2026-05-28 Thu
Fanam refers to a small gold or silver coin that was historically used in South India for over a thousand years. The word is the Anglicized version of the native Tamil word panam (or Sanskrit pana), which translates to "coin" or "wealth".
"Velli Fanam" (meaning "silver money" in Malayalam) was a historic silver coin and currency unit used primarily in the former princely state of Travancore (modern-day Keralam)
The above Velli Fanam weighing 1.28g, bears no date. The obverse depicts Chukram within a large crescent above Vishnu Padam, represented by two curve lines and 10 pallets while the reverse has Tamil letters around a device
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