Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
1 Fanam Trial Strike
| Issuer | Ceylon Government |
|---|---|
| Year | 1815 |
| Type | Coin pattern |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| 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 |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | FANAM 1/12 |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
The fanam was a tiny gold coin that had circulated across South India and Ceylon for centuries before the British moved to rationalize the island's chaotic monetary situation following the conquest of the Kandyan Kingdom in 1815 — the same year this trial piece was struck. The new colonial administration inherited a currency landscape riddled with local issues, Dutch coinage, and indigenous denominations, and the fanam was a natural unit to consider retaining. It wasn't. The denomination was ultimately abandoned in favor of a decimal system anchored to the rixdollar and, later, sterling.
KM#Pn5 is a pattern issue, never approved for circulation. The bronze fabric itself signals the break from tradition — fanams were historically struck in gold.