2022-08-10 Wed

The Kingdom of Travancore was a former Hindu feudal kingdom (till 1858) and an Indian princely state that had been ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from the capital at Padmanabhapuram or Thiruvananthapuram. The Kingdom of Travancore at its zenith comprised most of modern-day southern Kerala, Kanyakumari district, and the southernmost parts of Tamil Nadu.

The official flag of the state was red with a dextrally-coiled silver conch shell (Turbinellapyrum) at its center. The king of the state was accorded a 19-gun salute, the second-highest among the honorary gun salutes that were granted by the British Empire to honor the heads of the princely states.

Rani Gouri Lakshmi Bai from Travancore Princely State had issued a Double Chukram silver coin. The obverse of the coin depicts, “Garlanded Stylized Sankha (Conch Shell), Crescent above”. And the reverse of the coin depicts, “Sudarshana Chakram, Numeral 2 in Malayalam and English above, Chuckram in Malayalam below”.

Image Courtesy: Mintage World