Students In India Learn To Identify Counterfeits.

School students take a quick class on how to identify fake notes at a coin and stamp exhibition here on Thursday.

Chennai: A vast collection of stamps, postal covers, seals, coins and badges will be on display at the IMAGE auditorium in R.A. Puram on Friday.

Indian Bank has organised the exhibition to commemorate its centenary year. The display, inaugurated on Thursday, is based on the theme of Indian heritage.

All the exhibits have unique tales to tell. Some of the coins date back to the 7th century B.C. “These ancient coins are irregular-shaped and the designs on them have been punched by hand,� explained S. B. Raja Seetharaman, a numismatist and philatelist who co-ordinated the display. A must-see exhibit is the King George V ‘pig rupee’. The coin minted with an elephant motif on the king’s robes had to be withdrawn as the elephant trunk was so short that it looked like a pig snout. Mis-shapen coins marked by minting flaws, Rs. 100 coins and sandalwood-scented stamps are some of the other interesting exhibits. The display is on from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.