Bye Bye Chavanni
This June sounded the death knell for coins of lower denominations i.e., coins below 50 paisa now cease to be legal tender. With the close of the deadline on J une 30th 2011, the last day to exchange coins of value 25 paisa and below with banks or the R eserve B ank of I ndia (RBI) , coins of lower denominations are now part of history of I ndian C oinage. From now on such coins would be seen either in museums or sold as artifacts to coin collectors and numismatists (one who studies coins or medals). It is believed the first recorded use of coins (derived from L atin “cuneus”) was in C hina and G reece in around 700 BC and in the sixth century BC in I ndia . Almost all the rulers of various I ndian S tates issued their own unique coins of different shapes, sizes, weights and denominations, in gold, silver, brass and other metals to facilitate trade. Early coins were cast and die-struck manually on one side with symbols of animals, plants, and humans. Therefore the coins of...