{"id":303359,"date":"2025-08-29T14:43:29","date_gmt":"2025-08-29T09:13:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/?p=303359"},"modified":"2025-08-29T23:15:02","modified_gmt":"2025-08-29T17:45:02","slug":"have-a-rare-coin-sell-it-for-lakhs-a-deep-dive-into-the-world-of-numismatic-disinformation-on-social-media","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/have-a-rare-coin-sell-it-for-lakhs-a-deep-dive-into-the-world-of-numismatic-disinformation-on-social-media\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Have a rare coin? Sell it for lakhs’ — A deep dive into the world of numismatic disinformation on social media"},"content":{"rendered":"

Chaos reigned supreme on Ashutosh Chowdary Avenue in south Kolkata on July 26 when thousands of people, misled by unfounded claims of social media influencers, turned up outside an exhibition venue in Ballygunge believing that they could sell their old and ‘rare’ coins and earn in lakhs. Some of them came from as far as Haryana and Rajasthan<\/a>.<\/p>\n

While looking into the matter, Alt News discovered that what transpired in Kolkata was only the tip of the iceberg. There exists an entire industry on social media which thrives on disinformation around numismatics, taking unsuspecting viewers for a ride. Hundreds of influencers run pages and channels across platforms just to defraud people by spreading hoaxes about prices of old coins. They do this by using doctored videos, clickbait titles, misleading thumbnails — all with false and baseless claims like ‘sell your rare coins and earn in lakhs’. The number of views on many of these videos is in millions.<\/p>\n

What Happened in Kolkata<\/span><\/p>\n

The Numismatic Society of Calcutta (NSC), currently in its 40th year, organized a three-day Coin Fest from July 25 to 27. It was meant to be an exhibition of coins, medals, tokens, and paper currency. However, the event took a chaotic turn on the second day, when an unexpectedly large crowd gathered outside the venue in the hope of getting rich by selling their old and \u201crare\u201d coins.<\/p>\n

Speaking to Alt News, NSC secretary Ravi Shankar Sharma said they had expected a moderate footfall comprising genuine collectors and hobbyists, but they were stunned to see thousands of people outside the venue.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cFrom 10 am onwards, the crowd started to swell. We were shocked to learn that many had travelled hundreds of kilometers, entrusting misleading claims by social media influencers that certain old coins could fetch them a fortune. They watched online videos which told them that \u2018Mata Vaishno Devi coins\u2019, \u2018Tractor printed notes\u2019, \u2018Genda chaap 4 Annas\u2019 (rhinoceros embedded 25 paisa coins) could be sold for lakhs of rupees,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

When the organisers tried telling them that these were false notions, they would have none of it. Sharma said, \u201cThey told us we are lying since they had seen videos where the influencers mentioned this very day and this very venue where they could sell their collections.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

As tension mounted, and the crowd started getting hostile, the organizers <\/span>had to contact the Karaya police station. Cops intervened and shut down the exhibition temporarily.<\/p>\n

Sharma observed that most of the people in the crowd were from the less-privileged section of the society. <\/span>\u201cIt was really disheartening to know that they had come all the way from places like Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Assam, Rajasthan and Haryana. However, we could not do anything about it.” <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Behind the False Notions: The Murky World of Numismatic Influencers<\/h4>\n

Speaking to TOI<\/a>, some attendees shared their disillusionment. Umesh Singh from Bihar told the paper that he had hoped to sell some coins to fund his daughter\u2019s wedding. Ashok Kumar from Dibrugarh, Assam, said he had come after watching videos claiming 10 and 20 paise coins were fetching lakhs.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Alt News found several videos on social media platforms which claim certain old and ‘rare’ coins were worth lakhs of rupees. A few of them are cited below:<\/span><\/p>\n

Instance I: On Instagram<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Name of the account: coin_bazar_india_1<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Follower Count: 5.34 lakh<\/span><\/p>\n

Claim 1:<\/a> A<\/span>\u00a0\u20b920 note with a star (*) in its serial number is a rare collector\u2019s item worth lakhs. The video has 10.2 million views.<\/span><\/p>\n

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A post shared by Amit Kumar (@coin_bazar_india_1)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Another post<\/a> claims that a 25-paisa coin featuring a rhinoceros, nicknamed the \u201cGenda wala sikka,\u201d is worth Rs 3 to 7 lakh. <\/span>The video has around 5,520 views.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Yet another reel claims<\/a> that any <\/span>Rs 500 note having the serial number, 786786, is worth 5 lakh rupees. The video has over 2.1 million views.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There is another video<\/a> where it is claimed that <\/span>\u201cAzadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav (AKAM)\u201d commemorative coins, which are widely available in public circulation, are worth lakhs, especially if in uncirculated condition.<\/span><\/p>\n

Many of the reels on the timeline mention phone numbers and amounts such as ‘5 lakh’, ‘1 crore 10 lakh’, ‘2.5 lakh’ etc. These have views in millions. Needless to say, these claims are all false, as we will later explain in this article.<\/p>\n

Instance II: On Instagram<\/strong><\/p>\n

Account Name: Historical Coin (@<\/span>indiana_buyer_shop<\/span><\/a>)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Followers: 94,000<\/span><\/p>\n

Here, too, almost every thumbnail features a phone number and absurd figures like ’65 lakh’, ’23 crore’, ‘8 crore’, ’88 lakh’ as monetary value of coins. Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s photo has been used in these misleading thumbnails.<\/p>\n

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Most of the videos falsely claim that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has “officially authorized the purchasing of old and outdated currency, involving transactions of lakhs and crores of rupees”. Viewers are encouraged to call a number flashed on screen, which is claimed to connect them to an “RBI-authorised real buyer” who, according to the videos, will visit their homes to buy the coins or notes.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, a closer inspection of these videos reveals a deliberate attempt to mislead. Many of them feature uniformed police officers, but their voices have clearly been dubbed over with fabricated voice-overs, with no lip-sync or visual evidence of the officers actually making the statements. The audio falsely suggests police-backed guarantees and endorsements of the scheme, presenting the transactions as \u201c100% government authorized.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

For example, the following video claims that one can earn in lakhs and crores by selling old coins and currency notes.<\/p>\n

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A post shared by Historical Coin (@indina_buyer_shop)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

A simple reverse image search of a keyframe from this video led us to the <\/span>original video<\/span><\/a> from October 2024 featuring IPS officer M Harsh Vardhan, in which he had discussed email fraud and child pornography accusations. <\/span><\/p>\n

We found another video<\/a> which claimed the Govt of India guaranteed that upon calling on the phone number displayed on the screen one could sell coins and notes for crores of rupees. The video has over 1.5 million views.\u00a0<\/span>This video, too, is digitally altered. The original clip is an Instagram <\/span>post<\/span><\/a> by Mumbai Police featuring DC traffic Raj Tilak Roushan listing the measures Mumbai police had undertaken to keep noise pollution under control.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A third video<\/a>, which makes similar claims, has journalist Sudhir Chowdhary’s image on the thumbnail. <\/span>In this video, too, a police officer appears to share the phone number of an RBI-designated \u201creal buyer\u201d who will be buying old coins. This video has over 2 million views.<\/span><\/p>\n

It is worth noting that the phone number keeps changing in the videos.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Instance III: On Instagram<\/strong><\/p>\n

Name of the Account: Old Coin Shop (<\/span>old_coin_shop_0786<\/span><\/a>)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Follower: 6.71 lakh<\/span><\/p>\n

We found several videos with dubious and misleading claims about the monetary values of coins and notes.<\/p>\n

There is one video<\/a> that claims that a 20-rupee AKAM coin is worth Rs 11 lakh, encouraging viewers to call on the\u00a0 number shown on the screen. The video has around 50,000 views. Similar<\/a> reels featuring other AKAM coins are also there on the page.<\/p>\n

In another reel<\/a>, the value of a 1 Rupee note is pegged at Rs 15 lakh, while in yet another<\/a>, a coin featuring ‘Shri Mata Vaishno Devi’ is described as carrying a price of Rs 10 lakh.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A glance at the comment sections of these posts reveals how easily viewers take these claims as true and even share their personal phone numbers hoping for a call back. There are only a handful of comments which flag the videos as misleading.<\/span><\/p>\n

Other handles on Instagram sharing similar misleading claims include old_coin_currency<\/a>, old coins bajaar<\/a>, old coin currency exchange<\/a>, Sunita Mishra<\/a>, and Old Currency Buyers<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Below, we have made a compilation to show the kind of thumbnails used on these Instagram handles:<\/p>\n

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Instance IV: On Facebook<\/strong><\/p>\n

Name of the Account: <\/span>Sk Coin<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Followers: 18,000 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

A<\/span> video<\/span><\/a> shows multiple Rs 10 notes and claims that a single note from a discontinued series could fetch up to Rs 2 lakh.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Another video<\/span><\/a> featuring an Indira Gandhi commemorative coin asserts that a buyer is ready to shell out Rs 3 lakh for one coin.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We also came across a post<\/span><\/a> where three widely circulated commemorative coins — the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board, Indira Gandhi, RBI Platinum Jubilee — and a 20 paise Lotus coin are presented as rare collectibles. The voiceover claims that anyone possessing these coins could “earn a fortune.”<\/span><\/p>\n

However, Alt News found that all these coins are widely circulated and commonly available to the general public. <\/span><\/p>\n

Instance V: On Facebook<\/strong><\/p>\n

Name of the Account: <\/span>Old Coins and Notes India<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Followers: 80,000<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

This public group on Facebook has innumerable misleading posts made by several group members. A member named <\/span>Sanjay Chauhan<\/span><\/a> has shared a video showing an AKAM coin of the Rs 20 denomination and had promised Rs 12,74,000 for it. A phone number is also given.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Raj Bhai Cold Coins<\/span><\/a> has shared a post displaying various coins and currency notes of different denominations, accompanied by the claim of a \u201c110% guaranteed\u201d payment of exorbitant prices. <\/span><\/p>\n

Other pages on Facebook sharing similar misleading claims include <\/span>Old Coin Company Buyer<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>Old Coin\u2019s Collector<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>Old coin currency<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>Indian Old Coins Buyer<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>Old Coins Online<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Instance VI: On YouTube<\/strong><\/p>\n

Name of the Channel: News Phataphat (Real Coin Company)<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Subscribers: 3.67 lakh<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

[youtube https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=i-3XK8Thz20?si=nZa02w7j0_1AEJBe]<\/p>\n

The above video<\/a> was uploaded 7 months ago. It features a photo of journalist Sudhir Chaudhary on its thumbnail, a misleading tactic clearly intended to lend credibility and increase clicks. This 12.47-minute video starts with people showing off their numismatic collection and quoting unrealistic prices. Around two minutes in, a voiceover promises to reveal the \u201creal prices\u201d of old coins and notes, only to proceed with further unverified, unrealistic valuations for common coins and currencies. This video has over 2 lakh views.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The channel has several similar videos. (Example 1<\/a>, 2<\/a>, 3<\/a>)<\/span><\/p>\n

Instance VII: On YouTube<\/strong><\/p>\n

Name of the Channel: The Currencypedia<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Subscribers: 1.48 Million <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The channel is run by Raj Bahadur Singh Gyanee, who claims to be a member of the American Numismatic Society. He also claims that his channel is \u201cIndia\u2019s most trusted\u201d as far as information about numismatics is concerned. We noticed that the videos\/ shorts on this channel frequently used misleading or sensational claims. For instance, in a YouTube Short, which can be<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>watched here<\/span><\/a>, Gyanee claims that a 1993 Hyderabad Mint 25 paise Rhinoceros coin could fetch Rs 1 lakh. However, the NSC confirmed to Alt News that even in an uncirculated condition, this coin would at best be worth Rs 10,000.<\/span><\/p>\n

Besides, he never mentions that many of the high-value coins he mentions are extremely rare and unlikely to be in general circulation, let alone in common households.<\/span><\/p>\n

It is relevant to add that Gyanee charges viewers for contacting him, offering three paid options: Rs 1,013 for a 15-minute call, Rs 1,213 for a video call, and Rs 5,213 for a 45-minute in-person \u201cChai Pe Charcha\u201d session.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Other channels on YouTube sharing similar misleading claims include Antique Rave Coins<\/a>, Coin WaLi Tim<\/a>, Old Coin Online<\/a>, Coin market<\/a>, Such Tv<\/a>, and Sarkari Khabre<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Reports of Coin-sale Scams in Mainstream Media<\/b><\/h4>\n

On January 9, 2025, TOI<\/a> reported that a Mangalore resident was duped of Rs 58.3 lakhs in an online coin and currency note selling fraud. According to the complaint, the victim noticed an advertisement on Facebook for selling coins and notes at a higher price, and he contacted the number given on the screen. He was asked to send photos of his collection on WhatsApp, after which he was informed that the buyer were willing to purchase the coins for Rs 49 lakh. Soon after, he received calls after calls demanding amounts ranging from Rs 750 to Rs 3.5 lakh on various heads for completing the sale of his coins. The complainant transferred all the amounts via UPI, RTGS, and NEFT, as per instructions. Then, he received a call from an individual identifying himself as Mumbai cyber police commissioner Gaurav Shivaji Rao Shinde. the caller informed the victim that an RBI notice had been issued against him and he would be arrested unless Rs 12.6 lakhs was paid as per RBI guidelines,\u00a0 which would be refunded within an hour. After that, the complainant grew suspicious and eventually registered a complaint at the Kavoor police station claiming to have lost Rs 58.3 lakhs in total.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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In Mumbai<\/a>, a man was duped of Rs 12 lakhs in a similar online coin-selling fraud in May this year. The scamsters evaluated his coins to be worth 1.24 Crore, and assured him that a coin in his possession was a rare one certified by RBI for promotional purposes.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In Bengaluru<\/a>, a 56-year-old man lost Rs 2.3 lakh after responding to a social media video that promised Rs 31 lakh for Rs 2 and Rs 5 coins from the 1980s and 1990s, featuring Indira Gandhi and the Indian map. The victim was shown fake videos of people counting large amounts of money. He shared his Aadhaar details and proceeded to pay various charges (GST, insurance, registration). When he refused to pay more, the scammers threatened him with arrest, impersonating police officials from Delhi and Mumbai, including video calls with fraudsters dressed in police uniforms. A complaint was eventually filed, and a case was registered under the Information Technology Act and IPC Section 420.<\/span><\/p>\n

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‘Rs 750’, ‘RBI Letter’, ‘Ministry of Culture Approval’: All Point to a Scam<\/h4>\n

Alt News got a first-hand taste of how these influencers take people for a ride when this correspondent dialed a phone number given in a reel on the Instagram handle named Indian Buyer Shop<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The call was answered by a man identifying himself as Vikash Kamat from Hyderabad. He asked for images of the coins we wanted to sell, which, he said, would be assessed using a software. When we sent the photo of a 25-paise rhinoceros coin, Kamat said he was ready to pay Rs 8 lakh for it.<\/p>\n

He outlined the next steps to complete the transaction:<\/p>\n