Hyderabad: The Saifabad Mint Museum, which used to be a mint, has been an exhibition facility for almost two years now. It showcases a collection of coins that tell the rich history of Hyderabad and its economic progress over the centuries.
Though it no longer mints legal tender regularly, the facility still creates and releases commemorative silver coins for various occasions to honor different personalities. These commemorative coins have become a source of revenue for the museum.
The museum serves as a unique educational resource for students from different schools. It offers insights into the economic history of the Mughal, Satavahana, Raja Raja Chola, Qutub Shahi, and Asif Jahi rulers in Hyderabad Deccan.
Numismatists and antiquarians in the city often visit the museum to purchase these commemorative coins. The museum provides a fascinating visit for coin enthusiasts, featuring golden coins, medals, and tokens that display the rich history of the Deccan plateau’s rulers.
The mint was first established in 1803 CE by Nizam III, Nawab Sikandar Jah, at Sultan Shahi. It was later moved to Dar-us-Shafa in 1893 as the Royal Mint of Hyderabad.
In 1895 CE, Nizam VI, Mahboob Ali Khan, and Nizam VII, Mir Osman Ali Khan, modernized the mint with machinery. By 1903, the minting process was entirely updated with modern machinery similar to European mints and shifted to Saifabad.
After the federal financial integration of Hyderabad State in 1950, the government of India took over the minting operations. The facility, which used to create gold, silver, and copper coins with Urdu, Persian, and Arabic inscriptions, was transformed into an exhibition on June 7, 2022. Now, coins, currency notes, and minting instruments are on display.
The exhibition is currently managed by the Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Limited (SPMCIL), under the Government of India.
