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1 Fanon Pondichery
| Issuer | French East India Company (Compagnie des Indes) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1700 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Silver (.948) |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
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| Reverse description | A fleur-de-lis positioned at the center of a bold outlined Greek cross, the arms of which extend to the coin's edge, dividing the field into four quarters. A border of pellets encircles the entire design along the rim, a decorative feature characteristic of hammered colonial silver issues of this era. The composition combines French heraldic symbolism with a cross motif, reflecting both the religious and political authority of the French colonial administration in Pondicherry. |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
The Compagnie des Indes obtained the right to strike coinage at Pondicherry in the late seventeenth century as a commercial necessity — Indian merchants distrusted company scrip and demanded specie for trade. The fanon denomination itself was adapted from local Tamil monetary custom, not imported from France, making it one of the few European colonial issues where the denomination structure was entirely dictated by indigenous commercial practice.
The .948 fineness closely mirrors contemporary South Indian silver standards, a deliberate concession to bazaar assayers who would reject anything measurably below local norms.