Item number: A353-2

Year: AD 1661-1795

Material: Gold

Size: 8.3 x 7.7 x 0.4 mm

Weight: 0.35 g

Provenance: Fuchin Coin 2024

This is a coin from the Dutch Malabar colony, based in Cochin, minted between AD 1661 and AD 1795. It emulated the “Fanam” gold coins prevalent in South India to facilitate trade between the Dutch East India Company and local partners.

The coin is very small, weighing only 0.35 grams. Both sides feature geometric lines and dot designs. The front has geometric patterns forming what appears to be a standing figure wearing a crown. The reverse side has a 4 x 3 grid of dots in the lower right corner, with an abstract conch shell (sea shell) motif above. The conch shell is a common coin design element along the Malabar coast, notably represented by the Travancore princely state.

Since the late 15th century, with the onset of the Age of Discovery, the Dutch followed in the footsteps of the Portuguese around AD 1596, establishing a presence in the Indian subcontinent to compete in the lucrative Asian spice trade. Known as the “carriers of the sea,” the Dutch set up numerous isolated outposts along the Indian coast, with more extensive control over the island of Ceylon in southeastern India. The Dutch Malabar Colony, which minted this Fanam coin, used the southern Indian port of Cochin as a trade base until it was ceded to the British in AD 1795.

物件編號: A353-2

年代: 公元 1661-1795 年

材料: 黃金

尺寸: 8.3 x 7.7 x 0.4 mm

重量: 0.35 g

來源: 福君錢幣 2024

這是一枚公元1661至1795年，以科契作為據點的荷屬馬拉巴爾殖民地，模仿盛行於南印度地區的「法納姆」金幣，以提供荷蘭東印度公司跟當地夥伴的貿易。

錢幣十分迷你，重量僅有0.35公克。錢幣雙面皆以幾何線條和圓點作為紋飾，正面的幾何圖案構成一名看似頭戴王冠的站立人像。背面的右下角是4 X 3整齊排列的圓珠，上方的鈎狀圖案是抽象的海貝圖騰。海貝是流通於馬拉巴爾海岸的常見錢幣紋飾，以特拉凡哥爾土邦作為代表。

自公元15世紀末，歐洲興起大航海時代以來，大約在公元1596年，身為「海上馬車夫」的荷蘭緊跟著葡萄牙腳步，插旗於印度次大陸競爭利潤豐厚的亞洲香料貿易。荷蘭人在印度沿岸建立許多孤立的據點，僅對於印度東南方的錫蘭島有較為全面的控制。鑄造這枚法納姆的荷屬馬拉巴爾殖民地，以印度南方的良港科契為據點進行貿易，直到公元1795年將其轉讓予英國為止。