Latest Indian

Aidan

I am In Chicago and believe me I am having trouble picking up good coins as well. My primary collection is US coins and Indian coins are my second hobby. The us mint keeps coming out with so many expensive products that it leaves my Indian coin budget in tatters. I should be going to India in the next year or so and I am glad you like my coins I was beginning to feel that all i pick up is junk I would highly recommend that you buy the mohur if you like gold indian coins its a sight for sore eyes you can buy it on ebay from time to time.

 

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Aidan, that may be because, there is an increased demand for these coins here in India, especially the 1/2 Rupee, 1/4 Rupee and 2 Annas coins. Lots of collectors have now started to buy these coins from overseas.. The rarest British Indian copper coin here in India is a half anna coin of 'Victoria Empress' issued in 1877. The Victoria Queen coins are easier to get. The lower denomination silver coins have become quite a rarity here and so better collect these coins first if you can. The Rupee coins are still very easier to get. They are readily available if you can pay for them. As a matter of fact, a good quality William 1/2 Rupee can fetch around 120$ here. Gold coins are very difficult to get from here also..

 

From what I understand the indian coin market is full of bogus sellers is that true?

 

Ian it is Incused and just under the .66 by 0.03g the weight I put in the earlier post is the range shown for it on the coins of India web site (I use the site for reff) Spock I have to say they are both lovely but if given the choice I would have to go for the 1/2R as I dont have that one LOL To date I have not even seen a Gold Indian (of the British era) for sale I do have a couple of Fanams though

De Orc :thumb:

 

The US coin buying market is strong and where there is strong demand for a particular coin type you will see big bucks chasing after a coin that has fewer `hits' than the next best. As such there's lots of collectors chasing after too few coins....even though they were minted in the millions.

When it comes to Indian Rupees, while things may very well change at some point in the future, there are far too few collectors doing any chasing and as a result there are many thousands of these coins still to be had in higher grades. Collectors outwith the US generally see coins slabbed by US grading companies as a positive disadvantage. Slabbers ( from the examples i've seen) are pretty poor and inconsistent when it comes to grading non US coins. Expensive too, as an MS65 coin will still only get the market value for an `Uncirculated', whatever that may be at the time. Unless of course slabbing catches on elsewhere in the world (and I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for that to happen any time soon) I wouldn't bother slabbing a common date rupee no matter the MS grade. Some of the rarer dates might make it an economic proposition at some stage, especially with the rising number of collectors in India looking to repatriate their own coinage.

 

That has encouraged me to look at my Indain coin collection again.....

Here's an 1877 half anna (B/II)



Aidan.....here's an example I have of an 8 annas coin.



I'm pretty sure that i've got a few Wm IV pieces too (rupees and 1/4 rupees, but no half rupees).

 

I checked my collection of Indian pre-decimal coins.I have a 1919 4 Annas.Eventually,I will get an 8 Annas.

Aidan.

 

That depends.. I belong to the extreme south of India and most of the dealers here are okay for me. But, in cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Calcutta, there are a lot of bogus dealers and one should be very careful about the street vendors. If at all you buy coins from them, go for only the cheap coins. If you intend to buy other coins from here in India, the best thing I would suggest you will be to consult the local coin club. There should be some collectors who can help directing you to honest dealers...

 

spiral i dont think i will get a chance to consult with them if i am visiting there but itis a good idea and the chicago coin club wont be much of a help

 

I am sure that Biju can put you in touch with a few very reputable dealers in places like Bombay & Calcutta,who I am sure will sell you coins on favourable terms that will suit both you & the dealer.

Aidan.

 

Thanks for the advice Aidan

 

You are all welcome.. :hug: and PM me if you are in look out for a particular coin or coins... perhaps I may be able to help..

 

Well ... its seems things are changing already.. a couple of years before, the government made it almost compulsory for the students here to collect something as a hobby. They are given grades after analysing the collection.. This has resulted in a marked increase in the number of collectors here.. And as a result, I'm finding it quite difficult to find the commemorative coins in circulation which were quite easy about a couple of years before. Also, prices of some of the colonial coins which were cheaper earlier have gone up now...

 

Biju,have you found any of the 1/4,1/2,& 1 Rupee coins of the 1946 & 1947 issues in change? I have got a 1/4 Rupee (4 Annas),& a 1/2 Rupee (8 Annas),but no 1 Rupee of this coinage yet.

I know that you can find these 3 values from the 1950-56 coinage in change from time to time.I am also missing the 1 Rupee from that coinage as well.I have got both types of the 1954 1/4 Rupee - the clue is in the sizes of the Asoka capital on the obverse.

Aidan.

 

Aidan, you wont find these coins in circulation now.. But these are not costly... You can get the 1 Rupee coin in excellent condition for not more than 3$.

 

Biju,is that for the 1946 & 1947 issues,or for the 1950 issue,or both? The 1962 1 Rupee (issued when 1 Rupee = 100 Naye Paise (1957-63)) is a coin I have never been able to find.I do have the 1964 Jawaharlal Nehru memorial 1 Rupee inscribed in English & both the 50 Paise in both English & Hindi.There's a lot of errors in the Hindi inscribed 50 Paise coins.

Aidan.

 

The price will be approximately like this... 1946/47 = 3$, 1950 = 2$, 1954 = 3$, 1962 = 2$. The 1970 coin is a bit costlier.. around 15$.

 

The 1962 one rupee is the rarest one rupee coin since independence very ew were minted that year due to the war with china about 15 years ago they used to cost about $2 dont know the price now.

 

The statement above is true even if you remove the word "Indian" from this.

Regards
Ballabh Garg

 

I have dealt with many dealers in these cities and have known them for years. Many of them are very professional and willing to help collectors. Now, you may have already experienced this as a coin collector, one needs to build a relationship with a dealer. There are dealers from whom I can buy coins with my closed eyes.

Regarding dealing with street vendors, I can only say that be careful. If you know the series you collect very well, you can find some nice coins from these street vendors. But if you don't know much on a particular coin being offered, I would suggest leaving it. (I wish I can give a similar advice on coins being sold here on Shopping network channels!)

Regards
Ballabh Garg