Hobbies give more enjoyment than mere monetary gain
Hobbies give more enjoyment than mere monetary gain
By Yudha Kartohadiprodjo
JAKARTA (JP): Have you ever seen a 20 million deutsche mark
note? This note, displayed at the lobby of Sari Pan Pacific
Hotel, Central Jakarta, is owned neither by a tycoon, nor a
banking institution.
It is a part of the numismatic collection of Satria Wira, the
Director of Marketing Communication of the hotel.
Printed in 1923, the note presently has little monetary value,
and didn't even at the time it was printed. Yet from a historical
perspective, the note represents a priceless era in contemporary
world history. It was printed at the peak of hyperinflation that
lead to the rise of Nazism and Adolf Hitler.
The history behind items like this note motivated Wira to
organize the exhibition, which lasts until June 30.
Wira, 53, salvaged the note 30 years ago from the trash can of
an expatriate who lived a few doors away from his family's
residence in the Kemang area, South Jakarta. The expatriate, who
happened to be a collector, had just returned to his home
country. The outrageous denomination printed on the note made the
expat's servant dispose of the note assuming that it was a mere
novelty.
Wira, who happened to see the servant throwing it into a trash
can on the side of street, asked for permission to take the
"novelty" from the trash, only to learn that the expatriate had
abandoned more of his collection inside the house.
Wira brought the note to his friend at the National Museum.
Although the note holds a low monetary value, the friend assessed
it as an authentic bill.
The note then became a part of Wira's vast numismatic
collection of antique coins, bills and monetary tools. The oldest
piece in his collection is a monetary tool from the Majapahit
Kingdom of Central Java (circa 1400).
This note was not how he began the collection though. In his
childhood, his grandmother gave him a silver coin as a gift.
Thrilled by the shrill clink as he tossed the coin to the floor,
little Wira started to collect coins randomly for their sound.
It was not until he started to take this hobby seriously that
he learned that in the past sound was used to determine the value
of precious coins. The silver coin, dated 1764, is still part of
his treasured collection.
Besides the numismatic collection, there are also philatelic,
sea shell, telephone card, butterfly and suizeki collections
displayed in the hobby exhibition.
"We would like to popularize hobbies and inspire younger
generations to start hobbies like this. By collecting stamps,
coins, fossils or sea shells, one may acquire a lot from the
past," said Wira. "Besides, hobbies like this may provide us with
relief from stressful daily routines."
Wira is also exhibiting his collection of metal buttons. In
the past, buttons indicated an individual's status within
society. Historically, kingdoms issued buttons with the rulers'
initial on them to their subordinates. Rank, wealth and place of
origin may be reflected through an individuals' buttons. Uniforms
of higher ranking individuals were decorated with more attractive
buttons.
This tradition was not limited to aristocrats in Europe, but
was also adopted by former kingdoms throughout Indonesia.
"As a part of the Dutch colony, former kingdoms and regencies
in Java adopted the tradition and design of buttons from their
Dutch rulers, perhaps for the prestige," added Wira.
Old buttons from Surakarta and Yogyakarta Palaces are included
in his collection.
Antique dealers usually come to Wira to offer additions to his
collection, although he also loves to hunt for undiscovered
treasures.
"The quest for items is actually one of the most interesting
parts of my hobby. Once I went to Beringhardjo market in
Yogyakarta and found a bunch of buttons in the middle of a pail
of bolts. They were sold by their weight as scrap iron. Not until
I carefully polished them did I realize that they were made of
superior quality silver," Wira explained.
He observed similar ignorance with gold coins. They were sold
by a jeweler for their weight, not by their historical value.
Some of his collection also came from farmers and fishermen who
found the antiques in their fields or at the bottom of the ocean.
"Inadequate appreciation of history in our society is actually
a blessing in disguise for an antique collector like me," he
said.
Suizeki, another one of the hobbies displayed in the
exhibition is popular among East Asian cultures. The word means
stone river in Japanese. People pursuing the hobby can spend
hours staring, almost in meditation, at stones with unique
shapes.
"The distinctive shapes and surfaces of a stone allow suizeki
followers to expand their imagination," said Rafles Rahid, the
Director of Yorasaki Anggun Adinda, a supplier of suizeki stones.
River stones from Batang Ombilin and Batang Antokan of West
Sumatra are widely sought after. "Each river has distinctive
stone characteristics. The uniqueness, however, should be formed
through natural causes. This is where the challenge comes," he
said.
Extraordinarily shaped stones hold higher value. "Stones
resembling human sexual organs are the most expensive, because
they are in great demand," Rahis explained.
Another stand displays a collection of butterflies from Ambon,
East Indonesia. Most of the butterflies are the result of
cultivation. "By cultivating we avoid the extinction of these
beautiful species, while at the same time enjoying their beauty,"
said the stall keeper.
Maintenance of these hobbies does not take a lot of time or
effort and is enjoyable too. Wira, for example, placed his
numismatic collection in modified photo albums. By adding matted
board to frame the notes, he has extra protection for his
collection without spending a lot of money.
"As long as you keep the collection under the appropriate
conditions, that is by keeping it in dry, cool storage, you will
be able to preserve your timeless collection. We just have to be
a little creative and imaginative," he said.