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

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

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).
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