A coin can be so small that it slips between two fingers, yet carries centuries of history. Among the coins associated with the old Kingdom of Coorg is a tiny gold denomination attributed to Raja Chikkavirappa, who ruled Kodagu from 1736 to 1766. Today, numismatic catalogues generally refer to such coins as fanams. But the story behind this name, and the history of the coin itself, may reveal a fascinating chapter of Kodagu’s economic independence.
Could the word that survives in our marriage customs also connect us to the monetary system of the old Kingdom of Kodagu?
The question becomes particularly interesting when we turn to the tiny coin attributed to Raja Chikkavirappa.
In historical numismatic catalogues, the denomination is commonly recorded as fanam. However, the older Indian monetary vocabulary includes pana and the southern Indian form panam, both associated with money or coin.
Historical linguistic and numismatic literature connects the European form fanam with these older Indian terms. Some accounts also discuss possible Arabic influence in the transmission or development of the word. The precise linguistic pathway, however, is not entirely settled.
Over centuries of trade, merchants, travellers and administrators carried monetary terminology across linguistic boundaries. Words were adapted to unfamiliar sounds and recorded according to the languages of those who encountered them. A term used locally could consequently acquire a different spelling or pronunciation in foreign records.
It is therefore worth considering whether the transition from Pana to Fanam reflects this wider history of linguistic exchange. The form fanam became established in European and Colonial numismatic literature, while Pana continues to have a place in Kodava cultural tradition.
This distinction matters when examining a coin associated with Kodagu. The name used in an international catalogue may not necessarily preserve the terminology used by the people among whom the currency originally circulated.
Kodagu’s Agricultural Wealth and Trade
To understand why Kodagu might have sought its own monetary identity, we must first consider the kingdom’s economic circumstances.
Kodagu’s economy was supported by agriculture, particularly the cultivation of paddy, pepper, bay leaves, chilly and cardamom. These products were valuable commodities that connected the region with markets beyond its hills.
Trade routes linked Kodagu with neighbouring territories. Agricultural produce and spices moved towards Kerala, from where commodities could reach wider trading networks and overseas markets. Paddy and other agricultural products also moved towards the Kingdom of Mysore for local consumption.
These connections were important to the economic life of the kingdom. Kodagu was not an isolated hill region operating outside the commercial world around it. Its agricultural production and trading relationships linked it to neighbouring political and economic centres. However, dependence on external trading networks also raised an important question: what currency would be used to conduct these transactions?
According to the historical interpretation explored here, coins from neighbouring kingdoms, including Mysore, Calicut and Travancore circulated in Kodagu. Gold, Silver and Copper coins formed a significant part of the currency in circulation. If Kodagu’s trade depended substantially on currencies issued by other kingdoms, establishing an independent monetary system would have represented an important assertion of economic authority.
This brings us to the possible origins of Kodagu’s Pana.
Who Introduced Kodagu’s Pana?
The tiny coin generally identified in numismatic catalogues as a fanam is attributed to Chikkavirappa Wodeyar, who ruled the Kingdom of Coorg from 1736 to 1766. The catalogue description associates the coin with the Mercara mint, in present-day Madikeri.
The recorded specimen is particularly striking because of its size. It is described as a gold coin measuring approximately 8 millimetres across and weighing around 0.4 grams.
Yet, while the coin is associated with Chikkavirappa, it would be premature to conclude that the entire idea of monetary independence originated with him. Before Chikkavirappa was Dodda Veera Raja, who ruled from 1687 to 1736. His reign of nearly five decades was a significant period in the history of the Haleri dynasty.
Could the foundations for Kodagu’s monetary independence have been laid during Dodda Veera Raja’s long reign, with Chikkavirappa subsequently introducing or strengthening the circulation of Pana?
This is a possibility worth examining.
Establishing a currency involves more than producing coins. A monetary system must operate within an economy, gain acceptance among those who trade and transact, and maintain sufficient confidence to circulate beyond the immediate authority that issues the same. It is therefore reasonable to explore whether the economic foundations for Pana developed over a longer period and whether Chikkavirappa’s reign represented the stage at which the currency became established or more widely circulated.
Under this interpretation, the history of Kodagu’s Pana would not belong to one ruler alone. It could represent the outcome of economic and political developments extending across successive reigns.
The Mercara Mint and the Coin
One of the most interesting details associated with the coin is its connection with Mercara, the historical name of Madikeri. The coin’s association with a local mint raises important questions about the organisation of Kodagu’s monetary system. Who was responsible for minting the coins? What denominations were produced? How were their values determined? And how widely did they circulate?
The numismatic record also associates the Pana tradition with gold and silver coinage. Establishing the precise range of issues, their denominations and their circulation would require further examination of surviving specimens and historical records.
Political Instability and the Disappearance of Pana
If Dodda Veera Raja’s long reign helped establish the foundations of Kodagu’s economic strength, and Chikkavirappa subsequently established or strengthened the circulation of Pana, what happened to that monetary system after his time?
The sequence of rulers who followed Chikkavirappa presents an interesting contrast. After his thirty-year reign from 1736 to 1766, Muddu Raja ruled for approximately four years, from 1766 to 1770, followed by Devappa Raja from 1770 to 1774 and Linga Raja I from 1775 to 1780. These comparatively short reigns formed part of a period of political instability, during which internal conflicts and the struggle to retain power may have weakened the institutions that sustained Kodagu’s economic independence. Could this succession of short reigns have contributed to the decline of the Pana currency and its eventual disappearance from circulation? While this remains a possibility requiring further investigation, it offers an important perspective on how political instability may have undermined the economic foundations of the Kodagu kingdom.
Although Dodda Veera Raja returned to the throne in 1781 and ruled until 1809, a period of twenty-eight years, the economic damage that may have accumulated during the preceding two decades of political instability could never have been fully reversed. The repeated changes in leadership, internal conflicts and the apparent preoccupation of successive rulers while protecting their own positions may have come at the expense of Kodagu’s long-term economic interests. By the time Dodda Veera Raja resumed power, the monetary system associated with Pana may already have lost its footing, and the opportunity to restore Kodagu’s earlier economic independence may have slipped away. If this interpretation is correct, the disappearance of Pana was not merely the loss of a currency but a reflection of how nearly two decades of political uncertainty and the self-interest of rulers may have undermined the economic foundations of an entire kingdom.
Recovering a Neglected Chapter of Kodagu’s History
The story of Pana raises important questions about the origins of Kodagu’s independent currency, the roles of Dodda Veera Raja and Chikkavirappa, its relationship with the currencies of Mysore and Travancore, and the circumstances that led to its disappearance. Answering them requires closer study of surviving coins, historical records, trade routes and the political history of the Haleri dynasty.
While Kodagu’s heritage is often celebrated through its rulers, palaces and traditions, its economic history deserves equal attention. The word Pana survives in Kodava marriage customs, while Fanam appears in numismatic catalogues, offering an intriguing connection between living culture and historical coinage.
Kodagu may have lost its independent currency, but it should not lose the history behind it. This tiny coin, weighing barely 0.4 grams, reminds us that our past survives not only in palaces and chronicles, but also in the smallest objects that connect us to our heritage.
Kodagu’s history must be recovered not only from its palaces and chronicles, but also from the smallest objects that have survived the passage of time.
The facts, views and opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Coffeeland News.
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