On the foundation day of the State of Orissa, let’s get to know about the coins of the state. The coinage of Orissa or Odisha state begins with the punch-marked coins which were followed by the Puri Kushana coins.

These are crudely cast copper coins resembling those of Kushanas. They are so named by Doctor Hoernle owing to the fact that a large hoard of them was found in Puri district in 1895. In Odisha- they have been found in large number Mayurbhanj, Balasore, and Ganjam districts. The Kushana coins and their imitations known as Puri-Kushana coins have been in circulation in Odisha for around the first three centuries of the Christian era.

Puri Kushana coins are generally classified under two broad heads viz., the inscribed coins and the uninscribed coins. The uninscribed coins have two standing human figures on two sides. The symbol of a crescent is found on the reverse or on both sides. Some coins are without the crescent sign. In the inscribed coin, there is a standing human figure with a crescent on the obverse side. On the reverse side there are three pyramid-like symbols with an inscription 'Tanka'.

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