Rare early heavy Vira Raya gold fanam, Vijayanagar Kingdom, 15th-16th century?,

Description

Vira Raya pattern, 9mm, 0.39 grams.
These are heavy fanams - this generic type was made in the far South of India (see Herrli type 1.31-1.32). The earliest coins are heavier than the normal Indian fanams (which weighed about 0.32-0.36 grams), weighing 0.4 to 0.45 grams. The style is similar to the coins made in the far south of India, but all have the typical short vertical stroke from the right arm of Kali, though this mark is known only from silver fanams of Vijayanagar. These heavy fanams are tentatively attributed to 15th-17th century Vijayanagar Empire, but the exact attribution is unknown (might be Bukka I who minted similar silver fanams/taras).
On Oct 5, 2022 at 08:13:36 PDT, seller added the following information: