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1 Fanam - Madakari Nayaka II 1652–1674
| Issuer | Vijayanagara, Empire of |
|---|---|
| Year | 1670 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Herrli-1.06.05 |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Highly stylised and schematic reverse design characteristic of late Vijayanagara gold fanam coinage. The central field features a grid-like arrangement of raised pellets or granules forming a rectangular cluster, likely a conventionalised representation of a deity or royal symbol reduced to near-abstract form. Above the pellet matrix, a small globule and a curved linear element are visible, possibly representing a head or parasol motif. To the right, a series of parallel horizontal bars or striations appear in relief. The overall composition is executed in low hammered relief on an irregularly shaped flan. |
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| Mintage | 1670: ND (1670) |
| Additional information |
Madakari Nayaka II ruled Chitradurga as a feudatory of the declining Vijayanagara successor states, a period when actual imperial authority had effectively collapsed following the catastrophic defeat at Talikota in 1565. By the 1670s, local Nayaka chiefs were striking their own gold in all but name independent polities, yet continued attributing issues to the Vijayanagara imperial framework — a political fiction that carried legitimating weight even a century after the empire's real power had evaporated.
Fanams of this type circulated widely in South Indian bazaar trade, their tiny fractional weight calibrated to local commodity exchange rather than any imperial monetary system.