From early 1400' until well past the 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 (Shaw & Kassim, 1971)

THE MALAY ARCHIPELAGO

Click map for bigger version at my Obsolete Tin Currency blog.

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.)

CLASSIFICATION OF RING CURRENCY

There is no known classification of the tin Ring Currency. In my yet to be published book entitled The Forgotten Tin Ring Currency of the Malay Peninsula a detailed classification of the currency is made based on research carried out.

The Ring Currency can be classified into the following broad categories..

TYPE A - Ring(s) at the base of the figure.

TYPE B - Figure in between rings.

TYPE C - Ring(s) without figure.

Note - Sub-classification of the above will be revealed in future postings on the blog.

Degree of Scarcity

S - Scarce
R - Rare
RR - Very Rare
RRR - Extremely Rare
RRRR - Highest state of rarity
UNIQUE - Only one piece known to exist

Monday, June 14, 2010

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
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