Fanam Kanthirava

The Fanam was already an ancient denomination by the time Mysore's rulers struck these pieces — the unit had circulated across South India for centuries under dozens of issuing authorities. Kanthirava refers to the lion emblem associated with the Wodeyar dynasty, which was restored to the Mysore throne in 1799 following Tipu Sultan's death at Srirangapatna and the subsequent British intervention. That restoration date marks the opening of this issue's range.

The denomination persisted well into the mid-nineteenth century despite British pressure to standardize coinage across Indian princely states under the East India Company's monetary framework.