Media-reports indicate about Union Finance Ministry having issued some notification for silver-alloy coins in new denomination of rupees-100 apart from new-designed coins in denominations of rupees 5 and 10 to commemorate birth-anniversaries of Bharat Ratna awardees M.S. Subbulakshmi and M.G. Ramchandran. But silver-alloy commemorative-coins in denominations of rupees 100 or above are not uncommon. But such coins cannot be issued on face-value because their metal-value being multi-times higher than the face-value. Best is to have face-value of silver-alloy coins more than double the metal-value which can be rupees 500 or 1000 with 50-per cent silver as metal-content, so that these coins may be normally-circulated coins on face-value like was in British era.
Cumbersome practice of selling higher-priced coin-sets through advance-booking much after issue of coins should be simplified by having just one category of Proof-Coin-Set in all denominations abolishing the other category of Uncirculated-Set, to be sold at convenient sale-points like bank-counters (private and public-sector) and philatical centres right from date of issue of coins for affording coin-collectors by giving banks sale-commission. Such steps will not only make general public part of commemorating an occasion through issue of coins, but will give net revenue-earning to government because such high-priced coins and their sets never come in actual circulation.
Subhash Chandra Agrawal
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
