APOLOGIES

Thank you for visiting my blog. I have not been able to update my blog for about 2 months due to unforeseen circumstances. Please bear with me. I will try my best to update the blog with new posts soon.

KATUN (TIN CASH) COINS OF JOHOR - CLASSIFICATION BY FRED PRIDMORE

The Katun (tin cash) was a common currency of Johor used over an extended period of three centuries from 16th century to the 18th century. However, I believe the period of usage for the Katun coins could have possibly started earlier than the 16th. century. This is based on unique tin katun coins in my collection that can be related to other issues of early tin currency items.

There are many varieties of the Katun coins and they can be generally categorized by the shape; circular, hexagonal and octagonal. Major Fred Pridmore in his article The Native Coinages of the Malay Peninsula - The Malaccan Group - Johor in Numismatic Circulars LXXVII, part 2 - 5 published by Spink and Sons Ltd. London in 1969 separated the Katun coins into a few categories.

Group A - Bar Type

Class I - Inscribed with legend or part of a legend on obverse and reverse

Class II - A large raised dot or pusat (a Malay word) in the centre of the raised bar. Some show traces of a legend but others appear to be uninscribed.

Group B - Round or Irregular Shapes

Class III - A remarkably uniform group both in size and style. The principal series is usually clearly stamped with th title MALIK AL-'ADIL, but some show portions of other inscriptions.

Group C - Hexagonal Shape

Class IV - Inscription on obverse and reverse

Class V - Pusat or centrally raised dot.

Group D - Octagonal Shape

Class VI - Large coins inscribed on obverse and reverse.

Class VII - Large coins, uninscribed with a pusat.

Class VII - Coins inscribed with MALIK AL-'ADIL.

In the following posts we will look at the details of each of the Class of the Katun coins as categorized by Pridmore.

MELAKA SULTANATE BEGAN IN 1278?

MELAKA: The Melaka Malay Sultanate began in 1278 and not in the 1400s, as discovered by a research team appointed by the Melaka government.

Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam said the year (1278) was chosen based or the Raja Bongsu version of the Malay Annals or the “Sulalatus al-Salatin” (Raffles 18).

Following the discovery, the research committee, chaired by Melaka Islamic University College vice-chancellor Prof. Emeritus Datuk Wira Dr Mohd Yusoff Hashim, agreed that Melaka began as a political entity, known as the Melaka Malay Sultanate, in 1278,” he added.

He said the findings of the research was tabled to the Yang Dipertua Negeri of Melaka Tun Mohd Khalil Yaakob at his office in Ayer Keroh here yesterday.

The research, headed by Prof. Dr Abdullah Zakaria Ghazali from the Department of History, Universiti Malaya, started in June last year.

Mohd Ali said a seminar would be held this year to further discuss the matter.

Source - The Malay Mail April 17 2010 

MELAKA SULTANATE BEGAN IN 1262 NOT 1278?

New Date On Establishment Of Melaka Malay Sultanate Discovered

MELAKA, May 31 (Bernama) -- A research team appointed by the Melaka state government has discovered that the Melaka Malay Sultanate had in fact begun in 1262, said Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam.

He said the new date rejects the previous date, 1278, which was announced by the team last month.

"The new date will also put to rest, earlier opinions by writers who stated that Melaka was established in 1400," he told reporters after launching a seminar on when the Melaka Malay Sultanate began, organised by the Malaysian Institute of Historical and Patriotism Studies (IKSEP), here Monday.

The nine-member team, comprising historians from local universities, was chaired by Melaka Islamic University College vice-chancellor Prof. Emeritus Datuk Wira Dr Mohd Yusoff Hashim, while the research team was headed by Prof Dr Abdullah Zakaria Ghazali from Universiti Malaya's History Department.

They were assigned to carry out research and studies to identify the establishment of the Melaka Malay Sultanate as a political entity, which started in June last year.

Mohd Ali said the team had chosen 1262, based on the Raja Bongsu version of the Malay Annals, or Sulalatus al-Salatin.

"So far our team is confident that 1262 is the accurate year, but if any other quarters find another date, then, they can bring forward supporting evidence for their claim," he added.

Meanwhile, Abdullah Zakaria said the team had conducted research and field work in various locations in Malaysia and Indonesia such as Pulau Bentan, Pulau Penyengat, Pulau Singkep, Pulau Lingga, Palembang, Jambi, Padang and Batu Sangkar.

He said after 1278 was announced on April 17, his team continued to carry out research until they discovered the new date of 1262 but did not plan to carry out further studies.

A total of 250 individuals, including historians, took part in the seminar and unanimously agreed on the new found date.

BERNAMA

Source - Melaka - World Heritage City, An Everlasting Living Heritage

23 UNIQUE VISITORS TO DATE

From 15 unique visitors about a month ago to only 23 to date and still not a single follower does not look encouraging nevertheless since I am driven by the hobby and not number of visitors I do not mind this at all. So far I have only extended 3 invitations to my blogs, this month I plan to invite more especially my fellow numismatists. I have intentionally delayed the invitation to them to allow more posts or contents on my blogs to make their visits worthwhile. Welcome to my blog.

For those who readily know that I have written the 2 books please take note that this blog does not represent the books. I do not have the intention to post the contents of my books, well, naturally not until they are published. This blog and my two other blogs are mere extension to my hobby and books if you like.

With 23 unique visitors here and only 12 and 10 unique visitors at my Ring Currency and Animal Currency blogs respectively it is my conclusion that either only about half of my visitors are interested and/or curious with the numismatic topics covered here or they are simply not aware of the existence of the other 2 blogs. Please do not forget to visit these blogs if you read this.

I just added a beautiful map of the Malay Archipelago to my blogs a few days ago.

Have a great month ahead.

Best regards,

The Tin Keeper

COCKEREL PERCHED ON RINGS

This item is the second item of cockerel perched on 2 rings in my collection (the first being the one I am using as my block image avatar and picture link to my Ring Currency blog). The cockerel of this item has strong resemblance of the iconic item in the collection of Bank Negara Malaysia. Looking at the broken mark at the bottom of the lower ring, the item is likely to be an item with more than 2 rings in its original condition.

Tin Ring Currency - Cockerel Perched on Rings

Items from my collection such as this will be posted in my blogs in the future...

THE ANIMAL CURRENCY / ANIMAL MONEY PHOTO COLLECTION OF NASRON JAMIL

My postings on the photo collection is now complete. Kindly refer to my Animal Currency blog to view.

THANK YOU

I has been over a month since I reactivated my blogs. There were few visitors to my blogs but from the counter that I installed I can see a certain repeat in the origin of visitors. I subsequently put in additional counters to measure unique visitors and activity by visits and clicks. From the results I am convinced that I do have a few regular visitors to my blogs based on the visits and activity level.

Getting a mere 15 unique visitors since June 13 (i.e. date of counter installation) is nothing to shout about but knowing that there are regular visitors makes me happy. To date, only a few of the items in my collection have been posted but I look forward to doing this slowly and steadily as my blogs unfold.

To my visitors so far, I hope you are enlightened by my blogs. Thank you for your visit(s). Your comments are most welcomed.

ITEMS FROM THE PHOTO COLLECTION OF NASRON JAMIL

I have so far presented 37 items of the Photo Collection in 7 postings. Kindly go to my satellite blog, The Mysterious Tin Animal Currency of the Malay Peninsula for images from the photo collection.

Item number 37 of the collection.

AROUND THE NET - CALVIN-MYJOURNEY.BLOGSPOT.COM

The beauty of the internet and information age is abundance of information. As usual, surfing the cyberworld for more information on animal currency I came across this blog. The blog writer made a trip to the Royal Selangor Pewter in September 2008. Included in the photos of his trip are a few items of tin animal money. The tortoise looks similar like the one in the collection of Bank Negara Malaysia leading me to believe that all the items in the photograph belongs to them. There is also a possibility that the items belongs to Royal Selangor Pewter. I should make a visit to find out for sure that is, assuming the items are still on display there. The photograph of the items can be viewed here. The blog writer has nice caption for the photo, I wonder how many animals like this millionaires in the past had in their bank.

AROUND THE NET - IPOHWORLD, SAVING YESTERDAY FOR TOMORROW

During my routine search for animal currency on the net I discovered Ipohworld. Ipohworld is an education-based, not-for-profit organization established in 2004 to promote awareness and appreciation of Perak, the Silver State of Malaysia and its unique, diverse and rich heritage, with particular focus on Ipoh and the Kinta Valley. Ipohworld is a fine example of non-government effort to promote appreciation of the local heritage.

Also covered in this website is the subject of Animal Money. There are several types of animals presented here, all being attributed to the state of Perak.

Fish

The 4 items presented here is a good spread of variety in terms of sizes and shapes. It is possible that Animal Currency in the shapes of fish is a more common denomination based on their sizes that is relatively smaller compared to bigger sized items in the shapes of other animals.

Clam

Based on my observation, Animal Currency in the form of shell-creatures are less common. A tin shell as big as a fist is known to exist.

Rooster

The rooster presented here is a beautiful piece. Genuine without a doubt as far as I'm concern.

Starfish

This starfish is a bit strange to me. I have a similar item in my collection. The mould of the starfish is an excellent piece to have in a collection.

Bird

I find bird items very interesting. What make them more interesting is the types that come with ring(s).

Goat

My apologies but I find it hard to see this item as being a goat. It looks like a bird to me. Nevertheless, it is a very beautiful piece that I believe was discovered in and acquired from a neighboring country.

Tortoise

This piece is a superb piece. Hollow tortoises are very very rare. There are only a few that are known to exist. I know for certain that this piece was acquired from a neighboring country.

Crocodile

This hollow crocodile is excellent. It is a piece that I would love to have in my collection to say the least.

I am not saying that this piece is not genuine but I do know that some of the "alleged forged items from the 1980s" are quite similar to this one. Based on my research, it is my conclusion that the alleged forged items were created based on real and genuine items found in Malacca in the 1980s.

Other forms of ingot currency presented;

Cap & Cone

Tampang

I'm happy to know that the above collection exist.

THE PHOTO COLLECTION OF NASRON JAMIL

THE PHOTO COLLECTION OF NASRON JAMIL

Please go to the following links i.e. my other web log on Animal Currency to view the collection.

THE PHOTO COLLECTION OF NASRON JAMIL - PART 1 (FISH)

THE PHOTO COLLECTION OF NASRON JAMIL - PART 2 (FISH)

THE PHOTO COLLECTION OF NASRON JAMIL - PART 3 (FISH)

THE PHOTO COLLECTION OF NASRON JAMIL - PART 4 (FISH)

THE PHOTO COLLECTION OF NASRON JAMIL - PART 5 (TORTOISE)

THE PHOTO COLLECTION OF NASRON JAMIL - PART 6 (TORTOISE)

SPINK AND TIN ANIMAL CURRENCY

A few years ago I tried contacting Spink Singapore wanting to find out whether they could help me with materials for my research, the many calls made were unanswered and the message left on the machine did not help either. Not willing to give up, I emailed Spink London. To cut the story short, the email was responded by not entertained, if you know what I mean. Last May when I was notified that someone from Spink London will be coming to town in June I jumped at the opportunity to meet. Through email I was told that the market for the items that I collect is thin and that they are not feasible to be put through auction. I was still eager to meet if possible but I would definitely understand if my request got turned down. Although I did not put much hope with "I will try to give you a ring when I arrive in Kuala Lumpur" a 30-second-call to let me know that the meeting cannot take place would be nice.

Anyway, this is not about me not being happy with Spink, its about the interest in tin Animal Currency being dead and buried in certain quarters. To be fair, this is much expected, with not many items found and made available for collectors these past few decades there is nothing to stir the interest let alone make the market interested or excited about tin Animal Currency.

DISCOVERY - SUNGAI PEMANDI, KAMPUNG MAKAM, KOTA TINGGI, JOHOR

Over the past few decades, isolated discoveries of coins, relics, ceramics and earthenware are known to have taken place in the vicinity of Kampung Makam and along the riverbanks of Sungai Pemandi. In 1987, the discovery of silver coins there made news in the national newspaper. The excavation for the construction of a bridge at Kampung Makam led to the discovery of various coins. This attracted the locals to search for coins in the piles of sand and clay unearthed during construction of the bridge.

According to news, the coins found there were from the era of Sultan Abdil Jalil. The villagers also reported earlier discoveries of gold coins (dinar) and octagonal tin coins (katun) around the area. It is not widely known but many Animal Currency items including other tin objects, ceramics and earthenware were found at Sungai Pemandi.

A pair of tin dragon, 1 complete with stand found at Sungai Pemandi.
(Photo is from the Photo Collection of Nasron Jamil taken circa 1987).

Berita Harian 30 June 1987
Headline - Currency of the Malacca government found at Kota Tinggi.
Note - The coins in the photo are in fact not from Malacca...

Berita Harian 23 July 1987

SAGA PERTUBUHAN NUMISMATIK MALAYSIA - 21ST. ANNIVERSARY 1968 - 1989

This 1990 publication by the Malaysia Numismatic Society besides the article by Mohd. Kassim Hj. Ali on Hoard of Malay States Coins Found At Tanjung Pinang, Riau Islands, Indonesia includes 2 more articles on tin currencies of the Malay Peninsula. First, Tin Coinage of Sultan Ali Iskandar Shah of Johor (1855 - 1877) by Ishar Abdul Latiff and Unlisted Tin and Gold Coins of the Malay States of Johor, Terengganu, Kelantan, Kedah and Perak by Saran Singh.

Published more than 20 years ago in limited print, it is very difficult to get a copy of this publication. The best bet would be from members of the society who were members then.

RING CURRENCY AND ANIMAL CURRENCY ITEMS IN A COLLECTION IN WASHINGTON, USA

About the same time when I got to know Bob Reis' website I also discovered Scott Semans World Coins. Scott has been a coin dealer since 1966, he specializes in Asian and African coins and "ethnograpgic ("primitive") money. I did not buy anything from Scott but I traded with him a book he wanted to have with a few auction catalogs that I needed badly to write my book (yet to be published, The Forgotten Tin Ring Currency of the Malay Peninsula). I later discovered that Scott has a few items of Ring Currency and Animal Currency in his collection. He was kind enough to sent me a scan these items.

I have not been in touch with Scott for quite some time but you can read about Malay Tin Monies on his website, see images of items and buy them depending on availability. I asked Scott whether he was willing to sell certain items in the scan he sent me but he declined. I was a bit disappointed for not being able to buy these items but at the same time happy to know that after many many years of having these items in his collection they are still not for sale hence indicating how valuable they are to him. Scott Seman is based in Issaquah, Washington, USA.

MALAYSIA - THE MOST MYSTERIOUS COUNTRY ON EARTH

Years ago while researching my hobby I came across this article, From A to Z Series - Malaysia by Bob Reis a coin dealer based in Raleigh, North Carolina, USA. What really got my attention was how he started his article - Numismatically speaking, this (Malay Peninsula, now Malaysia) is perhaps the most mysterious country on earth...

I bought a Cocos Island coupon from Bob a few years ago that I subsequently traded away. I have not told him about linking to his article yet but you can read about what he wrote here.

DISCOVERY - HOARD OF MALAY STATES COINS FOUND AT TANJUNG PINANG, RIAU ISLAND, INDONESIA (PART 2)

Here are the images presented by Kassim in his article. The condition of the images are not so good due to poor source condition. These items do not come with details such as size and weight.

Image 1

Image 2

Image 3

Image 1 - 3 - Main trunks from the Terengganu coin tree.

A coin tree cast in the shape of a sun ray using the "lost wax" method.

Image 1

Image 2

Image 3

Image 1 - 3, described as - Perak/Selangor "cockerel" animal Currency.


A 17th. century Kedah cockerel coin with two rings.

Four items of Ring Currency described as - Kedah one cent 'cockerel' animal currency.

Note that the items were described as "animal currency" despite the fact that they do not have any any animal feature in their designs.

An elephant described as - Perak/Selangor 'elephant' animal currency.
It looks like there is a stringing hole at the back of the elephant, such a feature on elephants is extremely rare. Except for the above item, I do not know of any other elephant with a stringing hole.


Chinese cash tin coin with branch.

A strange looking item described as - Currency in the form of a goat.
(Poor image due to poor source condition)

DISCOVERY - HOARD OF MALAY STATES COINS FOUND AT TANJUNG PINANG, RIAU ISLAND, INDONESIA (PART 1)

Old coins and relics are known to have been found over the years in the Malay Peninsula (Malaysia) and Malay Archipelago (in this case Indonesia and southern Thailand) but not many involve discovery of a large quantity of items and not many are reported or made known to general public. Perhaps one of the most known discovery was the one at Tanjung Pinang around middle of 1980's.

Mohd. Kassim in his article in Saga Pertubuhan Numismatik Malaysia, 21 Anniversary 1968 - 1989, published in 1990 by Malaysia Numismatik Society shared his experience in having a first look at the items from the famous discovery that he described as a "numismatist's dream come true".

The findings according to Kassim fills a significant gap in the numismatic history of the Malay Peninsula. A new light was shed on how earlier coins were cast by the "lost wax" method, how coins were produced and how the technology developed.

The items found include:

• cockerel perched on ring (that Kassim attributed to 17th. century Kedah)
• varieties of animal currencies - roosters, fish, goats (sheep) and tortoises (that Kassim mentioned was used in Selangor and Perak)
• tampangs
  
• tin coins used in Palembang, Djambi and Kedah
• moulds of making "VOC" copper currency

According to Kassim many of the items found ready market in Singapore. Perhaps certain items were acquired by Muzium Negara, Kuala Lumpur Malaysia such as the above item in block image but most items are "lost" or tucked away in private collections. Approximately 25 years after their discoveries the fate of these fascinating items are not known.

Images of some of the items found at Tanjung Pinang, Riau, Indonesia will be included in a future post soon.

PHOTO PREVIEW 3

TIN 'HAT' AND ANIMAL: MONEY BY WILLIAM SHAW AND MOHD. KASSIM ALI

The Tin 'Hat' and Animal Money, a book by Shaw and Kassim published in 1970 by Muzium Negara, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia is a useful reference for the subject. This 17-page book, excluding nine exhibition plates, focuses more on Tin 'Hat" Money (Pagodas and Pyramids) but provides brief and good background information on the development of Animal Money (Animal Currency).

PHOTO PREVIEW 2

ANIMAL CURRENCY LISTED IN SARAN SINGH'S ENCYCLOPAEDIA

Part I

Part II

Part III

TIN AND THE MALAY PENINSULA - PART II OF II

The trading of goods in the early days was based on exchange of goods but subsequently as the local currencies of the respective traders became accepted as trading currencies of these trading centers, these currencies became a trading medium. Over time, local currencies were issued by the early governments. Being a region rich in gold and tin, it was only natural that these metals were used for the currency. Tin that was found in abundance in the Malay Peninsula and Archipelago advanced from goods to trade for to also being used as a trading medium and currency in the form of ingots (blocks or bars), animal ingots and animal figures and conventional coins.

These ingots that were used in the form of lump (block or bar) ingots initially, later evolved into the forms of animals and even insects. Various types of tin blocks were produced; mound-shaped, cone decorated with serrated edges, conical or cylindrical or cylindrical-shaped, mountain or shrine-shaped and sugar loaf-shaped, pyramid or pagoda-shaped and pyramid-shaped with mangosteen rosette pattern [Source: Bank Negara Malaysia, 2005. Malaysia Numismatic Heritage, Corporate Services Department, Bank Negara Malaysia].

The appearance of animal and insect like ingots is also said to have its roots in the tin mining practices and rituals of the tin miners. Intertwined by its purpose in tin mining activities and use as a currency, the reason(s) for the creation of tin animal ingots became a mystery and will remain as one without more records or evidence of their actual use and purpose. The general theory is that these animal and insect like ingots were first made to serve their magical purpose in tin mining and later somehow became accepted as a trading medium.

THE ENCYCLOPAEDIA

The Encyclopaedia of the Coins of Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei 1400 - 1967 by Saran Singh (1996) covers the obsolete tin coinages of the Malay Peninsula quite extensively. The coverage includes:-

• Tin Pitis of Malacca, Perak, Kelantan, Patani-Kelantan, Selangor and Brunei,
• Chinese tin cash coins of Malacca,
• Tin coinages of Malacca during the Portuguese rule,
• Tin Katuns of Johor,
• Tin Jokoh (Private Monetary Tokens) of Johor, Pahang and Terengganu,
• Tin Tampangs of Pahang,
• Tin Keping or Pitis of Terengganu,
• Tin ingots - mount shaped ingots, conical or cylindrical shaped ingots, mountain shaped ingots - Chandi, sugar-loaf type ingots, pyramid or pagoda type ingots - Bidor and pyramid or Pagoda shaped ingots - solid Tampangs of Perak,
• Tin animal currency in the shapes of tortoise (kura-kura), elephant (gajah), crocodile (buaya), cockerel (ayam), grasshoppers (belalang), fish (ikan) and goat (kambing) of Perak,
• Tin Tra of Kedah,
• Tin cockerels perched on rings of Kedah,
• Tin coins of Penang and
  
• Tin coins and tokens of Brunei.

It is known that there are many tin coinages discovered after the publication of Saran Singh's work in 1986 thus these items are unlisted in the encyclopaedia. This blog will seek to explore the items listed above and the unlisted coinages as and when the opportunity arises.

TIN INGOTS & ANIMAL MONEY - BASIC BACKGROUND INFORMATION

This web page by Bank Negara Malaysia, Money Museum provides good basic background information on tin ingots and animal money.

Here you have some information on how early tin ingots became part of trading activities, their origin, extensiveness of use and their exchange value. Information on animal money touches on the centuries long tin mining activities of the old Malay Peninsula, the minting of tin ingots in animal shapes, their possibles uses and the magical aspects of the animal shaped ingots.

It is important to keep in mind that tin ingots in various shapes were used for centuries. Information such as the recorded exchange value of certain tin ingots represent value that holds true only for that particular point in time. With not much recorded information available, the association of the animal shaped ingots with magic spins mystery out of them.

Useful background information on Tin Animal Money and Tin Ingots can also be found at Wikipedia.

TIN AND THE MALAY PENINSULA - PART I OF II

The coasts of the Malay Peninsula used to be part of the sea route that connected East Asia and the Middle East. This route began in the ports of Shantung Peninsula, rounded the coasts of Malaya and India and ended in the Persian Gulf [Source: Shaw, William & Mohd. Kassim Ali 1971, Coins of North Malaya, National Museum, Kuala Lumpur]. Situated mid-way of this sea route, trading ports on the Malay Peninsula became the halfway meeting points between East Asian and Middle Eastern traders. The strategic location of the Malay Peninsula became transformed it into one of the earliest and most famous trading areas in the world.

The trading centers in the Malay Peninsula started as early as the 2nd. century A.D. Its geographical advantage in the trading system of the early days saw the Malay Peninsula and Archipelago as a base for many early governments such as Langkasuka, North East of the Peninsula (100 Century A.D.), Old Kedah Chih-cha, West of the Peninsula (5th. - 14th. Century A.D), Pan Pan, North of the Peninsula / Isthmus Kra, South Thailand (5th. Century A.D.), Srivijaya, Palembang, Sumatera (7th. - 13th. Century A.D.), Chih-tu, North of the Peninsula in the vicinity of the Kelantan river (about 1,000 years ago), Tan-tan, Terengganu, Tun-sun, North of the Peninsula and Singhasari - Majapahit, Java (1222 - 1292 A.D.) [Source: Bank Negara Malaysia, 1995. Pameran Matawang Perdagangan Kepulauan Melayu (18 Mei - 14 Jun 1995) Unit Muzium Matawang, Bank Negara Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur p. 9]

The trading ports and centres in the Malay Peninsula did not only connect East Asia and the Middle East but also the West and far East. That was the extend of the role of the Malay Peninsula as a connecting point for traders. The Malay Peninsula not only offered strategic stopovers for traders also provided abundance of products highly sought after by these traders such as spices, jungle produce and exotic items as well as minerals such as gold and tin.

Gold and tin mining activities in the Malay Peninsula could have started as early as 2nd. century A.D. if the term Golden Chersonese that means the Golden Peninsula that was used by Ptolemy was indeed referring to the Malay Peninsula. Although the gold and tin reserves of the Malay Peninsula attracted the Chinese as early as the 7th. century A.D., the tin mining activities were operated by the Malays until the middle of the 19th. century. Foreign workers were subsequently brought in to cater for additional labor requirement when the industry expanded with increased tin mining activities through discoveries and opening of new mines. Based on records, gold and tin were the major exports of Malacca in 1408 and minor exports of Pahang and Kelantan in the 13th. century A.D.

The tin mining activities operated by the Malays involves various supernatural believes and rituals. The central belief is that tin possessed a spirit and can move from one place to another and that this movement is controlled by the guardian of the spirit, jin tanah or the earth genie. The belief influenced the tin mining activities from the process of locating tin mining areas, opening of the areas and how they were operated. The spirit of the tin must be appeased or the tin will move away from the mining area or calamities will befall mining activities at the mine.

Communications with the spirit and earth genie were done through a medium of Malay pawang or traditional medicine man. Magical rites will be performed to obtain permission to mine and animal sacrifices will be offered in return for abundance of tin and avoidance of calamities at the mining site. Castings of spells were done to protect the miners and the site from disturbance of other supernatural forces. Charms were also used for the well being of the miners and the mines. Although the tin mining activities were taken over by the Chinese from the Malays in the Middle 19th. century, the rituals and supernatural activities remained a practice in the industry.

INTRODUCTION

When researching the numismatic history of Malaysia, one cannot do away with referring to the Encyclopaedia of the Coins of Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei 1400-1986 by Saran Singh (1986). It is the key reference for numismatists when it comes to coins and currencies of these countries.

The Encyclopaedia of the Coins of Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei 1400-1986 by Saran Singh.
The book was first published in 1986 and was re-printed in 1996. This book is now a collector's item due to limited number of print.

In the 2nd. Edition (1996) of the encyclopaedia page 260, the author referred the cockerel perched on rings as Animal Money. For the purpose of this blog (and my forthcoming book entitled The Forgotten Tin Ring Currency of The Malay Peninsula), all items with rings, with or without animal figure will be referred as Ring Currency. This shall include tin cockerel perched on rings presented in the encyclopaedia as item SS20a, SS20b and SS20c in page 260.

Block Image of item SS20a



Block Image of item SS20b



Block Image of item SS20c

Ring Currency with animal figure will also be referred as Animal Ring Money. The rationale for this is that although there are Ring Currency items with animal figure in their designs, there are also types that come without animal figure. If these items are to be categorized as Animal Currency then this will result in the omission of those without animal figure from the definition. This will lead to a weak and confusing definition to the term Ring Currency as to whether it should include or omit types with animal figure since Animal Ring Currency can be categorized under both Animal Currency as well as Ring Currency.

The term Animal Currency or Animal Money in this blog refers to Animal Money and Animal Currency in general without limiting it to items deemed to originate from the Malay states of Perak and Selangor as listed in the 2nd. Edition of The Encyclopaedia of the Coins of Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei 1400-1986 in page 200 - 205. The listing may indirectly implies that Animal Currency and Animal Money was issued only by Perak and Selangor, that is, assuming that the listing is accurate. It is important that this limiting perception is removed because there are strong evidences to suggest that this currency was also issued and used by other states on the Malay Peninsula.

PHOTO PREVIEW 1

WELCOME TO MY WEB LOG

This blog was first created in early 2009. In mid 2009 I retracted my postings and re-posted them in what I think was a better presentation. However, due certain commitments I was unable to develop the blog as intended. I apologize to those who visited the blog earlier for the inactivity of the blog.

Although bogged down by other matters, during this period of blog inactivity I somehow managed to complete the writing of my first book on numismatics entitled The Forgotten Tin Ring Currency of the Malay Peninsula. I am now working on my next book entitled The Mysterious Animal Currency of the Malay Peninsula. The idea of developing this blog concurrently with the writing of the first book sounded like a good idea at the outset but the research and thinking that was going on at that point in time created a conflict between sharing the current findings and final conclusions that would come later hence the decision to defer the postings on the blog.

Although I am currently working on my second book, unlike the first book that required in-depth research, a pictorial concept was adopted for the second book as such it will not give rise to the kind of conflict that arose during the writing of the first book.

With this I look forward to develop my web log with regular postings.

Thank you.