I think I'm breaking the rules here by not posting a coin but I don't have any of this type and am looking for information from members who might collect these. I really like the small silver Greek fractions but the EL hekte's are simply too pricey for me to acquire a reasonable size collection of those. I'd like to have some gold in the collection and am not stuck on Greek coins but just coins that appeal to me, are within the budget and would be fun to hunt down. The fanams seem interesting as they are gold and really small, some with good designs. A few questions: 1. These look like they could be easy to fake - if I stick to auction houses and VCoins am I likely to avoid fakes or is the market riddled with them? A tough question - but in this case I can only know the dealer as I won't know the coins. 2. The main reference appears to be a book 'Gold Fanams" by Hans Herrli - can anyone comment on whether this is a worthwhile reference. If you have some fanams in your collection please post! Thanks
I recommend Coin India at vcoins - the owner is Pankaj Tandon, who is also the head of the Oriental Numismatic Society. He is a scholar first, dealer second. The only fanams I've acquired have been through him. He is a life-long student of Indian coinage and I trust his judgment.
Forgot to add the info: Tipu Sultan (1782-1799 AD), Mysore AU Fanam, Patan mint, 1789 OBV: HA (initials of Hyder Ali, Tipu Sultan's father) within inner linear and outer dotted borders REV: 1218 (1789AD) / Zarb Patan, within inner linear and outer dotted border NOTE: Tipu Sultan introduced his own Mauludi date system, replacing the Hijiri calendar
Thanks for the info JA and nice coin swish513! That is one small coin - amazing they can fit the date and mint on such a tiny flan.
Very true, there are huge numbers of fakes of these (and other Southeast Asian types). As John points out, Pankaj is the one to go to.
I dont have any fanams - although I have owned 2 in the past. I can share my Pagoda. Chalukya of Kalyana Jayasimha II Jagadekhamalla,(r. AD 1015-1042) AV Pagoda 18 mm x 3.79 grams Obverse: 2 x Sri, Temple/ spearhead with central rosette. - Kannad Script -Jakadeva Reverse: Uniface - Countermarked elephant right. Uncertain symbol. Ref:Mitch, Karnataka Andhra 273 var Note: Very rare with elephant punchmark.