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.

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

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.

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.