A note-worthy hobby

There are occasions when a couple of the currency notes could save Rajesh P many hours of number crunching. But his collection of rupee notes with fancy numbers is too prized to be allowed to fall prey to such temptations. Rajesh, a clerical staff at the main branch of State Bank of Travancore at Statue, spends a fair share of his earnings to secure notes with fancy serial numbers, although he never purchases them from traders.

Over a period of 12 years, Rajesh has isolated and stacked away in a file, currency notes that sport unusual serial numbers he comes across at the bank, replacing them with regular ones of equivalent value from his own pocket. The result is an array of notes, not only peculiar in their own right, but which form part of unusual series like the set of six Rs 1,000 notes starting from the serial number 000003 to 333333.

“I was impressed by the collection of a senior bank officer and just started on it as a hobby. Later, it became a habit and I was always on the lookout for special notes,” says Rajesh. “But I have never found it interesting to buy notes from traders. It is more fascinating to chance upon them out of the blue,” he smiles.

The rarer among the rare ones include a ` 100  note with a seven digit serial number of 1000000. “The seven digit note is always the last in a series and the rest will only have six digits. This is even more special since I have other notes with fancy numbers from the same series,” he says. There are also notes that sport interesting permutations of the 1234567 series and those that begin with the number 000001 and end with 111111.

 Rajesh’s collector’s items also include the notes with printing faults. A Rs  1,000 note broke up into three pieces and sporting three serial numbers on different parts that make up the whole; a Rs 100 note that is printed only on one side, a ` 1,000 note with the face of Gandhiji printed on both sides and so on figure among the collection. Rajesh also has a collection of old coins, including the archaic ‘otta kaalana’ and ‘kasu’.

 The currency value of the notes in his collection would hover anywhere around Rs 70,000. Considering the price offered for such notes on trading sites on the internet, Rajesh has evidently amassed a collection worth a fortune. “I keep the collection in the locker since I know it is priceless. But I would not consider trading it just as I would not consider buying them.”

 When asked if his wife Dhanya has no objections to the pricey hobby, he grins. ‘’Well, it is dead money in one sense and there have been times when we had to be on a shoestring budget. But my wife and parents know how passionate I am about this. So they have probably decided to let me have my way.”