2017-07-03 Mon

B. Ravi Shankar Reddy has been collecting coins and stamps for more than 30 years now but has never showcased them publically yet. He believes it would dampen the fun of collecting and demoralising collectors. He is unhappy about the fact that today coin collecting has become all about purchasing old coins from other collectors. Mr. Reddy worked hard to build his collection of coins and notes from different sources. Today he has to compete with someone who can buy coins from anywhere he or she wants.

He says that commemorative coins that are issued to celebrate a historical event or personality help us in understanding various aspects of Indian history. He has a collection of Rs 20, Rs 60, Rs 75, Rs 100, Rs 125, Rs 150 and Rs 1000 Indian coins from 1950 till date. He has a collection of banknotes from 122 countries. He is a member with Mumbai, Kolkata, and Hyderabad mints. Mints do not generally make announcements about latest commemorative coins, which is why he has to keep checking online. It could take anything from six months to two years to own a special commemorative coin after it is released. One commemorative coin each is sent to every Governor of India free of cost.