Fake coin rumour in city, banks allay fears

SHILLONG: At a time when the Centre is trying to curb fake currency notes, people in the city are facing a new crisis.
Shopkeepers here are refusing to accept Rs 10 coins following a rumour that is doing the rounds for the last few days that these coins are counterfeit. This has created trouble for many residents who are using the coins in absence of lower denomination currency notes.
This correspondent visited several shops with a Rs 10 coin but most of the sceptical owners of these shops, including Delhi Mistan Bhandar in Police Bazar, refused to accept it after examining it for a moment.
The shop owners informed that they are accepting those Rs 10 coins where the inscription crosses the silver circle and which have 10 smaller inscriptions. A fake coin has 15 such inscriptions.
However, a senior SBI official said it was only a rumour and people should not believe it. “If somebody makes a fake coin, his costing price will be more than its value as it has a lot of metal and silver,” the official said.
The official also said earlier, there was a shortage of Rs 10 coin but now it is available in huge numbers and this has led people to conclude that there are fake coins in the market.