I recently made a trade that I think you’ll find interesting!
Years ago, when I first got into coin collecting, I picked up a 1835 “Classic Head” half cent. Back then, I was still learning and didn’t really know what I was doing (they say “buy the book before the coin,” right?). After several attempts, I finally found a new home for it—woo-hoo!
Do you ever feel like coins that remind you of past mistakes can drive you crazy? I sure do! So, I was glad to let this one go, even though I lost about $90 on the deal in the end.
On the bright side, I received a pretty cool 18th-century Indian “Fanam” (or “Fanum”) coin made of gold in exchange. I’d never seen such a coin before, and I even got some extra cash to boost my “coin fund.”
Check out the pictures and details on both coins:
The obverse (front) of the half cent is so pretty and detailed, right? That’s exactly what drew me to it three years ago, enough that I overlooked the obvious cleaning on the reverse—oops! The photo doesn’t quite capture its shine, but it’s bright as the sun, which unfortunately lowers its value. But hey, you live and learn!
It’s still a lovely piece of 1800s American coinage. Someday, I’d like to replace it with a better, uncleaned example to add back to my collection. Coins from back in the day were so beautiful, weren’t they? And isn’t it fascinating that we used to have half-cents?
(If you’re curious about other interesting “odd” denominations, here’s a link to all our posts on them: https://cointhrill.com/category/odderror/)
(Excuse all the markings—haha! I’ve since removed the coin from its unsightly packaging and placed it in a clear plastic airtight holder, which is my preferred storage method.)
As I hinted earlier, I had no clue what these Fanam coins were, but as soon as I saw them in my friend’s collection, I knew I wanted one!
Most of his coins were flatter and rounder, but this one really caught my eye because it was more detailed and *concave*, which I found pretty unique. After some research, I stumbled upon this explanation from the American Journal of Numismatics, Volume 50:
“Fanum. A word likely adapted from Panam by Europeans. A name for gold and silver coins commonly found in southern India. The gold Fanum is a tiny coin that circulates in Travancore and on the Malabar Coast.”
Interesting, right? And this coin is really tiny! Just look at the pictures; it’s even smaller than the 1 1/2 pence coin from Great Britain we blogged about a year ago!
Here’s a close-up of the sides showing the symbols:
This remarkable little coin is… Haha, just kidding. You know how it is—cash money!
If the picture looks a bit odd or “digital,” it’s because I took a photo of the picture of the bills on my computer to trick Photoshop into letting me edit it. They’re getting better at detecting images with money to stop would-be forgers, but they haven’t outsmarted this blogger yet! Haha… There’s always a workaround!
Hope you enjoyed the story!
Has anyone else had some interesting trading experiences lately? Or care to admit to making silly purchases early in your collecting days?
