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Madras Mint – Early Coinages – Silver, Fanam et infra 1690 to 1763

Full standing figure of Vishnu, within a beaded border.	Two interlinked Cs, with one, two or three dots. Surrounded by a beaded border.

	Double Fanam	Fanam	Half Fanam
Official Weight (g)	2.07	1.03	0.51
Actual Weight (g)	2.00-2.08	1.00-1.05	0.48
Actual Diameter (mm)	9.1-11.3	7.8-9.4	7.1-7.9
Composition	Silver

Catalogue

Cat No.	Photo Link	Pr. No.	Denomination	Obv	Rev	Provenance	√ Comments	Rarity
1.18	√ 20.	15	Double fanam	A	I	Ste	Three dots on reverse.	S
1.19	21.	-	”	A	II		Two dots on Reverse. Usually only one visible.	S
1.20	√ 22.	-	”	B	II	Ste	Same weight but cruder design (as later issue). Only one dot visible on specimens examined, but could be two on specimens showing full die impression.	R
1.21	√ 23.	16	Single fanam	A	III	Ste	One dot on reverse.	S
1.22	24.		”	A	IV		Two dots on reverse. One in centre and one between ends of C. Reported by Wiggins.	S
-	√ 25.	-	Single Fanam Forgery	A	III	Ste	Very crude figure.	RRR
1.23	√ 26.	17	Half fanam	A	?	RJ (HC), Archie Maru	The ANS apparently has one, Ref: 1973.56.1232	NR

Obverse Varieties

Shape of Figure

The shape of the figure varies. Normally a full figure is visible. On some coins a cruder figure is shown and is only partially visible.

	A	B
Shape of Figure	Normal	Cruder

Reverse Varieties

Dots	There may be three, two or one dots visible

	I	II	III	IV
Dots	Three	Two. Between ends of each C	One	Two. One in centre & one between ends of C