BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND, August 16, 2011 (Halesowen News): A hoard of foreign coins donated to a hospice by a Hindu temple in Oldbury has been valued at 1,500.
Thirty large bags containing 300,000 assorted coins from all four corners of the globe were pledged to Birmingham St Mary’s Hospice by the Shri Venkateswara Balaji Hindu Temple.
The money, which ranged from Canadian dollars and euros to Indian rupees, was collected over 15 years and was intended to be used towards the construction of the temple, which opened in 2006; but developers of the series of shrines off Dudley Road East found themselves stuck with the coins after local banks declined to convert them to pounds sterling. A solution was found when temple founder and treasurer Dr Kandiah Somasundara-Rajah spotted an ad asking that people donate unwanted foreign currency to the hospice.
The coins were transported to currency expert Birmingham Coins, of Hall Green, which has converted them into pounds sterling.
Delighted fundraisers at the hospice, which provides palliative care to people with terminal illnesses in Birmingham and Sandwell, said the money would make a huge difference, helping provide care to people with illnesses ranging from AIDS to cancer and motor neurone disease.
Dr Rajah said the temple had held on to the coins for quite a few years.
“We’re very happy to hear how much the coins have been valued at and delighted they will be useful for such a good cause.
I’m sure the devotees who donated the money over the years will be pleased with this news.”