THE MALAY ARCHIPELAGO

Drawn and engraved by John Rapkin (Published by The London Printing & Publishing Company about 1856).

Royalty free map available at Steve Bartrick Antique Prints and Maps.

The use of tin currencies issued by the Malay Peninsula was not restricted to areas in the peninsula but extends to a large area in the Malay Archipelago. Although the term Malay Archipelago is widely used, there is no official definition for this area. The widely accepted definition would include Malaysia (the Malay Peninsula, including southern Thailand that connects the Peninsula to the Asian mainland), Brunei, Singapore, Sumatra, Java, Kalimantan, Sulawesi and islands in the waters surrounded by these large islands. (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.)


Monday, June 28, 2010

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.

Sunday, June 27, 2010

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.

Thursday, June 17, 2010

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.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

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

Monday, June 14, 2010

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.

Sunday, June 13, 2010

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.

Saturday, June 12, 2010

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.

Sunday, June 6, 2010

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).