Mysuru: For 60 years, Abdul Rasheed has painstakingly put together an assemblage of mostly circular metals and alloys, which on closer inspection, communicate the history of the state, and even India – coins, some of them dating back to one-and-a-half millennium, may no longer glitter the way they might have when they passed from one hand to another as currency in their day, but they shine with the lustre of the past that is readily apparent to the history enthusiast. On Thursday, the city’s preeminent numismatist showcased his enormous collection of coins at Maharaja’s College.As one went from one sealed glass container to another, it was as if one was being treated to a metallurgical rendition of Karnataka’s history. Coins of bronze, silver, gold, copper and other metals and alloys, emblazoned with the seals of various dynasties that held sway over the state – Chalukyas Hoysalas , Vijayanagara empire, Bahamanis, Wadiyars, etc – were on display at the college. Besides coins that help one chronologise India’s past, Rasheed also showcased coins of various countries including Poland, Denmark, Ireland, Holland, et al.Rasheed said that he had imbibed the habit of coin collection from his forefathers. “I started gathering them when I was in secondary school. I would save all my pocket money, and spend them on coins. That is how I was able to collect as many coins from Great Britain. Also, I started visiting all Princely States in India in search of coins, and my quest took to foreign shores. I have nearly 7,000 coins many of them dating back to sixth century BCE. I have many coins that are unidentified at home,” said Rasheed.Maharaja’s College principal CP Sunita said that the exhibition was arranged to help give students a visual glimpse of ancient history. “But, besides history students, commerce and science stream students must also learn about history,” Sunita said.The department of ancient history and archaeology, University of Mysore had displayed several books on the history of India on the occasion.

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