Item number: A353-1

Year: AD 1800-1899

Material: Gold

Size: 8.8 x 8.3 x 0.7 mm

Weight: 0.35 g

Provenance: Fuchin Coin 2024

This is a 19th-century gold “Fanam” coin minted by the Travancore princely state located in coastal South India. Fanam coins were prevalent in the South Indian region, and after the Age of Discovery, various European powers entering India also began minting their own Fanam coins locally.

The coin is extremely small, weighing only 0.35 grams. Both sides of the coin are adorned with geometric lines and dot patterns. The obverse features a V-shaped line, two curved lines with dots, and thirteen circular decorations. On the reverse, the lower left corner displays a grid of 4 x 3 neatly arranged dots, accompanied by an arch-shaped motif formed by four straight lines above.

Travancore was a Hindu kingdom established in AD 1729, primarily located along the trade-intensive Malabar Coast. Due to its strategic location, it faced invasions from the neighbouring Kingdom of Mysore. In the early 19th century, Travancore became a princely state under the British East India Company while maintaining a degree of political autonomy. After India declared independence from Britain in AD 1947, Travancore merged into the newly formed Travancore-Cochin state, which came under the direct administration of the central government.

物件編號: A353-1

年代: 公元 1800-1899 年

材料: 黃金

尺寸: 8.8 x 8.3 x 0.7 mm

重量: 0.35 g

來源: 福君錢幣 2024

這是一枚公元19世紀，位於南印度濱海的特拉凡哥爾土邦鑄造的「法納姆」金幣。法納姆是一種盛行於南印度地區的金幣，地理大發現後，進入印度的不同歐洲勢力也紛紛在當地鑄造自身的法納姆金幣。

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。錢幣正面有一個V型線條、兩條帶點的曲線和十三粒圓珠紋飾。錢幣背面的左下角有4 X 3整齊排列的圓珠，和上方以四條直線組成的弓型圖騰。

特拉凡哥爾是立國於公元1729年的印度教王國，其領土主要位於商貿頻繁的馬拉巴爾海岸，故陸續受到鄰近的邁索爾王國入侵，於公元19世紀初期成為聽命於英國東印度公司的土邦，維持內部一定的政治獨立性。公元1947年，印度宣告脫離英國獨立後，特拉凡哥爾土邦成為中央政府直接管轄的特拉凡哥爾–科欽邦。