1886.] R. H. C. Tufnell— On a Collection of South Indian Coins. 157 
On a Collection of South Indian Corns.—By Captain R. H. C. Tufnell, 
Madras Staff Corps. 
(With two plates.) 
The “fanams” are from my collection of South Indian coins. 
Regarding some of them I fear I can offer no suggestions, bnt have no 
doubt but that some of the members of the Society, better versed in the 
subject, will be able to throw some light on such as have not hitherto 
been published. I have numbered them consecutively throughout for 
facility of reference. 
The earlier numbers are issues of Mysore and the smaller states, 
once independent, but now comprised within its boundaries. Ho. 24 is 
a sj)ecimen of the “ Canteroy ” fanam, by far the commonest of the 
series found in Mysore. This little piece of money was originally 
struck by Canthirava in the earlier part of the 17th century, but a 
re-issue was made after the fall of Seringapatam and collapse of the 
Muhammadan power in that state; it is, I fancy, to this re-issue that 
most specimens belong. 
Nos. 23, 22, 21 and 20 represent the “ Soobaroye ” or snake series 
figured in Hawkes’ Mysore Coins (1852) and attributed by him to the 
Polygars of Cuduconda. He, however, makes no mention of No. 23 of 
this set, nor do I know of any reference to it elsewhere. No. 21 also 
differs from his figure in having a five-headed and not a ^/iree-headed 
snake. During a course of some years collecting in and round the pro¬ 
vince, I have come across several specimens corresponding with the 
one I now send for inspection, but have never met with an issue bearing 
the three-headed Naga. 
The Balapur coins, Nos. 19, 18 and 17 are fairly common still in the 
Mysore country. Struck by a Polygar of this once independent state, 
they differ from most of the issues of those around in having the word 
“Balapur” ( ) on one side and Shah ( ) on the other in 
Hindustani, with a figure beneath which Hawkes likened to the device 
on the early Mahratta coins, but which I cannot help thinking is merely 
a perversion of the word ( ) Muhammad. 
Towering above this petty state, stands the strongly fortified 
Drug of Nundy, which also boasted its own coinage as represented by 
No. 16. 
No. 15 brings us to the coinage of Mysore proper, during the 
period of the Muhammadan usurpation—a series, most of the coins of 
which are still fairly common, but as all these have been fully noticed 
by Hawkes in his “ Coins of Mysore ” they need no remark. There is, 
however, one exception to which I might perhaps invite attention, as I 
