Saha is dreaming of developing a modest museum in association with the state government where he can display his collection and ensure that the rare coins are preserved properly for the future
Hundreds of coins dating back to the Sultanate era and of the current age have helped librarian Subir Saha spend his days indoors during the Covid-19 pandemic and the lockdown.
Saha, a known numismatist who stays at Green Park here, is now dreaming of developing a modest museum in association with the state government where he can display his stock of coins and ensure that the rare coins are preserved properly for the future.
A visit to his residence, and one would be delighted to see the “Gani” coin used during the regime of Mohammed Bin Tughlaq, “Tanka” of Kutubuddin Aibaq to “Dam” of Akbar, Jahangir and Aurangzeb.
The repertoire also contains “Falus”, a coin used during regimes of emperors Humayun and Shah Jahan, “Paisa” used during the rule of Sher Shah Suri and also coins used during the eras of rulers like Alauddin Khilji and Gias Uddin Balban.
A postgraduate in economics and a postgraduate diploma holder in business management, Saha, who is posted as a librarian at a state-run library in Old Malda, also takes the pride of displaying coins used during the rules of King George V and George VI and King
“I also have a gold-plated replica of ‘Mohor’ that was used in transactions during the regime of Queen Victoria. I have coins made of silver, copper, nickel, blending of aluminium and magnesium and stainless steel,” said the numismatist, who is in his early fifties.
His collection of coins which have been minted in India post-independence is no less surprising.
He has the coin of 1,000 rupees denomination that was introduced to celebrate the 1,000th anniversary of a temple in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, and also the coins of Rs 500, Rs 200, Rs 150, Rs 125, Rs 60, Rs 25 and Rs 20, introduced as souvenirs to celebrate occasions like Indo-African summit, sesquicentennial anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore and platinum jubilee of the Reserve Bank of India.
“During the recent lockdown, it is these coins with which I had spent most of my time. These coins keep me busy as I also make different models with the coins which have turned outdated in our country. I had developed the habit of collecting coins since my university days and I feel equally enthusiastic even now to collect rare coins,” said Saha, who has created a collection of over 2,000 coins during the past 30 years.
At his home, there are at least 50 such models made of coins, which include a coin plant, decorative pieces and figures.
The librarian-cum-numismatist also has coins of over 20 countries with him, including coins of the US, France, UK, Canada, Japan and Thailand.
“My aspiration is to make a permanent display of these coins so that more and more people can see the collections. Each coin carries a piece of history with it. Once the situation normalises, I will approach the administration and the state government with a proposal of a museum that can be set up jointly in Malda,” he said.
His collection has also made some local youths propose an exhibition in the town.
“However, we can think of it only after this pandemic is over,” said Saha.
Interestingly, the numismatist is a phillumenist as well and has a collection of thousands of matchboxes.
“This is yet another collection that I have. In the past few months, we often heard that people feel bored or are depressed as they have to spend hours and days at home. I believe they can utilise their time and develop some hobby or other to remain mentally fit,” he said.
source: http://www.telegraphindia.com / The Telegraph, online edition / Home> West Bengal / by Soumya De Sarkar / Malda – September 11th, 2020