The green 100-rupee note from the third regular series
“This story is very long but if you want to understand more, why don’t you come to our meeting tomorrow? You’ll be able to meet Kasbati Sahib too” says Sahamat as more clients begin to line up in front of his stall.
The next day, we meet again as scheduled, in the conference room of a hotel where the local chapter of the numismatics society is convening for a meeting. In one corner of the conference room is a large rectangular table; most seated at the table are senior members of the society. All present are men; most of them are elderly traders.
As more men trickle in, the group soon turns into a huddle. An attendance register is circulated to ensure a log of who came is maintained. Some 30 men are in attendance, including the tardy arrivals. But as the proceedings carry forward, it becomes more obvious that this is less of a meeting and more of an auction.
Seated in the centre of the table are the auctioneer — a rotund, middle-aged man — and the bookkeeper — an elderly, moustached man. Most artefacts being auctioned are handed over in an envelope to the auctioneer; most packets are weighty because most things are sold in bulk. Were they to be sold per piece, the auction rates wouldn’t be financially viable.
Some men bring vintage coins and currency to sell; others produce old letters and envelopes. Then there are stamp papers with colonial-era as well as post-Partition inscriptions.
The first item for auction has already piqued Sahamat’s interest: a pre-Partition medal that was bequeathed by the nawab of Bahawalpur. The auction starts at Rs100 but Sahamat has a couple of competitors. Bidding rises by 25 rupees in the initial rounds before the rivals begin aggressively outbidding each other. The medal is finally sold at Rs1, 300 to a very determined Sahamat.
The next item up for auction is an envelope dated March 1933, which had been posted from Iran to Karachi. Although the envelope is auctioned off at Rs150, it is the stamps on the envelope that are of real value to the eventual buyer, a stamps collector.
Although Sahamat stays mum for the next few bids too, a bag of coins makes him jump off his seat. He hadn’t bid on the last bag either — auctioned at Rs1, 100 — because it mostly had foreign coins. But this bag is different because it has a coin that Sahamat has had his eye on for a long time.
“This one has the first coin produced by Pakistan, a one-paisa coin that has a hole in the middle,” he informs me. Bidding starts at Rs100 but Sahamat manages to bag the lot at Rs250.
The auction continues till Maghrib prayers when tea is also served. Private dealings between association members ensue as do various barter agreements.
“The basic principle of pricing is the same: the older the note, the higher the value. The lower the supply, the higher the demand and the price point. But the value of old currency also depends on various other factors,” says Kasbati, a tall, slender man with a long, flowing white beard.
“Uncirculated notes of course are priced very high, followed by what we call ‘very fine quality’ notes and ‘fine quality’ notes. The problem with old currency is that not only do they get worn out with time (if not preserved well), but many times, you’ll find paan stains or handwriting across them. That reduces their market value.”
Kasbati, co-author of Banknotes and Coins of Pakistan, 1947-2015, donated his collection of currency notes to the SBP. At the time, his collection was worth Rs300, 000 but its value has tripled ever since. Those notes are now part of the collection exhibited at the SBP Museum.
“If you look at the one-rupee series, you’ll find various little differences in different eras. The first ones had the crescent facing in different directions, therefore their rates are different. In later sets, you’ll notice that the prefix is in different styles,” explains Kasbati. “Earlier currency did not have any date of issue, so you have to recognise the era of issuance through the signature of the finance secretary or SBP governor.”
Apart from the various regular currency series, Pakistan also issued special Hajj currency. “These were to ensure that no new notes would enter the local market, otherwise it would lead to greater inflation in the country,” explains the elderly numismatist. “Pilgrims would land in Saudi Arabia and exchange these notes for Saudi Riyals. Then that currency was sent back from Saudi Arabia and destroyed here in Pakistan.”
Although the history and evolution of Pakistani currency notes reflects the highs and lows of the country, currency collection as a hobby hasn’t gained much traction. Both Sahamat and Kasbati point to the absence of literature on the issue.
According to Kasbati, the first edition of his catalogue was not as well received since it was not written in the language of a layperson — an error that has been rectified in later editions.
With such low numbers in attendance — only three members out of 30 in the meeting are from a younger age group — and with women conspicuously absent, is it also that interest in collecting currency and coins is a dying passion?
“It is a matter of creating a culture where children and young adults can learn about history and tradition,” says Sahamat. “Teach the history of Pakistani currency and coins in schools and colleges; create libraries in universities, like the one that the State Bank has. Only then can we have a new generation taking pride in our heritage.”
The writer is a member of staff.
He tweets @ASYusuf
Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, September 25th, 2016