Malik Tahir Sulemen shows books in which rare coins and currency notes have been preserved. — Photos by the writer
A resident of Dhabian, Malik Tahir Suleman has been collecting currency notes and coins issued since 1947 and celebrated Independence Day by exhibiting his collection at his home and inviting the public for a viewing.
School going children, art enthusiasts, tourists, amateur and professional philatelists or stamp collectors and numismatists, who are coin and banknote collectors, took him up on his offer and went to see one of the largest private collections of coins and notes, including those issued by King George VI.
Also included in the collection are Rs500 notes issued in the year 1955 and discontinued in 1965 as it was believed that such a high value note was becoming a tool for corruption and money laundering as well as special currency notes issued in 1997 in connection with the 50th Independence Day celebrations.
Mr Suleman said he started collecting coins and notes when he was 10.
“Collecting these keeps me informed about history, inflation, the government and political regimes, economies and religion. You learn about how civilisations began, expanded into empires and declined,” he said.
Coins are like “history in your hands” he said, adding that they can a lot about the times they were issued in.
“For example, arrows on a coin mean they were issued in war times while olive branches meant peace,” he explained, adding that every coin stamp has a fascinating story behind it and that one can learn about wildlife, sport, culture, traditions and the famous people of the time they were issued in.
“It feels good to have a banknote in my hand as proof of the country’s history and they provide as much information as reading about it in history books or movies,” he said.
From the 15th century onwards, he said, coin collecting became a hobby of kings and nobles who would employ agents to search for rare and beautiful coins across Europe and Asia.
Numismatic research was encouraged by aristocratic families which led to trade in coins, fuelled by excavations of ancient sites.
Talking about the history of currency in Pakistan, he said that when the country was first created, Pakistan would use Indian coins and currency which were stamped with ‘Government of Pakistan’. These notes have the image of King George VI printed on the front and were printed by the Reserve Bank of India.
After its creation, he said, Pakistan also did not have a central bank to print paper currency or coins.
Therefore, the governor general of undivided India issued the Pakistan (Monetary System and Reserve bank) Order 1947 on August 13, 1947, a day before partition. Under the order, the Reserve Bank of India was to act as the common currency authority for India and Pakistan till September 30, 1948 so that the new country had time to issue its own currency.