Image of a currency note of British India. Telegraph picture

Balangir, April 19: The largest currency note of all time. An Indian currency note worth Rs 2.50. Another for 1 paisa. Do they exist, you ask. For an answer and a glimpse simply pay a visit to Arabinda Agrawal (40) of Patnagarh in Balangir district. Agrawal has turned his house into a mini museum of coins and currency notes.

How did it all happen? Agrawal told The Telegraph that he used to collect stamps in his childhood when one day he came across a European currency note. “It all began when I came across a European who gave me a currency note from his country. This inspired me to collect currency notes from other countries,” Agrawal said.

He attributes his hobby of collecting coins and currency notes to his mother who he says encouraged him a lot. After 25 years, Agrawal now has currency notes and coins from more than 100 countries. They range from the medieval period to the 21st century.

Agrawal also has the rare distinction of possessing the largest currency notes of all time. It is a 100 rouble note from Russia that is 25.5cm long and 12cm wide. It was in circulation in Russia during the reign of Tsar Nicholas-II in 1910.

Agrawal has also a Rs 2 and eight annas or Rs 2.50 note that was in circulation during the reign of King George V in British India between 1914 and 1918. The late Rajraj Singhdeo, former king of Patna state and an ex-MP of Balangir, had handed it over to him.

Agrawal’s collection now boasts of coins and currency notes from some 129 countries and 24 erstwhile princely states of British India. His collection includes punchmark coins and those from the period of rulers such as Akbar, Allauddin Khilji, Gayasuddin and others. He also has an ample collection of coins from the erstwhile states of Mewar, Jaipur, Kachh, Junagarh, Bhagalpur, Janpur, Hyderabad, Travancore, Gwalior, Jodhpur, Delhi, Baroda, Murshidabad, Ujjain, Elichhpur, Indore, Gadhaya and many more.

His recent collection includes a 10 dinar currency note of Iraq that bears the image of Saddam Hussain who has been in world news all through the last decade. Agrawal said that apart from deriving pleasure, the currency notes and coins are a rich source of knowledge. “Collecting these coins and currency notes not only gives me pleasure, they are also a rich source of knowledge. They tell us of our history and also the history of the world,” he said.