Indian Government Mint office begins sale of commemorative coins on Mahatma Gandhi

Coin collectors and numismatists will have enough to celebrate this year as the Government Mint, Mumbai has kick-started sale of commemorative coins to mark the centenary of Mahatma Gandhi’s return from South Africa.

The coins have been made on the theme ‘Centenary of Mahatma Gandhi’s Return from South Africa’ and will be available in denominations of Rs 100 and Rs 10.

The other coins to be made available seek to commemorate the Komagata Maru incident. The Komagata Maru incident dates back to May 23, 1914 when the ship carrying 376 passengers, majority of whom were Sikhs, Muslims and Hindus — was denied entry into Canada after an immigration dispute. Some of the passengers were killed in protests on their return to India.
‘Centenary of Komagata Maru Incident’ themed coins are available in Rs 100 and Rs 5 denominations.

The coin on Gandhi’s return from South Africa in 1915 bears two images of the Father of the Nation — a young man in western attire and the other is the legendary thinly clad old man wearing round-shaped spectacles. The centenary completion year ‘2015’ is engraved at the opposite corner to that of ‘1915’. The proof coin embossed letter M — meaning printed at Mumbai — have a frozen effect on the surface design with a mirror finish.