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.