Once upon a Coin

“Daee, can we please see your coin collection?” asks Banko.

Banko is very keen to know more about coins.

He likes to spend Sundays finding old ones so that he can also have a collection like Daee.

“What do you see on these coins, Banko?” asks Daee. “INDIA!” says Banko. “And three lions.”

“This side with the lions is called ‘heads’,” says Daee.

“And Daee, what are these two animals below the lions?” asks Banko.

“That’s a bull and a horse pulling a wheel or chakra.

Just like the chakra at the centre of our flag.

“Now Banko, if you flip the coin, you will see the ‘tails’ side. Look it says five rupees, which is the value of the coin,” says Daee.

“What is special about this coin, Daee?”

“This is a 2-rupee coin celebrating the ninth Asian Games held in 1982, the year your mother was born.”

“Look Daee, here’s one from 2015, the year I was born. It’s a coin that celebrates Dr B.R. Ambedkar’s 125th birth anniversary!” says Banko.

“Coins are so heavy, Daee!”

says Banko.

“That is why we have notes. They are light and easy to use,” says Daee.

On these coins, can you spot...

a) Our national animal?

b) The person who wrote

India’s national anthem?

c) The national flower?

d) The place where the leaders of the country gather?

e) An ancient form of exercise?

Answers: a) Tiger b) Rabindranath Tagore, c) Lotus d) Parliament of India e) Yoga