A small monetary coin formerly used in South India; a historical Indian currency unit of relatively low value.
From Malayalam and Tamil 'panam,' meaning money or coin. The word was used by English traders and administrators in India during the colonial period.
Colonial accounts mention 'fanams' so frequently that they become almost a window into daily Indian life—people haggling over a few fanams for spices reveals more about how ordinary people actually lived than grand historical narratives do.
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