| SPECIFICATIONS | |
| Denomination | One Pagoda |
| Legal | Gold Au.823 |
| Metal XRF | Gold Au.808 |
| Alloy | Ag%Cu 0.41 |
| Type | Struck |
| Diameter | 11. mm |
| Thickness | mm |
| Weight Legal | 3.406 gms |
| Weight | 3.42 gms |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Plain |
| DieAxis | O° |
| Mint | Madras |
|
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| KM Madras #303 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Obverse : Vishnu standing with star above; deeply struck.
Reverse : Granulated with five-pointed star in center.
The coins are mentioned by Codrington, who states It was in use in
Ceylon in 1777 and also under the British.
Under the dutch the
Star Pagoda was worth 30.5 fanams, and increased in value relative to
the Ceylon Stuiver under the British. The exchange on 1796 March 22
was 1 Star Pagoda = 45 fanams. About 17% higher than the Porto Novo =
38.5 fanams. Over the period 1802,1807,1809,1813 the Star Pagoda rose
in value to 48,60,70,80 fanams as the Rix Dollar dropped to it's intrinsic
value of Silver. In 1819 it was 8 Shillings, or 54 6/7 fanams.
Text from
* Ceylon Coins and Currency By H. W. Codrington. Colombo 1924
Page 172 Chapter XIII Miscellaneous: VI - Pagodas and Fanams.
The coin was scanned at 600dpi and the images are displayed at 500dpi.
The VF+ condition coins were purchased in July 1999 on ebay,
and probably not one that actually circulated in Lanka.