For dedicated coin collectors, the value of a collection can lie in its focus, consistency, and sheer scale. Abhijit Samanta, born on November 2, 1973, from Paschim Medinipur, West Bengal, has developed a particularly distinctive collection centered on India's ten paise coins.

According to the India Book of Records (IBR), Samanta's collection contains a total of 7,974 ten paise coins. What makes the collection especially notable is that all of these coins were minted at the Kolkata Mint in 1997.

The ten paise coin represents a specific denomination from India's monetary history. For a collector, assembling thousands of examples from the same denomination requires sustained dedication and a consistent focus. Samanta's collection stands out because its scale is concentrated around one particular type of coin rather than being defined by a broad assortment of denominations.

The fact that all 7,974 coins were minted at the Kolkata Mint in the same year, 1997, gives the collection another defining characteristic. Instead of spanning multiple mints or years, the record centers on a substantial number of coins sharing the same denomination, minting location, and year.

Such a collection reflects the persistence involved in numismatics, where individual coins are gathered, preserved, and organized over time. While the official record does not provide further details about how Samanta assembled the coins, the documented total of nearly eight thousand pieces establishes the scale of his achievement.

The India Book of Records (IBR) officially confirmed the record on July 6, 2026, recognizing Abhijit Samanta for holding the largest collection of ten paise coins by an individual, with 7,974 coins.

Samanta's achievement demonstrates how a highly focused collecting interest can develop into an exceptional record. By concentrating on one denomination and assembling thousands of coins minted at the Kolkata Mint in 1997, his personal passion for coin collecting has become a distinctive milestone in India's record-keeping history.