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.

BROKEN ITEM VS. COMPLETE ITEM 1

This broken item is Ring Currency Type B i.e. figure in between rings.

The complete version of this item is as presented below.

These items were acquired through a well known dealer in Indonesia. They were presumably found in Indonesia, excavated at a site or extracted from the bottom of a river in Sumatera. A few of these items are known to exist.

This item is a bird in between rings (Type B). Looking at the head of the figure, one may argue that the figure is a cockerel but based on my knowledge it is not. This is because cockerel designs in Ring Currency is distinct and has certain similarity in design feature. This will be explored in future postings.

I find it fascinating to have certain broken items added into my collection and to discover a complete version of similar item months and years later and, to find out their true complete form in the complete item.

AROUND THE NET - KEDAH TIN COCKERELS PERCHED ON RINGS

Here is a numismatic blog (in Malay) with mention on Ring Currency Fazil Numismatic and Philatelic Society.

RING CURRENCY (TYPE B) SIMILAR TO ITEMS OF LOT 31 OF SPINK-TAISEI SINGAPORE COIN AUCTION CATALOGUE 6, 23 FEBRUARY 1989

The following are 2 items in my collection.

SPINK-TAISEI SINGAPORE COIN AUCTION CATALOGUE 6 - LOT 41

As mentioned in the most recent post the 2 items of Lot 41 may be part of Lot 31.

The first item (above) is what I categorized as Ring Currency Type B with stand. The other item (below) is a tin cockerel (Animal Currency) with stringing ring at the back.

Take note of the four "strand of feathers" of the cockerel. This seems to be a common feature for tin cockerels of Animal Currency as well as the Ring Currency.

I am not able to include the description of the items as per catalogue due to missing pages but I will update the post should the information be available later.

Note: The images posted here are for reference and educational purposes and will be immediately removed if so required by copyright owner(s).

SPINK-TAISEI SINGAPORE COIN AUCTION CATALOGUE 6 - RING CURRENCY TYPE B

There are 5 items of what I categorize as Type B in Spink-Taisei Coin Auction Catalogues 6. Type B is ring currency type with figure either cockerel or bird in between 2 rings.

Lot 31 under Malay Sultanate category on Plate 2 are 4 items of Ring Currency.

Item 1

Item 2

Item 3

Item 4

Lot 31, Plate 2 - Perak: Animal Currency, tin "cockerel" money (Duit Ayam) (6) each with ring on back and legs. Another, with ring on back. 18 century (SS 54 - 61). Very fine to extremely fine, very rare. (As per catalogue description, size and weight information not provided).

Estimate = US$1,250 - 1,500

Realized = ?

Note -  Description mentioned 6 items but only 4 items (as presented above) were labeled as Lot 31. Two items that are labeled as Lot 41 (that will be presented in a separate posting) are likely to be part of Lot 31. 

Although described as cockerel money, I regard the above items as birds and not cockerel. In my research and study an item is only regarded as cockerel when the figure can be determined as a cockerel without doubt. Other items are broadly categorized as bird. The cockerel and bird items are all categorized as Ring Currency and not as cockerel money (Duit Ayam) a term that I find restrictive and misleading simply because the Ring Currency is not limited to items with cockerel figures only.

In my research and study I recognize that certain ring on animal currencies as being created for stringing purposes. As for items of Ring Currency Type B above, the ring on the back of the item is taken as part of the ring feature and not designed for stringing purposes although it can also function as that.

The above Type B items are what I regard as Type B with "embedded" rings. For certain Type B items the rings are clearly seen as being "attached" to the figure. The rings for the embedded type are part of the figure as a whole and sometimes appear as holes on the item/figure rather than as ring.

The few items similar to the above items in my collection are all obtained through dealers outside Malaysia.

Note: The images posted here are for reference and educational purposes and will be immediately removed if so required by copyright owner(s).

SPINK-TAISEI SINGAPORE COIN AUCTION CATALOGUE 6 - RING CURRENCY TYPE A

Auction catalogues are a good source for researching Ring Currency / Money (and Animal Currency / Money) however old catalogues are difficult to obtain and not many contain such items due to limited number of items being put up for auction over the years. This particular catalogue that I am referring to was obtained through a friend who is a coin dealer in Singapore. This Spink-Taisei Coin Auction was held at Hotel New Otani Singapore more than 20 years ago.

My favourite Ring Currency item in this catalogue is Lot 7 of the Malay Sultanate category on Plate 1. This beautiful item has a distinctive cockerel perching on one and a half rings. It is not known whether the half ring is in its original condition or broken. So far I have not seen any Ring Currency items with half ring as such I am inclined to believe that this item is highly likely to be a broken item. The item has an unusual bridge between the rings in the shape of a star that is similar to a plain 2-ring item (i.e. without perching cockerel) in my collection.

Lot 7 - Plate 1

Lot 7, Plate 1 - Kedah: "Fighting Cock" tin money (Duit Ayam), with one and half rings at bottom. 18 century (SS 20a). Very fine, extremely rare. (As per catalogue description, size and weight information not provided).

Estimate = US$800 - US$1,000

Realized = ?

The only other 2-ring item in the catalogue is Item 1 in Lot 4 consisting 3 other items also on Plate 1.The design of this item is not as elaborate as item Lot 7 above and the design of the rings are relatively common. Item 2 in Lot 8 is the only 1-ring item in the catalogue. Taking the size of similar items in my collection, Item 2 is likely to be very small in size, not exceeding 15mm in length and width.

Item 1

Item 2

Item 3

Item 4

Lot 8 (4 pieces.) - Kedah: "Fighting cock" tin money (Duit Ayam), with two rings at bottom. Another with one ring at bottom. Others (2) without ring. 18th. century (SS 20a). Very fine, extremely rare. (As per catalogue description, size and weight information not provided).

Estimate = US$2,500 - US$3,000

Realized = ?

Items 3 and 4 in Lot 8 are very similar in design and are suspected to be with ring(s) in their original condition.

Information on the location where the above items were found was not made available in the catalogue.  

Note: The images posted here are for reference and educational purposes and will be immediately removed if so required by copyright owner(s).

MORE TO COME

I have not posted anything here for the last 2 weeks. This is mainly because of my focus on my Animal Currency blog. I will be traveling this entire coming week but you can expect more postings here later this month. Thanks.

A RING CURRENCY ITEM DISCOVERED AT SUNGAI PEMANDI, KAMPUNG MAKAM, KOTA TINGGI, JOHOR

The discovery at Sungai Pemandi is a significant one. However, out of 54 animal currencies in the Photo Collection of Nasron Jamil there is only 1 photo of the Ring Currency. (Total number of items in the Photo Collection is 57, including 3 non-animal items)

Note - Photographs are reproduced from original source taken circa 1987.

1 CENT RING CURRENCY (1)

More 1 cent Ring Currency.

Item 6

Item 7

Item 8

Item 9

Item 10

THE SMALLEST DENOMINATION OF THE RING CURRENCY

The basic or smallest denomination of the Ring Currency is said to carry the value 1 cent (sen). It is represented by a 2-ring currency in various shapes and designs. Some are plain while others are quite elaborate in design. Although perching cockerel or bird is more common for bigger types of Ring Currency perching cockerel/bird on small ring types do exist.

It is common to have items such as those presented below with broken mark at the top part of one of the rings, it is unknown whether they are due to detached figure or design of the item or due to the process of producing them. Items presented below are without any broken off marks. It is suspected that more than one technique were used to produce these items. The varying techniques may be separated by time (era) and / or location of issue (in the Malay Peninsula and Archipelago).

Item 1

Item 2

Item 3

Item 4

Item 5

PHOTO PREVIEW 6 - BROKEN ITEM

Duck with broken ring(s)?
There is no Ring Currency item with duck known to exist so far!

PHOTO PREVIEW 5 - BROKEN ITEM

Bird with missing ring(s)?
Based on known items, this item is likely to be a Ring Currency with 1 ring in its original (unbroken) condition.

PHOTO PREVIEW 4 - BROKEN ITEM

Cockerel with missing ring(s)?

PHOTO PREVIEW 3

WHAT IS THE SIZE OF A TYPICAL RING OF THE RING CURRENCY?

The term Ring Currency is not a typical term used to describe the currency. Because of the iconic Ring Currency item is a cockerel perched on rings, it was generally categorized as Animal Currency. The Ring Currency comes in a variety of types and sub-types or variations. Not to be misled by its name, a typical item of the Ring Currency is normally smaller than a typical ring that can fit the finger of the hand. The Ring Currency does not only come with various number of rings, with and without animal attachments, certain variety actually looks like a ring.

SS20a, SS20b and SS20c

The iconic Ring Currency of cockerel perched on rings presented in The Encyclopaedia of the Coins of Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei 1400 - 1967 by Saran Singh included in an earlier post in block images are as below.

SS20a

Cockerel perched on 3 rings
Length: 60mm
Size of cockerel: 32mm x 18mm
Weight: 18.8 grams
Composition: Tin
Rarity: RRR (Extremely Rare)

Photo Credit: Muzium Negara, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

SS20b

Cockerel perched on 5 rings
Length: 88mm
Size of cockerel: 32mm x 18mm
Weight: ? grams
Composition: Tin
Rarity: RRR (Extremely Rare)

Photo Credit: 'The Native Coinage of the Malay Peninsula - The Northern Group - Kedah and Perlis" by Major Fred Pridmore, Spink & Son Ltd. - Numismatic Circulars 1972 Volume LXXX No. 9 and 10

SS20c

Cockerel perched on 6 rings
Length: 100mm
Size of cockerel: 32mm x 18mm
Weight: ? grams
Composition: Tin
Rarity: RRR (Extremely Rare)

Photo Credit: "Primitive Money - Odds and Curious Monies" by Hans M.F. Schulman 1967 - 1968 No. 159 (New York U.S.A.)

From the design and size of the cockerels it can be established that all item SS20a, SS20b and SS20c are of the same variety. It is believed that item SS20a (cockerel perched on 3 rings) is originally with more than 3 rings based on the broken off mark at the bottom of the lower-most ring. Item referred as SS20b, a sketch presented by Pridmore (1972) is also with what appears to be a broken off mark. Two items with 5 rings are known to exist in the collection of Muzium Negara, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and the Money Museum, Manila, the Philippines. Based on published photographs both of the items appear to be items with 5-ring in their original condition i.e. not an item with more than 5 rings that are broken. The sketch presented by Pridmore is unlikely based on one of the known two 5-ring items as such it is believed that at least another 5-ring item exist most probably in the collection of a museum in the UK if not the British Museum.

The item with the most number of 6 rings based on the encyclopaedia is item SS20c (Schulman, 1968). It was earlier thought that the mark at the bottom of the lower-most ring is a broken-off mark but based on certain known items that is yet to be made public, it was established that the bottom of the lower most ring was designed as such. Therefore, the cockerel perched on 6 rings is indeed a 6-ring item in its original condition.

This iconic ring currency of cockerel perch on rings will be further explored in future postings.

WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT THE RING CURRENCY?

METAL

The Ring Currency (and Animal Currency) are generally known as being made from tin. From tests conducted, it is established that the composition of the metal consists other metals too as such they are not made of pure tin.

ORIGIN

The Ring Currency is attributed to the state of Kedah. There are evidences to suggest that they could have been issued by other state or states in the Malay Peninsula. The accuracy of attributing the currency exclusively to the state of Kedah can be argued.

USAGE AND ACCEPTANCE

The Ring Currency was used extensively within the Malay Peninsula and Archipelago based on discovery of the currency at various locations around the peninsula and archipelago.

VALUE

The actual value of the Ring Currency (according to the various types that exists) are not known for certain. The various values given to them by certain literature may hold true for that particular point in time and is subjected to the value of the other currencies that they are compared and equated with.

UNDERSTANDING OF THE CURRENCY

Not much is known about the Ring Currency. The understanding of this forgotten currency is my motivation for this blog and my yet to be published book on this subject.

PHOTO PREVIEW 2

THE MOST BASIC FORM OF THE RING CURRENCY

The most basic form or type of the Ring Currency is a 1-ring or 2-ring item without any animal element in the design or animal attached to the ring(s). Such items are listed as SS20D in The Encyclopaedia of The Coins of Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei 1400 - 1967. (page 260, under Kedah and Perlis)

SS20D

The first item in my collection.

The above is the first Ring Currency item in my collection. What attracted me to collecting these items is the fact that not much is known about them. The item with cockerels (as posted earlier) to me are beautiful items and I thought the only way to learn about them is to embark on the trail of collecting.

The term Ring Currency is not a common term. Saran Singh (1996) refer them as tin cockerels perched on rings and broadly categorize them as Animal Money. Literature covering this subject in late 19 century and early 20 century also did not give them a specific term.

This currency with a ring feature is a unique form of currency of the old Malay Peninsula, it deserves a specific reference. Item with a ring feature, with or without animal feature to me are of a similar category and should not be categorized under Animal Currency, they are the Ring Currency.

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.

TIN INGOTS

In a book entitled Coins of North Malaya by William Shaw and Mohd. Kassim Haji Ali published by Muzium Negara, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (1971) it was mentioned that from early 1400' until well past middle of the 19th. century, tin ingots in a variety of shapes and sizes were used as money on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula (p. 17). Although used for a period of approximately 450 years (according to this book) it is a mystery that not much is known about these ingots.

The Coins of North Malaya by William Shaw and Mohd. Kassim Hj. Ali,
published by Muzium Negara, Kuala Lumpur Malaysia (1971).

The book in brief.

This 48-page book covers the coins from the Malay states of Kedah, Kelantan-Patani and Terengganu. The book gives good coverage on coinages from these states. The coverage on Animal Currency however was only in two paragraphs (page 17 and 18). Figure 12 on page 18 presented three sketches of the Animal Currency / Ring Currency; a two-ring item with perching cockerel on top, a two-ring and one-ring item both without cockerel. The book included twelve plates (i.e. pages with images of items) but no Ring Currency items were presented.

Here is where you can purchase the book.

PRESENT UNDERSTANDING

For more than 100 years our understanding on the subject of tin Ring Currency of the Malay Peninsula depended solely on foreign literature. Suggestions and assumptions were taken, accepted and passed on as absolute facts without questioning the basis and accuracy of these facts. This blog (and my forthcoming book entitled The Forgotten Tin Ring Currency of the Malay Peninsula) takes a fresh and independent perspective on the subject.

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.