Catalog
1 Cash - Frederik III
| Issuer | Danish East India Company |
|---|---|
| Year | 1648-1670 |
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| Technique | Cast |
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| Obverse description | Royal crown displayed in the upper field above the crowned cipher of King Frederik III of Denmark, rendered as the letter 'F' surmounted by the numeral '3'. The design is crudely executed in the primitive cast style typical of Danish India cash coinage, with irregular flan edges and a plain field. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Additional information |
The Danish East India Company's Tranquebar settlement — ceded by the Nayak of Tanjore in 1620 — required small-denomination coinage for local bazaar transactions that European silver simply couldn't serve. Lead was the practical answer, mirroring indigenous South Indian monetary conventions where base-metal cash pieces handled everyday commerce. These were struck, or more likely cast, under the authority of the Company's local administration rather than any Copenhagen mint.
Frederik III never set foot in Asia. His name on a coin circulating in Tamil Nadu is a function of charter politics, not royal presence.