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This blog was written for tezbid.com by Dhritiman Chakrabarti, a Bangalore based collector of Punch Marked coinage.    Magadh Karshapanas are ancient silver punch-marked coins that originate from the Magadha region in present-day Bihar, India, dating back to approximately the 6th–4th century BCE. These coins have been found in various hoards throughout the Indian subcontinent (including present day Pakistan and Afghanistan). The classification systems built for these coins was painstakingly developed over study of thousands of such coins and many years by the individuals Terry Hardaker and Parmeshwari Lal Gupta (G&H) and presented via two editions of their iconic book...

Silver prices have crossed another record – internationally, the price of silver is $51.5/oz, which roughly translates to Rs 152.5/gram on the Multi-Commodity Exchange. Over the past year, silver is up about 60% in USD terms (vs 51% for gold), and about 69% in INR - versus nifty that has been flat. However, these are paper prices – the price of physical commodity is higher. The price of silver ETFs listed on the NSE (Silverbees, Kotak) is Rs 165/gram. A check with physical dealers in Mumbai and Delhi indicates silver is selling at Rs 185/gram today. Sellers of hallmarked bars...

Bullion prices are on fire. Gold and silver are up almost 50% in rupee terms over the past year – Nifty has fallen 5% over the same period. This isn’t a coincidence – bullion does well in times of uncertainty, and past year has seen all manner of it. Gold and silver are an excellent long-term store of value – not across years, but across decades and centuries. As a collector of antique coins, this aspect is impossible to miss. For instance, a silver rupee from the 1800s was valuable then, and continues to retain its value.  However, bullion works...

Israel's early banknotes reflect the circumstances in which the country came into being.