Lot 6878

AR 2 fanam nd. (1695-1794) (KM284, Stevens6.4), struck for use in Benkulen, the three letters "GCE" on the obverse stand for "(The) G(overnor and) C(ompany of Merchants of London trading to the) E(ast Indies)", the official full name of the Company at its creation - 1.76 g. - VF, the British East India Company established a pepper-trading center and garrison at Bengkulu (Benkulen) in 1685. In 1714 the British built Fort Marlborough in the city before ceding it to the Dutch as part of the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824, the weight should be between 2.02-2.19 g for a 2 fanam or 1.04-1.14 for a single fanam. Therefore it makes this piece suspicious