New Parliament opening: How India uses commemorative coins to mark special events

The Union finance ministry will launch a Rs 75 coin to mark the inauguration of the new Parliament building on Sunday (28 May). As per the ministry’s statement on Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will unveil the commemorative coin, along with inaugurating the new Parliament complex in New Delhi.Moreover, a commemorative Rs 100 silver coin with the image of the former Andhra Pradesh chief minister NT Rama Rao is also expected to be rolled out on his centenary birth anniversary on 28 May.This is not the first time that the Central government is releasing commemorative coins to mark significant occasions. Let’s take a closer look at when this has happened before.Special Rs 75 coinThe circular coin has a diameter of 44 millimetres and 200 serrations along its edges. It is made up of a quaternary alloy — 50 percent silver, 40 percent copper, 5 percent nickel and 5 percent zinc.According to the government notification, one side of the coin will showcase the “Lion Capitol of Ashoka Pillar in the center”, with "Satyamev Jayate" written below it. The word "Bharat" in Devnagri script will be inscribed on the left and "India" in English on the right.The other side of the 35-gram coin will display an image of the Parliament complex. “Sansad Sankul” will be written in Devanagari script on the upper periphery and the words “Parliament Complex” in English on the lower periphery.[caption id="attachment_12650452" align="alignnone" width="640"] PM Narendra Modi will inaugurate the new Parliament complex on 28 May. PTI File Photo[/caption]Brief history of commemorative coinsAs per an Indian Express report, the custom of using coins to disseminate messages and promote legends dates back to the Roman Empire period.The rulers used coins for publicity, communicating messages and carrying out propaganda among the masses.In his study ‘Sulla Imperator Iterum: the Samnites and Roman Republican coin propaganda’, eminent scholar Thomas R Martin penned the beginning of spreading messages and propaganda through coins.“The most conspicuous publicity was generated by inscriptions placed on public monuments; the most widely circulated publicity, however, was generated by the inscriptions and small relief sculptures which appeared on coins. Since people at all levels of society handled coins in their everyday lives, they were constantly exposed to the messages that coins could be made to bear,” Martin wrote, as per Indian Express.How India started using commemorative coinsIndia introduced its first commemorative coin in 1964 to pay tribute to the country’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, who passed away the same year.Since then, the government has been issuing special coins for various purposes – marking anniversaries, remembering notable personalities and even encouraging its schemes.In 1973, the Central government put out a coin with the theme ‘Grow More Food’. The next year, the theme was ‘Planned Family’ and in the following years the coins pushed the themes of ‘Food and Work For All’ and ‘Save for Development’.A year after the emergency ended in 1977, the coin propagated ‘Food and Shelter for All’, reported Indian Express.ALSO READ: Meet the Vummidi Bangaru family from Tamil Nadu, which crafted the ‘sengol'A look at some recent commemorative coinsOn 30 April, the Centre issued a special commemorative Rs 100 coin to mark the completion of 100 episodes of prime minister Modi’s radio show Mann ki Baat.As India celebrated 75 years of Independence last year, the prime minister launched a special series of coins of denominations – Re 1, Rs 2, Rs 5, Rs 10, and Rs 20."These new series of coins will remind people of the goal of Amrit Kaal and motivate people to work towards the development of the country,” Modi had said while releasing the coins last June. These coins were circulated as regular currency, instead of ending up as a collector’s item.A Rs 175 coin was issued to commemorate 175 years of the establishment of IIT-Roorkee in 2022.The Indian government has also unveiled coins to pay tribute to famous and notable personalities, including BR Ambedkar, Rabindranath Tagore, Bhagat Singh, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Lala Lajpat Rai, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi and so on.In 2018, prime minister Modi launched a commemorative Rs 100 coin as a tribute to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. It was released a day ahead of the leader’s 94th birth anniversary.At the behest of the Tamil Nadu government, the Centre issued commemorative coins of Rs 100 and Rs 5 denominations to pay tribute to late Indian actor and politician MG Ramachandran in 2017.The same year, it also honoured Carnatic singer MS Subbalakshmi through commemorative coins of Rs 100 and Rs 10.

Mahatma Gandhi has also been celebrated multiple times with commemorative coins.

 [caption id="attachment_12650442" align="alignnone" width="640"] Mahatma Gandhi has been remembered via commemorative coins on several important occasions. Image Courtesy: India Government Mint[/caption]In 2012, Rs 5 and Rs 10 denomination coins were rolled out to mark 60 years of Indian Parliament. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) minted Rs 5 coins in 2015 to mark the golden jubilee of the 1965 Indo-Pakistan War.Major sporting events hosted by India such as Asian Games in 1982 and the 19th Commonwealth Games in 2010 were also honoured through special coins.Some coins commemorating institutions like State Bank of India, RBI, Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board, Comptroller and Auditor General of India have also been released.India's central bank has also minted commemorative coins in honour of religious deities and spiritual leaders.Rs 5 and 10 denomination coins featuring Hindu goddess Vaishno Devi are common in India.Last April, Modi released a commemorative coin observing the 400th anniversary of Guru Tegh Bahadur, the ninth Sikh Guru.In 2021, the Modi government issued a Rs 125 denomination coin to mark the 125th birth anniversary of International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) founder Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.With inputs from agenciesRead all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.