Vellore :

A three-day expo on stamps and coins, organised by the Numismatic and Philately Association of Vellore Fort, has evoked good response from both the general public and school students. The expo was inaugurated at the Town hall on Friday.

“Over 20 coin and stamp collectors from across the district have displayed their collection, and around 25 stalls have been put up by vendors from various States for the sale of stamps, coins and other artefacts,” said CMA Tamilvanan, secretary of the association.

For his part, Tamilvanan has displayed a rare collection of coins released by the British Empire for the Madras Presidency during 1807 and 1808. He said the East India Company had released three different coins -kaasu, dabbu, and panam – for the Tamil, Telugu and Kannada population, which is also displayed.

Vijayakumar, who has been collecting stamps for over 18 years, has displayed over 150 stamps on Gandhi released from 1948 and a huge collection of stamps on cricket since 1973. “I spend 25 per cent of my income on collecting stamps,” he said.

Ranipet based school student S Ambai, the youngest member of the association, has displayed a good collection of commemorative coins of Republic India between 1964 and 2012. She evinced interest in this hobby from her elder sister Abhitha, who has been collecting coins and stamps for over 15 years. “I started to save money for this hobby and I learn a lot of history and knowledge from generations,’ she noted. Ashraf Ali, president of the association, who is an avid collector of artefacts, has displayed a rare sword dating back to 1917 used by British soldiers.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Tamil Nadu / by V. NarayanaMurthi / February 14th, 2015