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1/2 Pagoda - Rama Varma IV
| Issuer | Travancore, Kingdom of |
|---|---|
| Year | 1870-1931 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1/2 Pagoda (7⁄4) |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
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| Technique | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Central device comprising a stylized conch shell (Shanku), the sacred emblem of Travancore, displayed upright on a decorative base with a finial above, all enclosed within a wreath of symmetrical foliate sprays. The coin border is defined by a raised beaded rim encircling the entire design. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse script | Malayalam |
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| Additional information |
Travancore maintained its own gold coinage long after neighboring princely states had ceded monetary functions to British India. The half pagoda series persisted under Rama Varma IV — more formally Vishakham Thirunal — whose reign ran from 1880 to 1885, meaning examples attributable specifically to his rule fall within a narrow five-year window of the broader 1870–1931 type span assigned to this KM number.
The pagoda unit itself descended from South Indian temple currency traditions, and Travancore's continued striking of gold fractions into the twentieth century was a deliberate assertion of dynastic autonomy under indirect British rule. The state's extraordinary treasury wealth, drawn largely from pepper and coir export revenues, made sustained gold coinage economically viable well past the point where most princely states had abandoned it.