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Auction: 21125 - Spink Numismatic e-Circular 11: Indian & Islamic Coins
Lot: 7216

Sri Lanka (Ceylon), Kingdom of Kandy (c. 1550-1765), Fanams (37), Half Fanam, similar in design to Viraraya fanams of south India, a variety of types current in Ceylon in the late 17th century (Codrington 168), generally little circulated, very fine or better, an interesting study group (38)

provenance
Part of a collection of coins formed by Mr Campbell, a tea planter of Nuwara Eliya in the early 20th century. He regularly correspondeded with Mr H. W. Codrington (famous for having later written 'Ceylon Coins and Currency,' published by Richards, Government Printer, Ceylon, 1924), which is still a standard reference work on the subject today.

Codrington notes these very coins (p.174) in his section on the coins of Kandy.
" (3) Fanam - (a) Sinhala panama, struck by the king. The metal is silver, often very base, and sometimes hardly distinguishable from copper; a few show a slight admixture of gold, from which it may be inferred that this coin has been gradually debased from an original gold fanam cf. the metal of the Kotte fanams in 1554. These fanams formed part of a large find of Persian, Portuguese and Dutch coins discovered in 1913, of which the latest date is 1709; in documents they are mentioned last, as far as I can ascertain, in 1765. The design is that of the Malabar Vira raya fanam."

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Sold for
£180

Starting price
£180