Alexander the Great's gold coin from the time of his invasion of India in 327BC, the first punch-marked coins of India dating back to the 16 mahajanapadas of the sixth century BC, a diamond-studded coin commemorating Queen Elizabeth II's 70th wedding anniversary. The archaic and the current are both on view at Mudra Utsav, the largest show of coins and memorabilia in the state.
The exhibition cum sale, organised by the Numismatic Society of Calcutta, is on at Haldiram Banquet in Ballygunge till Sunday afternoon.
The exhibition is happening on the top floor where 13 exhibitors are displaying rare coins and banknotes.
To mark the centenary of the Re 1 currency note, Basant Rathi has displayed its changing designs since November 30, 1917 when it was first issued. The base of the first note was white and had scant design elements. Rathi has also exhibited British India gold coins, including the 1835 double mohur that was never issued as currency specimen.
Anup Mitra is exhibiting coins of ancient India while S.K. Bose is showing early coins of Bengal, including the first punchmarked one dating back by 2000 years.
Ujjwal Saha has added the Alexander coin at the head of his collection on Gupta and Kushan Empire coinage.
Secretary Ravi Shankar Sharma is looking to increase visitor awareness on forgeries with his exhibits. "Do not be taken in if someone tries to sell you East India Company coins of 1616 or 1818. Uniform coinage with coat of arms became prevalent only from 1835. Before that, each Presidency separately issued coins," he said.
Coins, stamps, catalogues, albums and even cigarette cards and film booklets are on sale on the floor below.
Alok Goyal has three eye-popping items that have already sold. Two of them are on the Elizabeth-Philip anniversary - one a coin with 70 diamonds, costing £13,500, and the other a sheetlet on silver foil of four Australia stamps with holographic print. There is also a digital replica of Da Vinci's Mona Lisa on a 30x50cm silver sheet. That Ivory Coast stamp, issued in 2017, costs Rs 4.2 lakh.
