Raj Kishore Mahanta and (right) his diverse collection of currency notes from different countries. Pictures by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, July 1: Raj Kishore Mahanta’s family considers his passion a waste of money and time. But the 19-year-old from Keonjhar spends most of his time searching websites to know if an antique coin is being auctioned.

Raj has an enviable collection of coins and currency notes from 150-odd countries.

At the wake of the new millennium, when 25 paise and 50 paise coins were becoming redundant, Raj started collecting them from friends and relatives. As his interest grew, he looked for coins that were stopped being issued.

He keeps asking his friends, who often fly to foreign countries, to bring him coins and notes from abroad. He saves from his pocket money to pay them.

Raj’s collection now has more than 230 different coins and 50 different currency notes from almost 150 counties that also include Aruba, Belize, Eritrea and Togo.

Raj, who has been living in Bhubaneswar for the past five years, gleefully shows notes that do not have the picture of Mahatma Gandhi, but the Ashoka Pillar.

His latest catch in an online auction is a 16th century coin with the face of Mughal king Akbar inscribed on it. Among the notes, a Rs 10 note that has the signature of C.D. Deshmukh (the first Indian to be appointed governor of Reserve Bank of India) is Raj’s most treasured entity. He had to shell out Rs 12,000 for the note.

“An auction can start from 50 rupees and can go up to a lakh. By now, I have shelled out at least Rs 5 lakh to procure all this,” said the business administration student at a private college. He, at present, has his eyes set on an error note where the digits on a 10-rupee note mistakenly did not get published.

He received little monetary support from his family, as they want him to invest on academics and not on what he considers his passion.

“I love numismatics and want to add more notes and coins to my collection. I want to create a name for myself in this field,” said the young numismatist.