Hyderabad: Coin Museum, a numismatists' delight

Hyderabad: The Coin Museum at the Saifabad Mint Compound located at Lakdikapul was inaugurated on Tuesday. Wide range of currency notes, coin collections, old handheld tools used to make coins and other materials like counterweights are displayed in the museum.

The museum is being held to commemorate the 75th anniversary of India's Independence, which is being celebrated under the 'Azaadi ka Amrit Mohatsav'. The museum is open for the general public with free entry from June 8 to 13, from 9 am to 5 pm.

The Coin Museum was inaugurated by Chairman and Managing director of the Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Ltd, Tripti Patra Ghosh, in the presence of other government officials. The museum is being curated by Rehan Ahamed, curator of the Calcutta Mint museum.

In the museum, people get an opportunity to discover the history of currencies. From the era when Indians used grains as currency, to native copper, meteorites or native iron, gold, silver, and lead ingots, and pepper notes.

It houses a diverse collection of historical coins from various periods, including the Mughal, Asaf Jahi (Nizam), and British Indian period. The coin museum is one of the oldest antiquities associated with Hyderabad's Mint Compound. The stones on which coins were minted in Hyderabad with handheld tools are also displayed.

In 1903, the sixth Nizam of Hyderabad, Mir Mahboob Ali Khan constructed the Mint, which was modelled after European mints. Hyderabad was the only native State in India to be granted currency. The Saifabad Mint Compound is the epicenter of coin minting, with a distinct place in Indian history and a reputation for great calligraphic quality.