What 𑿞 means
It is a historical Tamil sign for money or coins.
Inscriptions—writing carved into stone—from Tirupati and Pudukkottai show it beside money amounts. A note on one Pudukkottai form identifies it as an abbreviation for panam. At a Government Museum, Chennai coin seminar, a paper traced the word panam in inscriptions to the 7th–8th centuries. A museum official proposed a link to Kasyanapanam, an older term associated with punch-marked silver coins. This is word history, not a first date for this exact glyph.
The sign let a record show an amount without spelling out the money unit. Kaacu , Pon , and Varaakan are distinct signs in the same documented Tamil currency vocabulary.
Was Panam always the same value?
No. Its value changed by period.
In the imperial Chola period, Panam could refer to a gold coin, and one recorded scale equated ten Panam with one Pon. In the 19th and 20th centuries, a Panam could be described as one-eighth of a rupee. These are period-bound values, not a current exchange rate.
Read the sign alongside the date and record. It names the unit; the surrounding account supplies its metal and value.
When should I send 𑿞?
Use it for historical Tamil money, with the period named.
In a history note or an inscription transcription, it labels a money amount. Someone reading that source may recognize it; by itself in a chat, it may be opaque. Give the period or source when the amount matters.
Archival and specialist; it reads as old accounting, not everyday price notation.
Do not quote a present-day price without naming the historical period.
Part of collections
What it means when someone sends it to you
4 readingsA historical money amount; its period supplies the value.
Questions people ask
3Is it suitable for a modern price?
No. Its historical unit value depends on the period, so the sign alone does not state a reliable modern amount; use the actual modern currency mark.
Why does Tamil Sign Panam show as a box?
The font may not include this character. Noto Sans Tamil Supplement covers the Tamil Supplement block; a font without this glyph can show a missing-character box instead.
What is the difference between Tamil Sign Panam and Tamil Sign Pon?
They are separate signs for distinct historical units. In one imperial Chola-period scale, ten Panam equaled one Pon; that period-bound relation does not make the signs interchangeable.
More like this
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How to type or find 𑿞
- Also called
- panam symbol · Tamil money sign · old Tamil currency sign
- Search it as
- panam inscription · fanam symbol · Tamil coin sign · kaasu · kaacu · pon · varagan
- Shows up in
- Anything that takes text · its shape is whatever your font draws
𑿞\11FDE𑿞.Codes and encoding1 code points
A visible symbol can contain several code points. JS .length counts UTF-16 units; UTF-8 counts bytes.