In the article Preserving Kashmir’s Coins written by Irfan Naveed and published in Kashmir News (the article was appears to be a translation from his native tongue), Mr. Naveed brings up some interesting points, one point in particular:
“What is a coin? Perhaps only few people have understood its proper concept, while for most of the people these ancient coins are nothing more than outdated money, which has no value. For general public, these coins are useless, but for copper and gold smiths, these coins have got some metallic value and are re-used in making copper, silver and gold items.
It is only very few people of my land who are aware of their numismatic and historic value, while rest of the Kashmiris are totally unaware of their numismatic heritage.”
It is difficult for radical archaeologists to comprehend that other cultures and people from “less developed” lands have little interest in cultural heritage as “we” define it. In many places, these portable antiquities often provide raw materials for use by metal smiths or are used as ornamentation (part of the culture of many lands).
