Finally the Government of India mint has an online store! http://www.mumbaimint.org Not advertising or anything, but for the uninformed, the previous method to buy such coins for the last 40 years, is to send demand drafts to the mint within the 90 day window the coin was offered. If you missed that window, no coins! These coins were always minted to order, the reason why Indian Commem mintages are absurdly low.
Jaytant,thanks for the link to the Bombay Mint's website.I wonder if the Bombay Mint has dumped its very complicated & petty ordering policy,given the fact that Indian coins are now becoming popular with British Commonwealth numismatists. Aidan.
the bombay mint store has existed for years. it doesnt carry all the indian coins though. the remaining can be found in the calcutta mint. http://www.igmint.org/ Enjoy and remember all Indian coins are made to order
The store has existed, from which you could print off order forms and go through normal procedures. Now you can add items to a cart and pay by credit card atleast. (Wasn't there when I last visited the site on Dec 15th) They also say they will deliver in 8-10 weeks, much better than before. I placed an order for one set, payment approved, lets see when I get them...
that will be a miracle if they deliver in 8-10 weeks and a departure from their previous policy all indian mint coins are made to order. and the booking period itself is usually 8-10 weeks. I have used the site even before the date you mention. it came into being shortly after the consolidation of the mints. if you remember there was a period of brief outage when the old site was down thats when this one came up. they also have negative inventory so lets see what happens. best of luck and keep us posted when you get the coins and also the condition
I dont think they will deliver coins within 8 to 10 ten weeks. It will take atleast 6 months to reach you and generally 8 to 9 months, sometimes even more than 1 year. Also, there is something fishy going on. I've noted more often that these sets comes to the dealers one or two months before they are delivered to the collectors directly from the mint. The latest booking says that the coins will be despatched within 6 months of closure of booking. But, I've booked the 75 Years of Dandi March and it seems it will take atleast 2 to 3 months for the coins to come. The last date for booking this coin was 31-5-2006 and for these coins also, the expected delivery was within 6 months.
Yes that is true! I remember I missed the Dandi March coin back in May. Yet, I see that on the website that they have taken the submission deadline dates out for both commems available... Does that mean they are still minting coins? Or they accidently made a surplus and are selling them off like this? (Surplus could be a reason for faster shipping times?). I know the fastest way to get coins is by going to the mint in Colaba (Mumbai) directly... maybe dealers can get the coins 1 month earlier by going to the mint itself? Also, wierd that they use a "gmail" email address instead of an official sounding .co.in one.
You are right Jayant.. The dealers get the coins much before the collectors get them. The site does have three coin sets. But, for some strange reasons, they have not withdrawn the application from the website long after the last date has passed. You wont get those coins if you apply after the last date. So please dont send any money for those coins. And the mail ID of the mint is not working..
Got a mail from the mint mail ID after an enquiry about the negative stock numbers: Sir, We have just started the e-booking of the commemorative coin sets and there are few things which are still to be entered for eg. stock position of the coin sets. If you have booked your order you will definetly get your coin sets. The Dandi March coin sets will be sent to you as soon as we receive the payment. But for Mahatma Basaveshwara Coin Sets, the delivery period is approximately six months time. You will be receiving the coin sets as as the same is ready for despatch.
some things never change how about if they improved the designand the metal content these guys are a bunch of amatures and will spoil the legacy of the guptas, mughals, and the british. what a shame.
Well Folks! Surprise surprise to all skeptics (including me)! The Govt of India Mint did deliver on their promise. I ordered 2 sets, an Unc Dandi March Set and a Mahatma Basaveshwara Set on 10th Jan 2007 and recieved it (at an Indian address) on the 13th of March 2007. 9 weeks to be exact! The only annoying thing they did was they wrapped the 2 sets together in a rubber band so the outer cases are slightly distorted... But the coins are nice! So maybe the mint HAS changed! Ill try to popsts some pictures soon...
Hey... .Just thought that I will give an update on the Mumbai Mint online store. It continues to do well. It has around 4 sets of Proof and Uncirculated Commemorative Coins for sale right now. The link to the store has changed: http://203.76.168.43/India/store/ You can ofocurse find the link at : http://www.mumbaimint.org/ The coins right now on sale are: 1. Mahatma Basaveshwara - Proof Coin Set 2. Khadi and Village Commision Industires - Proof and UNC Set (Delivery has just started for these) 3. First War of Independence - Proof and UNC Set. (Delivery to start in Feb '09) 4. Ter Centenary of Gur Ta Guddi- Proof and UNC Set (It just got listed) I wanted to check, if any of you have the Mintage Numbers of the Commemorative coins of India? There are some sales figures that you get in int e online store, bu I am sure that they capture only the online sales, and not the over the counter sales.... Do let me know if anyone knows.... Thanks Shome 3.
