Moneycontrol News May 26, 2023

Commemorative coins in India: A retrospective

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A commemorative coin is a coin issued to mark a special event or government programme, or to honour a famous personality

A special Rs 75 coin will be launched on May 28 to commemorate the inauguration of the new parliament building

This is not the first commemorative coin to be issued in India. More than 150 such coins have been launched over the years, starting in 1964…

When the first Indian commemorative coin was issued in remembrance of Jawaharlal Nehru's birth anniversary

Five years later, in honour of Mahatma Gandhi’s 100th birth anniversary, India issued its first Rs 10 silver commemorative coin in 1969

More recently, a Rs 150 commemorative coin was released on Mahatma Gandhi's 150th birth anniversary in 2019

Here’s a look at some other important commemorative coins that have been issued in India…

A commemorative coin of Rs 10 was issued in 1972 to celebrate 25 years of India’s independence

And three years later, a Rs 50 coin was released in honour of Women’s Year (1975) which featured the words “Equality Development Peace”

The year 1982 saw a special coin being issued with the logo of the IX Asian Games, which was adopted from Delhi's Jantar Mantar monument

Then, a 1-rupee commemorative coin was released in 1990 for the Birth Centenary of Dr BR Ambedkar

In 2015, PM Modi released two commemorative coins as part of the 125th birth anniversary year celebrations of Dr BR Ambedkar. The coins were of Rs 10 and Rs 125 denominations

50 years of India’s independence were marked with a commemorative coin in 1997

And 2003 saw the Railways mascot ‘Bholu the guard’ appear on a special Rs 100 coin to celebrate 150 years of Indian Railways

Commemorative coins of Rs 1000 denomination have been issued only twice in India

The latest was in 2015, in honour of Lord Jagannath's Nabakalebar festival