1 Fanam

The Madras Presidency fanams occupy an awkward transitional moment in British Indian monetary administration — the East India Company was simultaneously trying to rationalize a chaotic patchwork of indigenous coinage while remaining dependent on denominations too small and too locally familiar to simply abolish. The fanam had circulated across South India for centuries before Company rule, issued by Vijayanagara successors, Mysore, and dozens of petty authorities, each with slightly different weights and fineness. The Company's minted version was an attempt at standardization that still didn't survive long; the fanam was demonetized as the Presidency moved toward a unified rupee system.