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.
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