Travancore Fanam

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The Travancore Fanam was a type of coin that was issued by the State of Travancore, now a part of Kerala in South India. The Fanams (or Fanoms) and Chuckrams (or Chakrams) were known to be some of the smallest coins in the world. Historically, the Fanam and Chuckram coins were the regular unit of currency in Travancore, but by the 1800s the reduction in precious metal content had rendered the coins so small that they were difficult to count. They were counted by pouring them in a pile onto a counting board (called palakas) and shaking them into the holes on the surface of the board.[1] The word Fanam (and the related Panam) is still used as a synonym for wealth in Kerala in the native language of Malayalam.

File:Fanam1.jpg
Travancore Fanam (Front) - Malayalam Era 1116
File:Fanam2.JPG
Travancore Fanam (Reverse)

History

The modern version of the Fanam coins were introduced into circulation around 1800 C.E. (975 M.E.) with a value equal to 4 Chuckrams.[2] These coins were minted in Trivandrum (now called Thiruvananthapuram) with the aid of stamping presses obtained from Madras Presidency. Later issues were minted using presses procured from England. These coins were primarily based on silver and were issued till 1946-47 remaining in circulation till 1949 before being replaced by the Indian Rupee and Paise system.

Inscriptions

The Fanam coins were part of the traditional coinage of Kerala and the time from when these coins were issued is not known. Older issues of the coins are inscribed with the various symbols representing religious deities or nature but issues from the 1860s onwards often had the names or insignia of the reigning monarch in English. The year printed on the Fanam coins was based on the Malayalam calendar (and corresponding Malayalam Era) which begins circa 825 CE. Therefore, the year of issue of the coin can be found by adding 825 to it.

Example - The year of issue of a coin showing 1000, will be 1825-26 C.E.(or A.D.). Therefore, the year of issue of the coin with year 1116, as depicted in the images, will be 1941-42.

7 Fanams made up one Travancore rupee while the Fanam was composed of 4 Chuckrams. These Chuckrams were further divided into 16 cash. Thus,

Unit Equivalent Sub-units
1 Rupee 7 Fanams
1 Fanam 4 Chuckrams
1 Chuckram 16 Cash

References

  1. British and Native Cochin by C.A. Lawson (1861), p146
  2. Travancore State Manual by V. Nagam Aiya (1908), p172

See also