This 21-year-old possesses rare coins, some dating back to over 2,000 years

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, November 19

Twentyone-year-old Anmol Bharti has a rare collection of coins, which he claims date back to over 2,000 years. Belonging to the Magadha dynasty (shown in pic) some of these are as old as 2,600 years.

}We have been watching stories of dynasties, their rise and fall on historic dramas and reading about these in books. But holding these in hand give a unique pleasure. Interestingly, these coins are of irregular shapes, indicating towards rudimentary technology being used in manufacturing. —  Anmol Bharti, a numismatic

Offering a peep into the bygone era, the ancient coins are classified as punch-marked coins with symbols including elephant, sun, tortoise, fish and others inscribed over these.

“We have been watching stories of dynasties, their rise and fall on historic dramas and reading about these in texts. But holding these in hand give a unique pleasure,” he said, adding that interestingly these early coinages were of irregular shapes, indicating towards rudimentary technology being used in manufacturing. It took hundreds of years or more to develop the finesse and churn out regular coins.

Over 10 years ago, he had visited a relative, who possessed a little collection of old currency notes, which were no longer in use. Like any child of this age group, he insisted on possessing some of these. At that time, his demand was not fulfilled but it gradually developed into a keen desire to possess old coins and currency notes. He has spared an entire room in his house for the purpose, where he keeps his collection. Pursuing MBA from Guru Nanak Dev University, his objective is to set up a museum to house his collection.