50 Paisa coins are not accepted anywhere except banks
The humble coin of 50 paise appears to have fallen from its once held value 100 years ago
when it enjoyed considerable purchasing power. Despite the public’s refusal to accept, this
smallest denomination of currency continues to remain in circulation.
Staff of the BMTC bus said it is a legal tender but accepted only by the banks in India.
Venketesh, who runs a small roadside kiosk explained that there aren’t any goods valued at
50 paisa as everything that is sold today starts from Rs 1 and above. Accepting the coin
from customers will not help as the shopkeepers cannot offer it to customers in change.
Keshavamurthy, an autorickshaw driver mentioned that 50 paisa has no value in today’s day
and age. The coin contains the Lion Capital symbol but it is still not valid. If the Government
has banned the 50 paisa coin, it should not have been released into circulation. In some
places, the Rs10 coin is accepted and at times it is not; we don’t understand why currency
that is banned can circulate. Instead of banning some coins and accepting coins of Rs1,
Rs2 and Rs5, it would best to abolish currency coins in favor of currency notes.
The banks end up hoarding these coins brought in by customers says Rajesh Kumar, the
Manager of Vijaya Bank on MG Road. Since customers do not accept it in return and banks
do not want to force them, the bank has a collection worth of approximately Rs 4 Lakhs in
coins of 50 paise which is causing storage problems. Tapesh, a Financial Consultant
attributes this development to the mindset of people. Since nothing of value can be
purchased for 50 paise today, and people are more inclined to the digital currency, the 50 paise
has been made redundant says Tapesh. Yet, the currency is a legal tender and people need
to acknowledge the 50 paisa coin, said Tapesh. He also added that the Government needs
to create awareness about this matter, utilizing social media to bring this matter to the
attention of the public.
Reportedly, the 50 paise was being sold at Rs30 a kilo, a stark contrast to the currency
coin’s status a century ago.
