2016-10-22 Sat

Middle-aged Nizar Mohammed A.S. from Vallakkadavu has been collecting coins from his childhood days and today he is the proud owner of rare Venad-Travancore coins. The earliest Venad coins or Vellichakram were issued before the reign of Marthanda Varma in the 15th and 16th centuries. It is not yet clear as to who issued these coins. They were in circulation till around 1880 and the last of the lot were issued under Ayilyam Tirunal Rama Varma.

Mr. Mohammed states that these are the second smallest coins in the world. He has Travancore coins issued by Gowri Parvathi Bai, Swathi Tirunal, and Uthram Tirunal in his collection as well. There are many varieties found, out of which the Ananthashayanam coins feature a reclining Lord Padmanabha. After this point in history, dump coins saw an end and machine coins were introduced.

Apart from East India Company coins, British Indian Coins issued under rulers like William IV, Victoria, Edward VII, and George V, he also has a 1799 British India commemorative coin issued to celebrate the victory over Tipu Sultan.

He has an interesting collection of several other Indian and foreign coins, postage stamps, covers and postcards as well.