Keep scrapped Indian notes, it could fetch you fortune

If you are an Indian expatriate scurrying home to exchange demonetised Rs500 and Rs1,000 notes before the deadline, Ramkumar, the Dubai-based numismatist, has something to say.
 Ramkumar, who has been collecting bank notes for last 15 years and has got a collection of 'special' notes, advises his compatriots to "hold onto their notes".
"Check the serial numbers of the currency notes. Special serial number, fancy and royal notes could fetch several times its face value in future," the 36-year-old from Chennai said.

In fact, Ramkumar said people should hold onto currency notes of any country. "Any bank notes with fancy number whether used or unused, have a higher market value than its face value. The collector will never make a loss.
"How much profit one can make on these notes, is purely depending on demand and supply. There is worldwide demand for fancy notes. For example, a fancy number note of the UAE may be required by a collector in Australia."
Ramkumar is fond of rare notes. "Each one of them has a beautiful history to say, and as an investment point of view, it gives very high returns in long term. I used to buy mostly from auctions around the world and sometimes rare items via private deals from fellow collectors or dealers."
How it all started
It all started as a hobby from school days for Ramkumar. He still has the first banknote exchanged with his Grade VI classmate.
"It transformed into a different level after I come to the UAE in 2004. I started earning and it's an expensive hobby depending on level of collection we target."
Lack of numismatic companies in the UAE made him form Numisbing company to cater to the needs of collectors and investors.

"Later many like-minded people joined me and we keep our personal collections in display and sale. There are few shops in the UAE which sells numismatic items along with other antiques. But Numisbing is the only exclusive place for numismatists."
Ramkumar collects notes based on their rarity. Ramkumar has a collection of royal number 000001 from 10 different countries. He has Rs1,000 demonetised in 1978 and 2016 with same serial number 666666, which according to him is 'the only known fancy number that survived'.
He also has the oldest surviving Indian banknote, dated September 1812. "It is one of the two notes known to exist. All these notes are on display at Numisbing showroom."
Asked about the value of such notes, he said: "There are a few items for which price cannot be determined, as they are either one or two that are known to exist and there is no previous sale history of similar items to determine the value. In short they are priceless."
Will he part away with his collection?
"No one is an ultimate owner of any coin or note but just custodians. So sooner or later it has to be passed on to another potential collector or investor. If a right price is offered I would part a few of them and reinvest in some other items which is in my want list," he said.
Ramkumar supports demonetisation move. "By demonetisation move, black money in the form of cash has been unearthed. I hope the government takes further action to grab the black money in other forms as well."
ashwani@khaleejtimes.com
Lucky, if you have solid numbers
Solid numbers are more valuable compared to royal numbers, said the Dubai-based numismatist Ramkumar.
The reason being, all the royal numbers can be obtained in one shot, if you can get hold of the first bundle of the series, which will contain 100 notes of serial 000001 to 000100.
"But getting solid numbers is very difficult, as it will be in the middle of 1 million notes printed. But among the royal numbers - 000001 always command high price compared to other single digit numbers. In discontinued series, it is purely depending on number of royal or solid numbers that survived."

• Abu Dhabi