A limited edition of Taj Mahal collectible coins are to be marketed in India.
It’s been three years since the Taj Mahal was voted one of the new Seven Wonders of the World. And now the monument to love will be immortalised in gold and silver.
The French mint, La Monnaie de Paris, which makes and circulates coins for the French Republic, has come out with limited edition collectible coins with the Taj engraved on them. While the global launch of the Taj Mahal collectible gold and silver coins will be held in Paris on November 17, part of the collection will also be marketed in India by the Taj Association for Art, Culture & Heritage (TAACH).
There are 29 gold coins weighing one kilogram each, studded with Cartier diamonds and available for a little over Rs 61.63 lakh. The silver coins, a limited edition of 10,000 pieces, cost about Rs 3,000. Apart from these, there are 99 gold coins weighing 155.5 gm and a thousand each weighing 31 gm and 8.4 gm.
“We hope to sell seven to ten pieces of the one kg gold coin in India,” says Rakesh Thapar, president and brand ambassador for Agra, TAACH. The silver coin, he says, should find many more takers. “These coins are a great investment, not just from the monetary point of view but also because they’re a work of art,” he says.
The collection is part of Monnaie de Paris’s series on UNESCO world heritage sites and monuments. Since 2007, the mint has also paid tributes to the Great Wall of China, the Grand Canyon and the Kremlin.
How many coins finally land in India will depend on the number of people who come forward to buy them. “Some of the silver coins will also be given to eminent personalities from the field of art and culture next year on March 14 at the Taj award ceremony, which is held once in two year,” says Thapar. The Indo French Chamber of Commerce and Industry, he adds, is playing a key role in coordinating with Monnaie de Paris and getting the coins to India. The collection will also be available online.