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1 Fanam Dutch VOC
| Issuer | Dutch East India Company (VOC) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1657-1784 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Highly degenerate effigy of the goddess Kali, rendered in an abstracted, schematic style characteristic of late fanam coinage. A Tanjore rosette appears on the breast of the figure. To the left of the effigy is a circle representing the sun, while to the right appear a star and a crescent moon, all disposed within a plain field. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Extremely stylized and heavily degenerated rendering of the Ranga Rau legend, reduced through successive copying to an entirely geometrical pattern of lines and dots with no legible inscription remaining. The design reflects the progressive abstraction typical of late-period VOC fanam coinage struck far removed from the original engraving tradition. |
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| Additional information |
The VOC fanam was struck at the Company's Tuticorin and Negapatnam mints on the Coromandel Coast, adopting a denomination already deeply embedded in South Indian trade networks rather than imposing a European monetary unit on local commerce. The Dutch understood that Tamil and Telugu merchants trusted the fanam — not the guilder.
At 0.32 g, these required extraordinary precision from mint workers operating with crude equipment by European standards. Striking inconsistencies are endemic to the type and reflect local production conditions, not unusual handling.