1 Fanam Trial Strike

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.