50 
COINAGE OF TRAVANCOEE. 
Day says that the Portuguese affirm that on their arrival 
in Cochin none of the native princes along the coast had 
the power of coining except the Zamorin. 
Within the last thirty years coins of larger denomina- 
tion have been issued and the workmanship improved by 
the introduction of machinery from England, so that the 
currency approximates more and more to the British India 
ideal. 
In the bazars of South Travancore one! alls in with coins 
of Pondieherry, Puducotta, .Madura^ &c., while in North 
Travancore and Cochin those of Calicut, Mysore, and Tel- 
licherry are obtainable. In the bazar at Trevandrum are 
purchasable gold Turkish coins (" Arabi cash ") mohurs, 
pagodas, gold fanams, and sundry others. In the Treasury 
at Trevandrum a large collection of miscellaneous coins 
may be found, many of them brought into the country 
by pilgrims from other parts of India and presented as 
offerings at favourite temples. 
In former times the value of Mohurs, Pupees, and Dollars 
used in commerce was subject to great fluctuations owing 
to the devices of the native shroffs in Cochin. The Tra- 
vancore coinage also was unsettled and fluctuating in its 
relative value to the British currency j occasionally 30 
chuckrams have been obtained for a British Indian Rupee, 
but more frequently fewer than 28 i, the fixed value. The 
difficulty of obtaining chuckrams at equitable rates is 
especially felt by the poor ; for at times these small coins 
become very scarce and cannot even be obtained at the 
Treasury. 
Formerly the public accounts were kept in Veeraraya 
fanams and in Surat Eupees. The rupee was divided into 
400 Reis, the small Portuguese currency of former times, 
but of these no specimens are now seen in Travancore. 
The two coins that are in popular daily use are the small 
copper Kaau or Cash and the silver Chuckram. Coins so 
