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Kaliyan Panam - Anizham Thirunal Marthanda Varma
| Issuer | Kingdom of Travancore |
|---|---|
| Year | 1790-1830 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse description | Central device consisting of a stylized representation of the conch shell (sankha) and other auspicious symbols rendered in a highly schematic, pellet-based idiom characteristic of South Indian fanam coinage. A raised diamond-shaped square element occupies the upper central field, flanked on either side by single globular pellets. Below this, two voluted scroll motifs flank a prominent cluster of raised spherical pellets arranged in a roughly triangular formation, evoking a bunch of grapes or the sacred Ananthasayana lotus. The entire design is executed in low relief against a plain, hammered field, with no legend or inscription present. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse presents a compact, reticulated grid of raised spherical pellets arranged in three horizontal rows of four pellets each, with a single additional pellet centered below the lowest row, forming a distinctive rectangular matrix of thirteen globules in total. The lower portion of the field bears schematic linear incuse strokes suggestive of a stylized floral or vegetal base. The field is plain and unlettered, consistent with the aniconic hammered tradition of Travancore fanam coinage. No legend, exergue, or border ornament is present. |
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| Additional information |
Marthanda Varma, who ruled Travancore from 1729 to 1758, is credited with transforming a fragmented collection of small principalities into a consolidated state capable of repelling the Dutch East India Company at the Battle of Colachel in 1741 — one of the few military defeats European forces suffered at the hands of an Indian kingdom during that century. The Kaliyan Panam series bearing his name continued well beyond his reign as a dynastic identifier rather than a strictly contemporary issue, which explains the wide attribution window.
At under half a gram, these tiny gold fanams circulated in a regional economy where such denominations handled everyday transactions that larger gold units could not practically serve.