The Reserve Bank of India has released an information brochure showcasing a few of the 138 rare antique coins donated from the collection of late M. R. Jambunathan by his daughter Ms Indira Anantharam Iyer.
Jambunathan was a vedic and upanishad scholar who published books in English and Tamil.
The collection includes coins encompassing various regions and time periods. The particularly rare coins include the ancient ones issued by the Cholas, Cheras and other Southern Kingdoms dating back to AD 250.
The collection also included a few coins of Tipu Sultan of Mysore, the Mysore Wodeyars and the Hyderabad Nizams.
Coins issued by the French and British East India Companies were also donated as part of the collection. The coins will be on display at the Reserve Bank of India Monetary Museum, Mumbai.
“The collection has added to the value of the Museum and will attract notice of both scholars as well as lay enthusiasts,” said the RBI Governor, Dr D. Subbarao.