He has been collecting Indian currency from the time he was a 15-year-old boy. Today, he has a priceless collection, which he says “is more valuable than his kids”.

His is a familiar name among the realtors in the city. His name is on most buildings dotting the urban skyline of Bangalore. Rezwan Razack is a busy man, yet he makes time for his hobby, collecting notes, which began when he was a teenager. Even after 40 years his passion for currency remains evergreen.  “I don’t do metal. I am an Indian notes specialist,” says Razack.

The love for “notes” was triggered when he found a Rs 5 note in his granddad’s house with Reserved Bank of India printed on it. What made this note special and which piqued Razack’s interest was a seal on the note that said:  Pakistan note payment refused. “I couldn’t understand why an Indian note had a Pakistan seal. That aroused my curiosity to find out what it was all about,” he says. Apparently, Pakistan didn’t have their own currency but had an arrangement with the RBI to use Indian currency with an over-print that said Government of Pakistan in English and Hukkumat of Pakistan in Urdu. The notes were printed in the Nasik press; till June 1948. Some people would use a blade to erase the over-print. When it came for encashment the banks were looking for the serial numbers. Instead of tearing it up, banks would put a rubber stamp and say Pakistan note payment refused.

That was the beginning of Razack’s life-long dalliance with notes.  “After this I got a good starter kit from my cousin in Coonor,” he says about the time when he received 30 notes from his cousin.

“Traditionally, not many people collected money because paper disintegrates over a long time. But I do because of the satisfaction it gives me. It is a stress buster to find out the history behind each note.” Razack collects only Indian currency notes. He has around 1,000 in his collection, valued “priceless,” he says. “To me, it’s a national treasure of notional value. It’s more valuable than my kids.” Razack collects his notes  at auction houses, cut note dealers and even from relatives and friends.

One of the oldest notes in the world is a Rs 100 Indian currency from 1812, and you can find it in Razack’s collection. It bears the serial number 108. He also has a note with a serial number 10.02.58, which also happens to be his birth date. “I don’t chase the notes, they come to me,” he says.

Razack preserves his notes first in a Mylar holder before storing them in albums. He also has a curator to help him with his collection because, he says, “it is important to have a curator to keep a tab on the notes collected and preserved”.

“My family thinks I’m crazy,” he says. “My shopaholic daughter says that I should spend all this money on her retail therapy and not notes.”

As Razack’s hobby started many years ago, he did not pay a fortune for these. He says, “For a Rs 10,000 note, I would have paid Rs 15,000, but today, it would cost close to Rs 5 to 6 lacs. It’s like buying land.” But, one wrong bend or fold can devalue the note. It has to be handled with care. “If you’re not mad, you can’t do this. You have to be obsessed. This is my stressbuster. Each note is a learning experience.”

source: http://www.bangaloremirror.com / Bangalore Mirror / Home> Wellness> You> Story / by Khushali P Madhwani / Sunday, July 14th, 2013