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Kingdom of Travancore
Anizham Thirunal Marthanda Varma
1 Silver Chuckram
特拉凡哥爾王國
阿尼占·蒂魯納爾·馬爾坦達·伐摩羅
1 銀查克蘭
Item number: A3556
Reference number: KM#1, Craig#11
Year: AD 1729-1758
Material: Silver
Size: 6.4 x 5.7 x 1.5 mm
Weight: 0.3 g
Provenance: Stephen Album Rare Coins 2025
This is a silver Chuckram that was possibly struck between AD 1729 and 1758 under King Marthanda Varma. By the late eighteenth century, the monetary system in Travancore was such that 16 Cash (Kasu) equalled 1 Chuckram; 4 Chuckrams equalled 1 Fanam; 2 Fanams equalled 1 Anantaraya; 7 Fanams equalled 1 Rupee; and 52½ Fanams equalled 1 Pagoda.
The obverse of the coin bears a crescent supporting an inclined square above, with two symmetrical curved lines below, under which appear three pellets. It is said that the complete design contained ten pellets, representing the feet of Vishnu and symbolising authority and order. The reverse shows a single crescent supporting twelve pellets arranged in a rectangle, which may symbolise the twelve signs of the zodiac.
Anizham Thirunal Marthanda Varma (1706–1758), born in AD 1706 into the Kupaka dynasty, came to the throne of Travancore at a time when royal power was weak, with actual authority exercised by Nair nobles and Brahmin landlords, especially the powerful Ettuveetil Pillamar, or “Lords of the Eight Houses.” Upon his accession in AD 1729, he began a systematic purge of the nobility, executing the Ettuveetil Pillamar, confiscating their properties, and selling or expelling their families, thereby curbing feudal power. He recruited Tamil mercenaries, established a standing army, and initiated campaigns against neighbouring territories. In the 1730s he conquered Quilon and other branches of the Kupaka dynasty, and in AD 1746 he defeated remaining opposition, unifying the dynasty. Between AD 1749 and 1752 his forces expanded further, annexing minor principalities in southern Kerala and destroying the last Dutch strongholds in the region. In the 1750s Travancore pressed northwards, suppressing the Zamorin dynasty. In AD 1762 the Travancore army routed the Zamorin’s feudal confederacy, diminishing its influence, and in AD 1766 Hyder Ali of Mysore invaded northern Kerala, burning the Zamorin palace and bringing the dynasty to its end. At the same time Travancore, facing Mysore and Tipu Sultan, received the support of the English East India Company and successfully defended its territory.
Marthanda Varma also consolidated his legitimacy through religion by dedicating his kingdom to the Padmanabhaswamy Temple at Thiruvananthapuram, styling himself “Servant of God” and ruling as regent of the deity. He died in AD 1758 during his reign, leaving seven injunctions to his successors, the most important of which required them to maintain alliance with the English East India Company. By the late eighteenth century Travancore had become a British protectorate, remaining so until Indian independence.
The term Chuckram derives from the Sanskrit “Chakra,” meaning “wheel” or “circle,” and also referring to a disc-shaped throwing weapon often seen in the hands of Vishnu in iconography. It is believed to have been a traditional currency of the Travancore region since the medieval period, though its origins remain uncertain. The Travancore Chuckram and the Fanam were among the smallest coins in the world, so minute that local practice required the use of a counting board (palakas) to calculate quantities.
