Dubai: Sachin Tendulkar may have signed off from the game some eight months back, but his brand value is still worth in gold. Or that’s what a London-based company, who released a legal tender coin to celebrate the lifetime achievement of the Little Master on London on Sunday, would have us believe.
The East India Company, specialists in coin manufacturing, released the limited edition coin, worth precisely 200 grams to commemorate the number of Test appearances by the legendary batsman and double-struck in 24-carat gold. Only 210 of these gold coins will be in the market for sale for a whopping sum of £12,000!
Speaking to Gulf News from London, Sanjiv Mehta, CEO of the company, said: “We had been talking to Tendulkar since last December as we thought it would be the best way to immortalise an exceptional career spanning over 24 years. There were some delays in the way as we had to secure the rights for producing it from the Commonwealth currency iussing authority but it was worth the wait.”
Asked if the prohibitive price tag for the gold coin will make it the preserve of an exclusive club, Mehta said they have also designed a second coin to suit a different budget altogether. “There will be another set of coins, also limited edition, which will be issued in one ounce, one-fourth ounce gold and half-an-ounce silver,” he said.
The issue of a legal tender coin made Tendulkar join the ranks of selected sporting icons like Muhammad Ali and Nigel Mansell. Joaquin Jimenez, currently the Chief Engraver at Monnaie de Paris, has designed and crafted the coin.
The canvas of the coin shows the latitude lines of the globe modelled in cricket stitching to represent the international stage of cricket, with other vignettes of his life and times around it. The Gateway of India denotes his beloved hometown Mumbai while the star himself and his 200th Test Match milestone are symbolically represented by the autographed bat, helmet and the number 187 which he wore during his farewell Test Match at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
Commenting on the coin launch, Sachin Tendulkar said in a statement: “All my life, I have had a dream of playing cricket for India. I am very fortunate to have lived this dream for the last 24 years. I am honoured to be recognised with the issue of these special coins, which have been impressively designed with a lot of thought.”
