Item number: A3735

Year: AD 1795-1850 presumed

Material: Gold

Size: 7.1 x 7.0 x 0.7 mm

Weight: 0.4 g

Provenance: Fuchin Coin 2025

This specimen is likely a locally produced imitation modelled on the so-called Viraraya gold fanams and thought to derive ultimately from the Hoysala dynasty.

The obverse prototype is conventionally identified as a right-facing standing Sardula lion, whose head, torso and limbs are rendered in a simplified manner with pellet-like dots. The Sardula is a mythical creature widely attested in South India and possibly originating in the Mysore region; its iconography spread northwards to present-day Madhya Pradesh and southwards to Kerala, where it functioned as a symbol of power and martial strength. On the lion’s back appears an upward-facing crescent.

The reverse prototype is understood to be a right-facing wild boar with prominent tusks, its four legs abstracted into four rows of dots.

Although the general layout resembles the designs on early Hoysala coin issues, certain technical details—such as the size of the pellets and the manner in which the strokes are joined—are distinctly more modern. The stated provenance dates the fanam to AD 1795–1850, within the period when the Kingdom of Cochin was a British protectorate, a context consistent with the stylistic characteristics of the piece.

The gold fanams of the Viraraya type likely originated under the Hoysala dynasty in South India (approximately corresponding to modern Karnataka). Following the rise of the Vijayanagara Empire, this coin type was adopted and transmitted further. The designation Viraraya cannot be attributed to a specific individual; vira originally means “warrior” and functioned as a common honorific among Indian rulers and nobles. Raya, often rendered as raja in North India, means “king” and was a standard royal title, particularly prevalent in the Mysore region and in the riverine landscapes of the Tungabhadra and the Kaveri. Over time, as the type circulated, the coin design became increasingly abstract and was reinterpreted in line with local cultural idioms. On the east coast, in Tamil Nadu, the two curved arcs formed by the lion’s head and tail on the obverse were stylised into sharply pointed shoulders, and the crescent on the lion’s back was elongated and embellished to become a crowned human head, which local tradition associates with the goddess Kali. On the west coast, in regions such as Calicut, Cochin and Travancore, variations also appeared. On the Malabar Coast, centred on the city of Cochin, a fanam type circulated in which the boar’s tail on the reverse was lengthened and curled into a “J” or “U” shape and then further elaborated to resemble the letters of the monogram “VOC,” the abbreviation of the Dutch East India Company.

In addition to the design transformations arising from the transmission of the Viraraya fanams, the long-standing cultural practice—common across many parts of South India—of stringing small gold coins together as jewellery fostered both private and imitative minting. As a result, the precise origins of many Viraraya-type fanams are exceedingly difficult to trace, and classification relies primarily on morphological criteria. Scholarly opinions diverge widely, and the subject remains contentious.

The Kingdom of Cochin (Cochin), situated on the Malabar Coast of present-day Kerala and Karnataka, traced its rulers’ lineage to the ancient Perumal dynasty. From the medieval period onwards, Cochin gradually established independence from the Chera dynasty and developed into an important node in the Arab and Indian Ocean trading networks owing to its favourable port facilities. After the arrival of the Portuguese in the late fifteenth century, Cochin allied itself with them in conflicts against neighbouring Calicut (modern Kozhikode), becoming one of the earliest South Indian polities to be drawn into the European colonial sphere. Portuguese, Dutch and British powers subsequently contended for influence, while the Cochin royal house retained limited autonomy amidst these competing forces.

Following the signing of the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of London in AD 1814, Cochin formally became a princely state under British suzerainty. Its administration came under the oversight of a British Resident, although the royal family continued to exercise symbolic authority in matters of religion, customary practice and local social affairs. During the later nineteenth century, under British direction, Cochin implemented administrative reforms, improved infrastructure and undertook port modernisation, transforming Cochin Port into a major commercial hub within Kerala.

After Indian independence in AD 1947, Cochin’s princely status was abolished. In AD 1949, Cochin merged with Travancore to form the state of Travancore–Cochin, eventually becoming part of the modern Indian Union.

物件編號: A3735

年代: 推測為公元 1795-1850 年

材質: 黃金

尺寸: 7.1 x 7.0 x 0.7 mm

重量: 0.4 g

來源: 福君錢幣 2025

這可能是一枚起源於曷薩拉王朝(Hoysalas)，被歸類於維拉拉亞金法納姆的仿鑄品。

金幣的正面原型據稱為一薩杜拉獅(Sardula)的右側立像，獅首與身軀四肢的細節簡略為圓點。薩杜拉獅為南印度流傳的一種神話生物，可能源於邁索爾地區，北至中央邦，南至喀拉拉邦，都曾使用薩杜拉獅作為力量與權力的象徵。獅背上則背負月缺朝上的新月。

背面的原型據稱為一長牙野豬的右側立像，四足簡略為四排圓點。

該枚金幣的形制設計類似早期曷薩拉王朝初鑄時的幣圖，但如圓點大小、筆畫連接方式的工藝細節又相當近代，來源稱該法納姆出自公元1795至1850年，作為英國保護國的科契王國，的確符合錢幣的特徵。

維拉拉亞形制的金法納姆可能源於南印度的曷薩拉王朝(約位於今卡納塔卡邦)，在被毗奢耶那伽羅帝國取代後，該形制的法納姆也隨之繼承及傳播。維拉拉亞一名難以指向特定的人物，維拉(vira)原意為「勇士」，為印度王公貴族常見稱號。拉亞(raya)，於北印度常譯為羅闍，即「國王」，為統治者之稱號。於邁索爾地區、棟格珀德拉河與高韋里河流域均十分常見。在傳播的過程中，幣圖除了有愈加抽象化的趨勢外，也隨各地文化不同而有所附會及變形。在東海岸的坦米爾那都邦地區，正面幣圖的獅像中，獅首與獅尾構成的兩個圓弧，變形為較尖銳且銳利的肩膀，背負的新月也拉長，添加符號而成為戴冠的人首，據稱為迦梨女神像。在西海岸的卡利卡特、科契、特拉凡科爾等地區也都曾採用。以城市科契為首的馬拉巴德海岸中，便曾流傳一種法納姆，其背面幣圖的野豬像中，野豬尾延長並迴繞呈「J」或「U」形，再增添筆畫，使其與荷蘭東印度公司的縮寫｢VOC｣的字母相近。

除維拉拉亞金法納姆於各地流傳中產生的幣圖形變外，南印度多地均有綴連小金幣作為金飾的文化，使得歷代的私鑄、仿鑄均盛行。因此各種維拉拉亞金法納姆的出處多難以追溯，只能從型態學角度進行粗略分類，學者各執己論，爭議頗多。

科契王國(Kingdom of Cochin)位於今日印度喀拉拉邦(Kerala)與卡納塔卡邦(Karnataka)的馬拉巴爾海岸(Malabar Coast)，其統治者聲稱源自古老的佩拉瑪爾王朝(Perumal dynasty)。自中古時期起，科契逐漸自哲羅王朝(Chera Dynasty)中獨立，並憑藉優越港口而成為阿拉伯及印度洋貿易網絡的一個重要節點。十五世紀末，葡萄牙人抵達後，科契在與鄰近的卡利卡特(Calicut，今名科澤科德Kozhikode)衝突中選擇與葡萄牙結盟，使其成為南印度最早納入歐洲殖民秩序的邦國之一。其後，葡萄牙、荷蘭與英國勢力先後在當地角力，科契王室則在多重勢力之間維持有限的自主。

公元1814年，《英荷倫敦條約》簽定後，科契正式成為英屬印度的從屬保護國(princely state under British suzerainty)，其行政受英國常駐官(British Resident)監督，但王室仍保留其在宗教、傳統習俗及內部社會事務上的象徵性權威。十九世紀中後期，在英國主導下，科契推行行政改革、基礎設施建設與港口現代化，使科契港(Cochin Port)逐漸成為喀拉拉地區的重要商運中心。

公元1947年，印度獨立後，科契的土邦地位隨之結束。公元1949年，科契與特拉凡哥爾(Travancore)合併為「特拉凡哥爾－科契邦」(Travancore–Cochin)，最終成為現代卡納塔卡邦的一部分。