Blogs

Is the Indian stock market over-valued? The answer may vary, depending on who you ask, and whether they are invested or holding cash. However, it is worth asking if it is the stock market going up, or is it money that is going down.Consider gold – historically used as a currency, it is now an ‘asset-class’ – an asset class that has been on fire for the past year. However, gold is not an investment; it is merely a store of value – something self-evident to anyone from 500 BC to 1945 AD. When we say ‘gold prices are up’,...

Over the past few months, I have noticed an increasing interest in silver (and gold) coins – from collectors, and investors who dabble in collectibles. The reason is obvious – silver price is up by almost 35% over the past year. Moreover, some investor-collectors I know like to park some of their equity market gains in antique-bullion coins. There are some commonalities between the equity market and collectibles – sound research is one of them. For instance, consider three seemingly identical coins in the image above – silver rupees from different years 1938, 1943 and 1944. To a layperson, they...

One of the first banknotes I picked up as a collector was the 100 trillion dollar banknote of Zimbabwe – practically worthless when it was printed; this note is now valuable as a collectible. This note is the best known instance of hyperinflation in the twenty-first century. While an outlier, the 100 trillion note highlights a major risk of fiat money – loss of value – which is far more common than we think. This note also helped me appreciate the traditional Indian love for gold – often criticized by economists and finance professionals. I also have in my collection...

“The more you pay for it, the less inclined you are to doubt its authenticity”The quote from Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy accurately captures the sentiment of a collector. In a recent high-profile case of art fraud, an unsuspecting buyer in Mumbai was sold nearly a dozen fake paintings. Fakes are a problem across all categories of collectibles, and numismatics is not an exception. As a long-time collector of old coins and banknotes, I have dealt with my fair share. Occasionally, other collectors and sometimes investors also seek my advice on new acquisitions.If you are new to something, don’t go for...

As we start a new year, money – making/saving/investing more of it is a resolution for many of us. However, as a collector, I also view money or coins as a marker of history. You can closely track the history of a country or a region based on its coinage. For instance, 1947 saw one big change for India – also reflected in Indian coinage (see the above image). Going back into the past, we can see similar changes when one dynasty/empire was replaced by another. For instance, the rise, dominance and decline of Guptas, Mughals, Marathas and the British...