ELK GROVE, CA (MPG) - For Shiu Kumar, 75, a lifetime of travel isn’t told through photographs or souvenirs, but through the paper currency he has collected over the years.

Though he has not visited every country represented in his collection, Kumar said the hobby has connected him to cultures from around the world. Between 1971 and 1990, he built a collection of nearly 100 bills. He recently shared part of that collection with the Elk Grove Citizen and is inviting local enthusiasts to connect.

Kumar, who has lived in Elk Grove for about two decades, said his interest in currency began in his native country of Fiji while working in the hotel and resort industry. He started at a small hotel before moving to work at the 300-room Regent of Fiji, now known as The Westin Denarau Resort & Spa, where he regularly interacted with international travelers.

 

“There were people from all over the world coming,” Kumar said. “When I started working for them, I was at the front desk, so it was easy to meet people.”

Those daily interactions sparked his interest and soon grew into a hobby. Kumar began asking guests if he could purchase bills from their home countries, a request often met with enthusiasm. At times, he said, guests who shared his interest would give him their native currency without asking for anything in return.

Over time, the collection became a snapshot of global history. Among his most unique pieces are

German emergency non-legal tender bank notes issued during World War I between 1914 and 1922. His oldest bills still in circulation include American currency dating to 1953 and 1957. 

“Some of these currencies are older than me,” Kumar joked.

Today, the collection spans more than 60 countries across every continent, with bills representing regions in Asia, Europe, North and South America, Africa, Australia, the Pacific islands and the Middle East. Spread across his dining room table, the colorful notes displayed a range of languages and designs unique to each nation.

From yen, rupiah, riyal, rupee, won, euros and pounds to sol, pesos, bolivares and shillings, Kumar said he is especially drawn to the history behind each note. He pointed to a Fijian 50-cent banknote with an image of Queen Elizabeth II, which Kumar said was issued before the country gained independence in 1970. At the time, he noted, it was easier for the Fijian government to print paper money than to mint coins.

Kumar said the collection is now at least 50 years old and that at one point it had more than 100 bills. However, while supporting his growing family on a wage of 50 Fijian cents per hour, he said he had to stop collecting and even exchange some of his currency to make ends meet.

Even so, Kumar emphasized that his motivation was never financial. A collector at heart, he has also gathered bottles, stamps and coins over the years. 

While many collectors focus on pristine-condition notes in order to sell them for profit, Kumar said the value of his collection lies in the sentiment behind it. He added that having the collection was a way for him to travel the world.

“At that point in time when I started collecting currency, I thought to myself, ‘I don’t think I’ll ever be able to get out of Fiji to travel,” he said. “If I cannot visit these countries in my lifetime, why not just keep something as a remembrance?”

Although his passion remains, Kumar said that he hasn’t collected in a while since he doesn’t work in the hotel industry anymore, so it’s not as easy to get different types of currency that isn’t American. Despite that, he is opening the opportunity in hopes of finding a local group or forming a community for other paper currency enthusiasts.

Kumar is open to connecting with others interested in his collection or those who have one of their own; he can be reached at 916-896-2939.