Bookmarks of History

A few days back I happened to visit YK uncle and had the immense pleasure of looking through his coin collection. Throughout the time I was there I couldn’t help but think-

History has given us many stories. Many of these stories are told through the relics from the past that have retained in them, not just the design and craftsmanship, but the value system the runs deep in the roots of prevailing times. Somehow, consciously or unconsciously they reflected the preferences of people then.

To understand history better most us would turn to books, internet, in case of an enthusiast a museum, it is like a walk in the park quietly showing us the many facets of the world and to know more about it, one need not look further than coins. Coins are the best kept bookmarks of history, a simple imprinted piece of metal that tell us the name of the ruler, the dynasty and the age of it prevalence. India has seen a lot of rulers until now, each with their own rulers, seals, and as such had a lot of variants in currency. Here are a few coins from uncle’s collection, the dimes under the rule of Nizam, the years that followed under the British crown to the coins of Free India, each of these coins has story to tell. From the day it was minted to its day as an artifact.

Writer-

Vyshnavi