Item number: A1846

Year: circa. AD 726-1200

Material: Gold

Size: 8.0 x 7.7 x 1.3 mm

Weight: 0.65 g

Provenance: Fuchin Coin 2024

This gold coin is a Fanam, a small-denomination gold currency. In some regions, 28 Fanams were equivalent to one Pagoda. This particular coin is likely to have been minted by the Western Ganga dynasty, though both its place and period of issuance remain uncertain.

The obverse of the coin features a caparisoned war elephant, adorned with elaborate decorations, standing to the right of the observer. Its body is embellished with pearl chains and silk ribbons, while its trunk is engraved with fine lines to depict its natural folds. Below the elephant’s belly, four dots are visible, which may indicate its weight, denomination, or issuing authority. The depiction of the elephant may be derived from Jainism, which was highly revered by the rulers of the Western Ganga dynasty. Within Jain doctrine, the elephant symbolises peace and wisdom, an association supported by the discovery of copper plates bearing similar imagery. Furthermore, the elephant motif was commonly used as a seal and emblem of the Western Ganga dynasty. While a few Fanams or Pagodas feature inscriptions consisting of one or two letters, their precise meanings remain a subject of debate. The last ruler of the Lohara dynasty in Kashmir, Harshadeva, minted coins in AD 1090 following this design.

The reverse of the coin displays a floral vine pattern, which is characteristic of Western Ganga coinage from this period, where elephant motifs on the obverse were typically paired with floral designs on the reverse.

Fanams and Pagodas were primarily used in South India and Sri Lanka, with the former serving as small-denomination currency for daily transactions, while the latter functioned as high-value coinage for commercial trade. These coins were extensively circulated in present-day Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala. The earliest known records of their issuance date to the reign of Sripurusha (r. c. AD 726–788) of the Western Ganga dynasty, whose gold coins depict a caparisoned war elephant on the obverse and floral patterns on the reverse. The Western Ganga dynasty was conquered by the Chola dynasty at the end of the 10th century, yet after AD 1080, as Chola authority waned, the dynasty’s core territory (Gangavadi) resumed minting the elephant-motif Fanam and Pagoda coins. Several other states influenced by Western Ganga culture, including the Western Chalukya dynasty (Kalyani Chalukya), the Hoysala dynasty, and the Kalachuris dynasty, are also believed to have minted similar coinage. During this period, Fanams weighed approximately 0.35 to 0.40 grams, while Pagodas ranged from 3 to 4 grams, typically struck from high-purity gold or silver. Their circulation extended well beyond South India, persisting into the 12th and 13th centuries, reaching as far west as Malabar and Mabar, east to the Eastern Ganga dynasty, and south to the Pandya dynasty in Sri Lanka. Even in the 18th century, British records document occasional sightings of these coins. Moreover, coins named after the Fanam and Pagoda denominations remained in use during the Vijayanagara Empire, the Kingdom of Mysore, the Maratha Empire, and even the early British colonial period. These later coins typically featured Hindu deities on the obverse and religious or royal insignia on the reverse.

The Western Ganga dynasty was established in the 4th century AD, ruling over what is now southern Karnataka, until the 11th century AD. Initially emerging as an independent polity, the dynasty later became a vassal state under the Pallava and Rashtrakuta dynasties, before ultimately succumbing to Chola conquest in the late 10th century. The Western Ganga rulers were noted patrons of Jainism, funding the construction and religious activities of Jain pilgrimage sites such as Shravanabelagola. Administratively, they developed a relatively stable governance, military, and economic system. Among their most notable rulers, Sripurusha led military campaigns against the Pallavas and the Pandyas, expanding the dynasty’s territorial control. However, by the early 11th century, the Cholas successfully conquered Gangavadi (also known as Gangawadi), reducing the Western Ganga dynasty to a tributary state. Around AD 1080, with Chola power declining, Western Ganga nobles briefly reasserted their regional influence, yet they were ultimately supplanted by the rise of the Hoysala dynasty. Although the Western Ganga dynasty never commanded an empire on the scale of India’s greatest historical polities, its coinage, inscriptions, and architectural contributions profoundly influenced South Indian culture.

物件編號: A1846

年代: 約公元 726-1200 年

材質: 黃金

尺寸: 8.0 x 7.7 x 1.3 mm

重量: 0.65 g

來源: 福君錢幣 2024

此金幣為一枚法納姆金幣，為一種小面額金質硬幣。在一些地區，28法納姆可能等於1寶塔幣(Padora)。此幣可能為西恆伽王朝鑄造，地點與時代都待考。

金幣的正面為一頭披甲且裝飾華麗的戰象，朝觀者右方站立，身軀綴有珠圈及絲帶。象鼻部分刻出細齒來表示象鼻皺褶。象腹下方有四點，可能標示了其重量、面額或發行者。大象之圖樣可能來自備受西恆伽王朝諸王禮遇的耆那教，於教義中是和平與智慧的象徵，以出土銅板為證，同時也是西恆伽王朝的印鑑與徽記圖樣。少數法納姆或寶塔幣則會有由一、二個字母組成的幣文，具體意義仍有爭議。喀什米爾的洛哈拉王朝(Lohara)之末代君主曷利沙提婆(Harshadeva)便曾於公元1090年，倣此形制而鑄行貨幣。

金幣的背面為蜷曲纏繞的花卉枝條紋飾。此時期恆伽王朝之錢幣形制多為正面大象，背面花卉的組合。

法納姆與寶塔幣主要流通於南印度和斯里蘭卡的貨幣，前者為小額貨幣，供日常流通，後者為大額貨幣，供商業貿易。法納姆與寶塔幣於歷史上，主要在今卡納塔克邦、泰米爾納德邦與喀拉拉邦地區廣泛使用。該貨幣最早的紀錄為西恆伽王朝的國王斯里普魯沙(Sripurusha)所鑄造(約公元726至788年在位)，金幣正面刻有披甲戰象，背面則為花卉圖案。西恆伽王朝於公元10世紀末被朱羅王朝所征服，但在公元1080年後，朱羅王朝的控制減弱，西恆伽王朝核心區域(Gangavadi)恢復鑄行該「象圖」法納姆與寶塔幣，而受西恆伽王朝文化影響之政權，如西遮婁其王朝(Kalyani Chalukya)、霍依薩拉王朝(Hoysalas)、羯羅處梨(Kalachuris)王朝推測可能也曾鑄行過該形制之錢幣，此時期法納姆重量約為0.35至0.40克，寶塔金幣重量約為3至4克，通常由高純度金或銀製成。流通範圍則更加廣泛，可能流通至12到13世紀，西至馬拉巴爾(Malabar)海岸的馬八兒國，東至東恆伽王朝，最南可達斯里蘭卡地區的潘地亞王朝(Pandya)，甚至於公元18世紀，英人來印的紀錄中，都能偶爾得見。而以法納姆與寶塔幣為名的貨幣，則於南印度之毗奢耶那伽羅帝國、邁索爾王國、馬拉塔帝國，乃至英國殖民早期皆持續行用，正面可能刻有印度教神祇，背面則帶有宗教或王室象徵。

西恆伽王朝建立於公元4世紀，統治今日印度卡納塔克邦南部地區，持續至公元11世紀。該王朝最初作為獨立政權發展，後來成為帕拉瓦王朝(Pallava)和羅濕陀羅-拘陀王朝(Rashtrakuta)的附庸，直到10世紀末被朱羅王朝征服。西恆伽王朝以支持耆那教著稱，統治者資助許多如什拉瓦納貝拉戈拉等耆那教聖地的建設與宗教活動，並在行政、軍事和經濟上建立了較為穩固的體系。斯里普魯沙即為該王朝的著名統治者，在軍事上對抗帕拉瓦與潘地亞王朝，並擴張領土。公元11世紀初，朱羅王朝征服西恆伽王朝核心地區(Gangavadi，或譯為岡格阿瓦蒂)，使西恆伽王朝淪為附庸，直到1080年左右，趁朱羅王朝衰退，恆伽王朝貴族恢復地方影響力。然而，最終該地區由霍伊薩拉王朝崛起取代，恆伽王朝的影響力逐漸消失。西恆伽王朝統治版圖不比印度歷史上的諸多大帝國，但其貨幣、銘文與建築對南印度文化產生了深遠影響。