Will you shed tears for the 25 paise as it dies on June 30?

Chelsea Saldanha
moneycontrol.com

If your piggy bank as a kid was filled with 25 paise coins - get it en-cashed asap! Because joining the list of ek (1 paise), do (2 paise), teen (3 paise) and others, the humble chaar ana will be killed 'effective' June 30, 2011 as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to demonetize them.

The reason? Rising metal prices.

So, once pulled out of circulation, the 25 paise will not be accepted for exchange at bank branches from July 1 onwards. This means, the lowest coin denomination will be 50 paise.

The coin introduced in 1988 has not received a lot of public support over the years. In the last decade, the currency has lost its value, not only with local kiranas but also businesses, public sector organisations and banks, to name a few. In fact, even when the coin was a legal tender, shopkeepers took to rounding off any purchase to 50 paise or the next best thing - Re 1.  And the trend, unfortunately, even before its demise still continues.

The other day when my dad came home with a dozen eggs which cost him 50 bucks, he started reminiscing about the good old days. An egg used to cost 25 paise and a phone call (a luxury which few could afford) cost Rs 6, he'd sigh.

So as the June 30 deadline to exchange the bindi-sized silver coins looms nearer, will it be sorely missed and will it even make it to a numismatics collector's item? From a collector's point of view, as coins and currencies get withdrawn from the market, their intrinsic value rises due to being rare and difficult to acquire. So your guess is as good as mine!

As yet another coin takes a bow from the Indian currency scene we wish it a speedy, yet painless death!