My Grandma turns 81 this year and she gave me some of the coins that her mother had given to her. She had kept them for a long time and I think these were blessed coins ( used in festivals in India) because of a vermillion mark on them. SO, my grandmother, who is not a collector by any means just kept them safe for altogether other reasons.
The King George V coin weighs around 11.66 grams of pure silver. Although it's value is 1 rupee ( for comparison 1 dollar = 82 rupees), due to its historical significance and silver, it goes for around 2500 rupees.
Fun Fact: Indians refused to use this coin because it had a design of an elephant on the King's robes that resembled a pig which is considered unclean in Indian culture. Out of all the 9 Cr minted, most were withdrawn and only 7 Lakh remained which makes this pretty hard to find.
I am keeping this knowing that in a few more years its price will increase because I am bullish on silver. Also, how many coins would be left after the pig fiasco?
This is a relic of British occupied India from more than a century ago. Typically, Indians do not like silver as much as gold. Gold is seen as a sign of prosperity and given during auspicious occasions like marriage, birth of a child.
Silver is considered inferior and only given as supplementary gifts or tokens. For example silver utensils are given when a baby is born.
But with the rise of silver market, many people are reaching out to good ol' grandma and grandpa for these precious coins.
I also have these King Edward VII coins. Now, dear King Edward the VII had a very short 9 year reign which makes these coins a bit harder to find and hence more valuable.
Saw someone selling them for $128 on ebay. One of the key reasons they are more expensive outside India is because you cannot ship artifacts that are more than 100 years old outside of India without permission from the Archeological Survey of India.
Also worth mentioning that a number of duplicates are available in the market so for an average person it is difficult to differentiate as to what is the real thing. These duplicates are made of Silver as well but do not have the level of detailing that is present in the antique ones.
Now, onto my most precious coin, an Empress Victoria coin from 1901. Again pure silver but because it is from the turn of the century, it is quite valuable. A numismatist dealing in antique coins valued it at around $50. It is not bad considering that the actual value is 1/82 of a dollar.
I am now hunting for a Queen Victoria coin from the 19th century before 1876 when she was the queen and not the empress. Also, a coin from 1857 which is an important time in Indian history.
My favorite thing about this is that it a piece of my history too.
All images are my own.