Uncirculated, Unique.

This is a highly unusual silver fanam that has recently come to light. It is in all likelihood either a trial strike or pattern, of an unapproved design, or a short-lived issue of a design that was very quickly changed. The possibility of the latter seems more, as Pridmore (p. 18-19) shows an extract from the Consultations discussing the difficulty of preparing the dies for the silver fanams because of the complexity of the design and the agreement to revert to a simpler design. This coin may be an example of the more complex design he mentions. It is most certainly a new addition to our existing knowledge of the coinage of Madras Presidency. The mention of Venkata Raya on obverse is most likely to Venkata Pati Raya II, the tutelary Vijayanagara emperor ruling from Penukonda. The reverse legend has the word 'Renda', meaning 'two' in Telugu, but the weight of the coin corresponds to a single fanam.