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.

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.