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

Sunday, June 6, 2010

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.
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