thing you can be responsible about is storing your valuable stamps in good quality stamp collecting accessories!

How to Classify Antique Indian Coins like Colonial Coins

Antique coins of India have always been the favorites among numismatists and coin collectors all over the world. From ancient coins to rare coins of British India, each one of them has a lot of historical value and significance. Today, let us take a brief look at the colonial coins that were issued when the Indian subcontinent was under the reign of different foreign powers. Rare coins in India that were struck during this time period have been sold at auction houses for handsome amounts. If we have to broadly classify these antique Indian coins, then we can categorize them as follows: Dutch East India Company, Danish East India Company, French East India Company, British Colony, Madras Presidency coins, Bengal Presidency coins, Bombay Presidency coins, British India, Indo-Portuguese, Kingdom of Portugal, Republic of Portugal and Ceylon. Surprised to know about so many categories? Many collectors have a misconception that colonial coins are the coins that are issued only under British India, which is incorrect.

 With so many options available, you can look towards enhancing your collection of antique Indian coins by making it more diverse and unique. Rare coins of British India produced during the East India Company days can be broadly classified as those that were issued under Queen Victoria (1838 to 1853) and the ones that were issued under William IV (1837 -1837). After that, India was divided into presidencies for administrative purposes. These three presidencies, namely Bombay, Bengal and Madras, started issuing their own coins. These were followed by British India coins that were issued under various rulers like Victoria Queen, Victoria Empress, Edward VII, George V and GEORGE VI.  Indi-Portuguese old coins of India were struck under the regime of various kings and emperors like, Alfonso VI, Joao, Pedro IV, Pedro III, etc.  There is so much to explore really.

Yes, it is very difficult to own the rarest coins of India as they have a high demand and are extremely expensive. However, you can definitely keep growing your collection by adding other coins that belong to various other rarely-known and unique categories.  Once you start reading about the above mentioned categories, you will definitely know what to look for!