Rumours about fake Rs 10 coins baseless: RBI

Merchants and traders in various parts of India are refusing to accept Rs 10 coins, fearing they are counterfeits From vendors to shopkeepers, everyone is refusing to accept this coin, adding to the demonetisation woes of the general mass. However, RBI terms this fear as baseless and an add on to the harassment of common man. It all started with rumours spreading on FB and WhatsApp about the possibilities of Rs 10 coins being fake. According to these messages, the fake coins do not have the rupee symbol. So, unsure of the origins of the rumours, traders are blatantly refusing to accept these coins. 

Explaining how making counterfeits for Rs 10 coins is impossible, an RBI official said, "the cost of minting a Rs 10 coin is around Rs 6.10. Counterfeiters are unlikely to opt for an exercise that will give them so little profit with so much effort. Besides, the RBI has also officially announced that the Rs10 coin will not be withdrawn as legal tender.”

He further added, "So far, we haven’t received any complaint on the issue and no banker has noticed any fake Rs 10 coin.” Speaking of the complex minting process, the official further explains how making counterfeit coins is next to impossible. He said, "the Rs 10 coin is different from other coins. It is made in a biggish die. The mixture of metal and combination is very complicated to others. It came to our notice earlier that few gangs were melting coins to manufacture other articles like razors and gift articles, and mixture of different metals will stop this.”

Meanwhile, banks are in a greater trouble as people come to exchange the coin for notes because of the rumours. Citing the issue, a bank official said, "The government has to create awareness on the matter. Most of the merchants are accepting Rs 10 notes against coins because of the weight. We can carry 100 currency notes of Rs 10 but not coins."

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