Maximum collection of uncirculated coins
The name of Sandeep Sanyal, a young software engineer from Korba, Chhattisgarh, has entered the India Book of Records for his passion for coins. Sandeep is fond of collecting unique coins since his school days, and today he has established a record. He has so far collected various types of coins in his house. Many rare coins are part of his personal collection.
Currently, he has a total of 66 unique uncirculated coins in his collection, some of which range from the Jallianwala Bagh massacre to the 150th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda, and from Jagannath temple to the coins associated with the first President of India. These include coins ranging in value from 5 rupees to 1000 rupees. All these coins have been issued by the Government of India on special occasions. Apart from coins, Sandeep also has a collection of old currency notes of the Government of India ranging from one rupee to 1000 rupees.
Sandeep had claimed as having the largest collection of uncirculated and commemorative coins. Accepting his application, IBR officials reached his residence to verify the claim. In the investigation, the claim was found to be correct, after which his record was declared.
Sandeep, a software engineer by profession, works for an IT company in Bengaluru, Karnataka. During the last two years, Sandeep mostly worked from home, which proved to be a blessing in disguise, as he got more time to pursue his hobby of coin collection. His love for coins started way back in 2004 when his grandfather presented him with a unique coin of Rs.5 denomination. He was studying in fifth grade at that time. After that, the interest in coins kept on increasing, and he started collecting coins of unique shapes and appearances. His wife Deepty Mohnani also helps in the collection of coins.
Sandeep says that he started visiting exhibitions to learn more about coins and attended several workshops as well. Additionally, he got guidance from senior collectors also. After gaining sufficient knowledge, he bought some necessary equipment including a microscope. He is associated with some auction houses like Marudhar Arts in Bengaluru and Todywalla Auctions in Mumbai. Coin auctions are held quarterly at these auction houses, in which he regularly participates. He intends to set up a coin museum of his own.
Uncirculated coins are issued by the government from time to time, and public announcements are done for advance booking. A limited number of coins are released according to the bookings. The commemorative coins are made of silver (50%) and a few other metals like copper, nickel, and zinc. A coin worth Rs 3000 to Rs 6000 can fetch you up to Rs 18,000 after some time. After 30 years such coins fall under the category of antique items. Sandeep himself has more than 300 unique coins of different types in his collection, which are arranged mint-wise and year-wise. There are more than 1000 single coins of 42 denominations in Sandeep’s collection.