Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 17.01.2018 clarified that 10-rupee coins issued so far in all the 14 designs are valid because of reports about people not accepting these coins in fear of their being fake. But coin-collectors wanting to have commemorative coins have no knowledge about their availability. RBI should arrange availability of all previous commemorative coins for desiring ones at selected bank-branches across the country, all postal philatical centres apart from all RBI offices at face-value. These counters should also sell commemorative-coin sets issued on occasion of issue of a new coin right from the day of release abolishing cumbersome procedure to get these through advance booking to be delivered months or years after their release thus killing the very purpose of commemorating an occasion through issue of commemorative coins.
These counters should also provide silver-alloyed coins on their face-value as was the system earlier like on 02.10.1969 on issue of 10-rupee silver-alloyed coin to commemorate Gandhi birth-centenary. But system of having face-value of silver-alloyed coin at value much less than the mint-value will have to be replaced by a system where face-value of silver-alloyed coin may be say double the metal-value. Presently silver-alloy coin in denomination of rupees 100 have metal-value multiple times the minted denomination of the coin.
MADHU AGRAWAL