Saifabad Mint Museum continues legacy of carving coins in memoriam

Hyderabad: Almost two years after transforming into an exhibition facility from a magnificent mint, the Saifabad Mint Museum keeps on revitalising the minds of the people by showcasing the collection of coins engraved with a rich and ravishing Hyderabad history and the healthy economic evolutions it went through over the centuries.

Although sidetracked from its very purpose of minting legal tenders on a regular basis, the facility now continues the legacy of carving and releasing commemorative silver coins on various occasions to commemorate different personalities.

The sale of commemorative coins became a revenue source for the facility, which also performs as a one-stop museum of artefacts for the students of different schools that provides an exclusive insight into the historic background of the economic evolutions that took place during the Mughal, Satavahana, Raja Raja Chola, Qutub Shahi, and Asif Jahi rulers in Hyderabad Deccan.

City-based numismatists and antiquarians often visit the museum to buy commemorative coins released by the government on different occasions.

The facility also offers the antiquarians and the numismatists an eulogising trip that showcases the rich history of the ruler of the Deccan plateau engraved on golden coins, medals, and tokens put on display for the visitors.

Established first in the year 1803 CE by the then Nizam III, Nawab Sikandar Jah, at Sultan Shahi before shifting to Dar-us-Shafa as Royal Mint of Hyderabad in 1893.

Mahboob Ali Khan, Nizam VI, and Mir Osman Ali Khan, Nizam VII, are considered as the fathers of the modern mint as they introduced machinery in 1895 CE. Later, in the year 1903, the entire process of minting the coins in Hyderabad State was replaced with modern machinery on the lines of European mints and was shifted to Saifabad. Following the federal financial integration of Hyderabad State in 1950, the minting operations were taken over formally by the government of India. The facility that was mandated with carving, shaping, and printing gold, silver, and copper coins with Urdu, Persian, and Arabic inscriptions was later turned into an exhibition on June 7, 2022, where coins, currency notes, and carving instruments being used to mint the coins were put on display. The exhibition is currently supervised by the Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Limited (SPMCIL), Government of India.