The East India Company, once associated with the British Raj, has issued a legal tender coin only for the third time since 1874, when the company was dissolved by the British parliament and Queen Victoria became the empress of India.
This time it was to honour the Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar. The only other sporting heroes to bear their likeness on legal tender include Mohammed Ali and Nigel Mansell.
The coins are non-circulating legal tender, and in theory could be used to buy goods and services
Diehard Tendulkar fans can buy one of 210 24-carat gold coins, each weighing 200 grams, designed by Joaquin Jimenez, the chief engraver at Monnaie de Paris. However, they do not come cheap. Each is priced at £12,000 (Dh75,378). But for that money buyers get a cricket bat signed by Tendulkar, a certificate of authenticity and the coin itself comes in a custom-made wooden box.
It is no surprise that Sanjiv Mehta, the chairman and managing director of EIC, is a big Tendulkar fan. “This coin is a reminder of what can be achieved with unfaltering faith and sheer determination,” Mr Mehta says.
Tendulkar owns practically every batting record in cricket. He has scored more runs in Test and one-day cricket and is the only player to have scored more than a 100 centuries at international level.
“We had to get approval from the Commonwealth issuing authority. Since it has Queen Elizabeth’s likeness on one side, this indirectly comes from the palace,” says Mr Mehta, who was in Abu Dhabi last week for the launch of an EIC fine foods store in Jumeirah Etihad Towers, one of the company’s other business areas.
Getting that approval must not have been that difficult, as EIC had previously produced a limited edition gold coin collection to commemorate the queen’s 60 years on the throne. “We produced 60 24-carat gold coins, each weighing 1kg and studded with two carats of diamonds,” says Mr Mehta.
The special edition Tendulkar coins are fast running out. EIC sold about 40 coins on June 22, the day of the launch. Apart from the 200g coin, EIC has a released a second coin that comes in 1oz and ¼oz gold, and ½oz silver. Again, the company says they are limited edition and come with a certificate of authenticity.
The coins can be bought online at www.eicgold.com.
siyer@thenational.ae
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