Need help Identifying, Indian Fanam - Little coin for my little guy

Tomthecoinguy

My five year old son really wants a gold coin, so I decided to give him my Indian Fanam for Christmas. Before I give it to him, I would like to tell him more about the coin, such as were it came from (I believe it is from India but I would like to be more specific if possible), and about how old it is. I would also like an idea of value, so I can give my 6 year old daughter a coin of corresponding value. Any info you have would be appreciated.

Here is what I know, it is 7.8mm and weighs in at a whopping .3 grams.

worldcoinguy

I am unfamiliar with them but they just caught my eye yesterday loking at this thread in the world PST forum:

Link

Maybe Tomthecoinguy has a bit more info on them?

DorkGirl

Not so sure it's a good idea to give a 5 year old that little tiny piece of gold.....

BrokenCompass

This looks like a Cochin Fanam. These fanams were struck in Southern Indian states around 1700-1830.

Cochin is a Major Port City in the Indian state of Kerala. It was the centre of Indian spice trade for many centuries, and was known to Greeks, Romans, Jews, Arabs, and Chinese since ancient times. It was a port that the Portuguese used a lot and even ruled for many years.

The city of Cochin is now called Kochi.

lordmarcovan

I've always liked these teeny-tiny goldies. They're fun and affordable. Once upon a time, they could be bought in bulk for six or seven bucks a pop, not very long ago. Those days are gone, of course, but they're still a nice cheap way to buy old gold, and the size makes 'em interesting, too. I've long wondered how many got lost in the dirt, and whether detectorists in India find them.

I agree that you should be careful giving this to a five-year-old, even a responsible and mature five-year-old. They are VERY easy to lose. I was putting one in a flip once and dropped it, while sitting on a friend's couch. We turned the living room upside-down and shook out all the cushions, to no avail. About a year later, they found it while sweeping under the fridge in their kitchen, so somehow the dang thing had migrated.

Put it in a reasonably-sized, well-sealed holder!