Dubai: An Indian expat has amassed a sizeable collection of old UAE currency, stamps, and phone cards, including a few rare items.
Hameed Kasaragod, who works as a clerk in a shipping company in Dubai, said he spends around Dh300 a month to keep up his hobby, driven by his love for the UAE.
Kasaragod, 38, has rare items such as a 5 riyal Qatar & Dubai Currency Board note that was used here before the UAE’s formation in 1971.
He also has a Dh1 note from 1973 issued by the UAE Currency Board, the forerunner of the UAE Central Bank. The 1973 issue represents the first local currency.
There are also 35 different versions of the Dh1 coin in his possession and a few versions of Dh5 and Dh10 notes.
“Some of the old Dh1 coins are still in circulation. People don’t look closely at what they have in their hands,” said Kasaragod.
He has also collected about 1,000 stamps of the UAE, including a special-issue Dh10-stamp from 2013 that was released to celebrate the Arabian coffee culture of the UAE. It still smells of coffee when you rub it.
Included in the collection, filed neatly in several binders, are some 2,000 now obsolete prepaid calling cards of the UAE.
“When I came to the UAE 10 years ago, I saw an old phone card of my roommate. I also saw an old letter of my cousin in the UAE. It sparked my interest in old UAE things and I have not stopped since,” Kasaragod said.
“I know some shops and hobbyists who collect these items and I trade or swap with them. Sometimes my friends, cousins, colleagues also give me collectibles because they know I like these things.
“I’ve been offered money for my collection but I turn down buyers because it’s not for sale. There is a lot of history and culture attached to it that you can’t weigh in cash.”
The father-of-three added that he has founded a collectors association in his home state of Kerala in India.
