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There is a general misconception among general public about the dates of the Commemorative coin "Homi Jehangir Bhabha" issued in occasion of his Birth Centenary.

To view more about this coin, click here.

Homi J Bhabha was born on 1909, and the year 2009 is his Birth Centenary year. But the coin carries years 2008-2009.

Coin collecting numismatists thought they have found out a rare error coin. There was lot of discussions online and lot of people became more and more greedy. They began to sell this coin for whooping sum of rupees. Newspapers like DNA carried articles on this subject.

But unlike carrying hoax rumors DNA chose to investigate on this issue. It is highly applauding effort to bring out the truth in it rather than print some hoax news.

Here is an excerpt from RBI website about the design of the coin:

Design:   Obverse :  The face of coin shall bear the Lion Capitol of Ashoka Pillar with the legend  "sathyameva jayathe" in Hindi inscribed below, flanked on the left upper periphery with the word "Barath" in Hindi and on the right upper periphery flanked with the word "INDIA" in English.  It shall also bear the denominational value "10" in International Numerals below the Lion Capitol flanked on the left lower periphery with the word  "Rupye" in Hindi and right lower periphery with the word  "RUPEES"  in English. Reverse :  The face of coin shall bear the image of "HOMI BHABHA" with inscription "Homi Bhabha Janma Shatabdi Varsh" in Hindi, on the left periphery and in English "HOMI BHABHA BIRTH CENTENARY YEAR" on the right periphery and the Years "2008-2009" below portrait of Homi Bhabha at the bottom. The new Rupee Ten Coin is a legal tender as provided in the Indian Coinage Act, 1906.

It is very clear even from this notification that it is not an error coin. Now there are people who tell this as a mistake rather than error.

To those, India was celebrating 100th Birth Centenary as Birth Centenary Celebrations and was kick started on October 20, 2008.

1909, October 30 is the birth date of Homi Bhabha. The celebrations started on his 99th Birth Year and continued for the next year. This is the reason for the inscription 2008-2009. It is not a mistake as assumed by people.

The source for this information can be seen from the Nuclear India Magazine VOL. 42/NO. 3-4/Sep.-Oct. 2008. [Government of India - Department of Atomic Energy].

If anyone tells the year in this coin is error/issue tell them with proof that they are wrong. This coin is worth its face value and there is no need to pay anything more.

Homi Jehangir Bhabha, (Hindi: होमी भाभा; October 30 1909 – January 24 1966; FRS) was an Indian nuclear physicist, founding director, and professor of physics at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research. Colloquially known as "father of Indian nuclear programme", Bhabha was the founding director of two well-known research institutions, namely the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) and the Trombay Atomic Energy Establishment (now named after him); both sites were the cornerstone of Indian development of nuclear weapons which Bhabha also supervised as its director.


In January 1966, Bhabha died in a plane crash near Mont Blanc, while heading to Vienna, Austria to attend a meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency's Scientific Advisory Committee.

After his death, the Atomic Energy Establishment at Trombay was renamed as the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre in his honour. In addition to being an able scientist and administrator, Bhabha was also a painter and a classical music and opera enthusiast, besides being an amateur botanist. He is one of the most prominent scientists that India has ever had. Bhabha also encouraged research in electronics, space science, radio astronomy and microbiology. The famed radio telescope at Ooty, India was his initiative, and it became a reality in 1970. The Homi Bhabha Fellowship Council has been giving the Homi Bhabha Fellowships since 1967 Other noted institutions in his name are the Homi Bhabha National Institute, an Indian deemed university and the Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education, Mumbai, India.

Read more about Homi Jehangir Bhabha and his life.


The Rupees 10 Bimetallic coin in honour of the eminent scientist was in 2010.

Read RBI Press Release here.





Shape and outside diameter - Circular 27 mm (Bi-metallic)
Metal Composition -
Outer Ring : (Aluminium Bronze): 
Copper - 92%, Zinc - 6%, Nickel - 2%

Centre Piece: (Cupro Nickel): 
Copper - 75%, Nickel - 25%

I got the coin with plain edge.

There is a general misconception regarding the date printed in this coin. Years 2008-2009 is printed in this coin. Though the year 2009 is the centenary of Homi Bhabha. But RBI has issued this coin as 2008-2009 because it is celebrated as centenary year. 


Just because 2008 is printed it is not an error coin. Check the RBI Press release for more details of the coin.

Saint Alphonsa Muttathupadathu, F.C.C., or Saint Alphonsa of the Immaculate Conception (Malayalam: അൽഫോൻസാ മുട്ടത്തുപാടം) (19 August 1910 – 28 July 1946) was a Catholic Franciscan Religious Sister who is now honored as a saint, the first person of Indian origin to be canonized as a saint by the Catholic Church and the first canonized saint of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, an Eastern Catholic Church of the Saint Thomas Christian community.