# Journal of the Straits Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society/Volume 39/On a Collection of Coins from Malacca

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see also "On a Second Collection of Coins from Malacca" in Journal of the Straits Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, 44 (1905)

## On a Collection of Coins from Malacca.

By R. Hanitsch, Ph. D.
(With two plates.)
About three years ago, during some excavations near the mouth of the Malacca river, a considerable number of coins. was found scattered in the mud. These were collected together and handed over to the Hon'ble W. Egerton, Resident-Councillor of Malacca at the time, and presented by him to the Raffles Museum. The collection has proved to be of the greatest in- terest. It contains coins of both Asiatic and European origin, the European coins, Portuguese, Dutch and English, embracing practically the whole history of the various European occupa- tions of Malacca, covering thus a period of about four hundred years. The most interesting of the coins are those of Portu- guese origin, all of tin. They are probably quite unique: the British Museum does not possess any, and numerous enquiries I have made about them in various places, including Lisbon, have remained without result. With regard to their discovery Mr. Egerton writes:—
"The Malacca Coins were found in digging a channel from the mouth of the river seawards. Outside the mouth there is a deep pool, and beyond that a bank submerged at high water, extending some half mile or more seawards. It was in this bank the coins were found scattered here and there, not in large pockets. The bank contained quantities of household detritus, broken crockery and old ironware, bricks, earthenware, etc. I think it is quite possible buildings on piles, like those now seen on the foreshore, may have been built on this bank, or possibly all this rubbish was thrown out of ships at anchor, or washed down out of the river. Most of the coins were found in the first hundred yards outside the big pool referred to above. There must be many still there."
I. THE ASIATIC COINS.
That tin coins, struck by the inhabitants of the place, ex- isted in Malacca before the arrival there of the Portuguese is ​proved by certain accounts in Albuquerque's Commentaries (2), but the fact seems to have almost escaped numismatologists, for Millies (12), p. 140, speaking of the currency of the Malay Peninsula says: "Même l'état malai si célèbre de Malaka, qui était parvenu à son apogée au commencement du XVIe siècle, lors-qu'il tomba sous la forec matérielle majeure et l'héroisme des Portugais, ne nous a laissé aucun monument numismatique connu, et nous ne savons même pas, si ce état malai possédait déjà une monnaie propre." In this Millies is certainly wrong, for in Albuquerque's Commentaries (2). Vol. III, p. 77, we find a mention of native coin which tells how King Xaquendarxa (i.e. Iskander Shah), ruler of Malacca, went to see the king of China, wishing to become his vassal and took with him many presents, receiving in return, amongst other privileges, permission to coin small "money of pewter, which money he ordered to be made as soon as he reached Malacca; and to it he gave the name of Caixes which are like our (i. e. Portuguese) ceitils, and a hundred go to the calaim, and each calaim was worth, to an appointed law, eleven reis and four ceitils. Silver and Gold was not made into money, but only used by way of merchandise." The fact that Malacca possessed native pewter coins on the arrival of the Portuguese becomes indisputable when we read that Albuquerque after the occupation of Malacca minted coins under the name of his king, D. Manuel, "in order to withdraw and suppress the coinage of the Moors and cast their root and their name out of the land," and that when the new coinage was ready, he gave orders that all the Moors who held coin of the King of Malacca should convey it thither" (i. e. to the mint) "without delay under pain of death; and so great a quantity of money was thus carried there out of fear of the penalty which had been appointed to them, that the officers could not dispatch their business fast enough." (Vol. III, p. 138).
I am sorry I cannot furnish absolute proof that the collection really contains coins of that early period. There are about 150 tin coins with Arabic inscriptions, but those few which are clear enough to be deciphered are of a much later date. It may be that the most worn and defaced coins belong to the period ​before the arrival of the Portuguese. Their average size is 21mm = 13/16 in., and their weight 2.5 grammes. It is noteworthy that the collection does not contain any of the well-known perforated tin coins which are still current in Trengganu and Kelantan.
The coins which have been partly or wholly deciphered are:—
(1) a coin with the date 1173 in Arabic characters, ١١٧٣ which would correspond to the year 1757 A. D.
(2) two coins with the date 1174 ١١٧٤ i.e. 1758 A. D.
(3) two coins with the inscription on the obverse
    سلطان i.e. Sultânu
    العادل on the reverse i.e. ’l-‘âdil(=the just)
    احمد بن i.e. Ahmad Bin
    محمود i.e. Mahmûd
In one of these two coins, this inscription is delicate, but exceedingly sharp and clearly defined.
(4) a coin with the inscription on the one side
    خان i.e. Khan
    محمود i.e. Mahmûd
The letters on the other side are too much worn to be deciphered.
I am indebted to Captain R. P. Jackson, S. C., 13th Madras Infantry, for having kindly identified these six coins for me.
(5). There is an exceedingly well preserved coin, with one side quite smooth, but bearing on the other side the inscription.
    ملك i.e. maliku
    العادل i.e. ’l-‘âdil ​which means 'The just king.' Its size is 24mm = 15/16 in. and its
weight 3.3 grammes (See pl. I, fig. 5). Mr. R. J. Wilkinson kindly identified this coin for me, and I subsequently found it figured and described by Netscher and Van der Chijs (13,) p. 179, pl. XXVI, fig. 215, and by Millies (12,) p. 148, pl. XXIII, fig. 250. The specimen described by the former two authors has also one side entirely smooth, and they state that the title maliku ’l-‘âdil is used by several rulers of Western Borneo. According to them the coin would have come from Sambas or Mampawa in West Borneo and date from the year 1822. Millies, however, refers the coin to Trengganu.
(6). The coin figured on pl. II, fig. 2, seems to bear only a portion of the inscription maliku ’l-‘âdil on the one side, whilst the characters on the other side are too indistinct to be deciphered.
Some of these tin coins may possibly have come from Sumatra. Marsden (9), p. 401, speaks of tin coins current in Acheen, and Netscher and Van der Chijs (13), p. 162, too describe such coins from Acheen, as well as from Palembang, Jambi and the neighbouring island of Banka, but I have not been able to identify any fo the Malacca coins with them.
The collection also contains a few Chinese coins, cash, which, however, are too much corroded to be identified.
II. THE EUROPEAN COINS.
1. The Portuguese Coins.
The European coins found at Malacca are Portuguese, Dutch and English, and, as I stated before, their dates embrace the whole period of the occupation of that place by these three nations.
​Malacca was taken by the Portuguese under Albuquerque in 1511 and held by them until 1641. The kings of Portugal during that period were:—
    Emmanuel, 1495–1321
    John III, 1521–1557
    Sebastian, 1557–1578
and four others to whom it will not be necessary to refer in this paper. From 1641 to 1795 the Dutch held possession of it, from 1795 to 1818 the English, from 1818 to 1824 the Dutch again, and since then the English.
The coins in the collection which date from the time of the first Dutch occupation are nearly all well known, but it is other- wise with a large number of tin coins struck by the Portuguese in Malacca itself; in fact as I said before, it seems doubtful whether any more of these coins exist at the present day. However, the record of the first mint established by Albuquer- que in Malacca, as given in his "Commentaries," and quoted below, leaves no doubt as to their identity.
This mint was the only one ever established in Malacca by Europeans. This was in 1511, immediately after the conquest of the place. In the previous year, 1510, Albuquerque had conquered Goa, and had established a mint there, and as the circum- stances under which those two mints were founded were very similar, and since, as will be shown below, the Malacca coins were struck after the same pattern as those in Goa, although not of the same metals, it may be well first to shortly narrate the history of the founding of the mint in Goa.
Soon after Goa had been taken in 1510 the principal Moors and Hindus of the country went to Albuquerque and told him how the trade of the people suffered because there was no proper currency, bogging him to coin some money or at least to permit the coinage of the Cabaio, the former ruler, to pass current, which he had forbidden. Albuquerque thereupon called a meeting of the goldsmiths, some Portuguese experts, and the native merchants, and discussed the matter, after which he gave orders for the coinage of money in gold, silver and copper, and on the one side they were to stamp a cross of the order of Christ, and on the other a sphere,—the device of the King D. Manuel. And when the money was ready (March 12th, ​1510), Albuquerque "gave the word to take the royal flag, and the trumpets and kettle drums, and assemble all the men in the fleet, and ordered Tristao Déga to go and proclaim it; and he went with all this company of people all round the city, and at each proclamation that was made they scattered quantities of the new money over the heads of the crowds, which were great. and they went on proceeding in this manner round the city." (Vol. II, p. 131).
When a few months afterwards Goa had been retaken by the Moors, and Albuquerque had reconquered it, he established a new mint at Goa (Vol. III, p. 41).
Albuquerque arrived before Malacca in the middle of June 1511, made the first attack on July 25th, conquered it in August, and then took speedy measures for restoring order in the place, Ninachatu, a rich Hindu merchant, being of the greatest service to him in this matter. Ninachatu and some of the "Governors of the land" soon approached Albuquerque and told him what inconvenience the people suffered from the want of a currency, and begged he would give orders for some system of coinage. Albuquerque thereupon called together the merchants, govern- ors, and principal men of the city, and arranged with them that gold, silver, and pewter coins should be struck, substituting thus pewter for the copper coins of Goa and utilizing the natural wealth of tin in the Malay Peninsula. We saw above that the native coinage before the arrival of the Portuguese had been pewter, just as now-a-days coins of that metal are current in Trengganu and Kelantan.
The gold coin, called Catholico, should weigh a quarter of a tundia which, amongst the Portuguese, was worth a thousand reis. The silver coins, called Malaqueses, i. e. Malacca pieces, should have the same value of a quarter tundia. The pewter coins were to be of three different demoninations, viz:
1. dinheiro (i. e. money), the smallest coin, equal to two of the previously existing caixes of the ruler of Malacca, bearing the sphere of the King D. Manuel,
2. soldo, equal to ten dinheiros, 3. bastardo, equal to ten soldos.
A mint was immediately established, and orders were given that under pain of death the old coinage of the King of Malacca ​should be delivered there to be reminted. When this had been done, and sufficient money had been coined, Albuquerque fixed a day for the proclamation of the new currency, and the princi- pal men of the people met Albuquerque with the Captains, Fidal- gos and Cavaliers of the fleet in the fortress to form a procession through the town. The account given of this procession and proclamation is so interesting and picturesque, that I give it literally:
"There went first, in front of all the people, one of the principal Governors of the City mounted upon an elephant with his castle caparisoned with silk, and carrying in his hands a flag of the arms of the King of Portugal upon a long spear, and be- hind him went all the people on foot on one side and the other, as it were in procession; and in the midst of these people there went a Moor mounted upon another elephant, likewise capari- soned with silk, making the proclamation; and behind this one came the trumpets; and after them the Governors of the City, and all the Merchants, and principal men thereof; and at the rear of this throng there went Antonio de Sousa the son of Joao de Sousa of Santarem, and the son of Ninachatu, both to- gether upon a large elephant, which had been kept for the King's own use, with his castle caparisoned with brocaded cloths, and they carried with them a large quantity of gold, silver, and copper coin, which they kept on throwing out over the heads of all the people at each publication of the proclamation which the Moor made. The crowd was so great that the streets could scarcely contain it, and with many songs and blowing of horns, according to the native custom, the people gave great praise to Afonso Dalboquerque for giving orders for this distribution of money by the advice and in accordance with the opinions of their natives." (Vol. 111, p. 141). Accounts of this first mint in Malacca are also given by Danvers (5), Vol. I, p. 230, and Stephens (15), p. 162.
Besides these two mints at Goa and Malacca, others were established by the Portuguese in Ceylon, Cochin, Diu, Bassein, Damao and Chaul. The following are the mint marks of six of ​these towns according to Da Cunha (4), part 1, p. 273; part 3 p. 202; part 4, p. 21.
| G or G—A | ... ... | Goa |
| M or M—A | ... ... | Malacca |
| C—LO | ... ... | Ceylon |
| D | ... ... | Damao |
| D or D—O | ... ... | Diu |
| B | ... ... | Bassein |
Finally the letter A which is found on some coins, is sup- posed to stand for 'Asia' (see Da Cunha, part 1, p. 271), but 'Albuquerque' has also been suggested.
Da Cunha, the first authority on this subject, alludes to the many difficulties which the study of the coins issued by these mints presents, he states that the coins were issued by the viceroys or even by the officers of the mint in the most capricious fashion, that they frequently bore effigies and legends which had no con- nection whatever with the reigning monarchs of the periods when they were issued, that some of them were struck years after the kings, whose busts they bore, had ceased to live (4, part I, p. 267). Da Cunha continues: "But these difficulties are increased tenfold by an absolute want of examples of the early periods of the Portuguese rule in India, their place being but inefficiently supplied by some written official reports and private memoirs. The coins of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries are not only scarce, but even the written documents relating to them are rare or deficient." To Valentyn (16) they seem to have been entirely unknown. Millies (12), p. 140, says: "Un des monuments même de la victoire du grand Alfonso d' Albuquer- que, la monnaie qu'il fit frapper à Malaka, a tellement disparu, que nous n'avons nullepart pu en decouvrir un exemplaire." Birch (2), in a foot note to Albuquerque's Commentaries,' Vol. II, p. 130, refers for descriptions of the earliest Portuguese coins to the works of De Faria (6) and Fernandes (8) and states that the coins themselves are so rare that they may almost be described as no longer extant," and that those writers had not figured any of them. I have not been able to see the works of De Faria and Fernandes, but I am glad to say that the collec- tion unearthed in Malacca does contain some of those earliest Jour, Straits Branch ​coins, in fact some of them may be the identical specimens which Albuquerque threw out over the heads of the admiring crowd during his procession and the proclamation of the new coinage ni Malacca in 1511.
The oldest specimens are three coins in excellent condition belonging to the reign of King Emmanuel who was reigning when Malacca was captured. Their diameter is 30 mm.=1 3/16 in., their weight 10.3 to 10.8 grammes, and they are probably bastardos. They bear on the obverse the Portuguese coat-of- arms, and around it the inscription:
EWANVEL: R: P: ET: A: DOVINE.
The second and fourth letters of the first word are inverted, and the last word, consisting of five or six letters, is less distinct than the rest. It might stand for DOMINE. The meaning of the other letters is of course 'Emanuel Rex Portugaliæ et Algar- biorum. The Algarves were first conquered by the Portuguese about 1188, and their name is still mentioned on the coins of the present day. The reverse of the coin bears the sphere, the "device of the King D. Manuel," like the coins struck at Goa. The device of the sphere, by the way, is used as a symbol of the glorious world-wide conquests of Portugal (see pl. I, figs. 2 and 2a).
Albuquerque died off Goa on Dec. 16th 1515, and King Em- manuel in 1521. From the reign of the next king, John III, 1521-1557, between fifty and sixty coins are in the collection. The first kind, probably the Soldo (size 24mm. = 15/16 in; weight 3.2 to 3.9 grammes), is of a very clear stamp, bearing on the ob- verse a cross, and around it the inscription.
IOA: III: POR: ET: AL: R.,
i. e. Ioannes III Portugaliæ et Algarbiorum Rex, on the reverse the usual sphere. This tin coin therefore tallies exactly with the description of the gold, silver and copper coins struck at Goa, which bore on the one side "a cross of the Order of Christ, on the other a sphere—the device of the King D. Manuel." Of this coin there are only three specimens (pl. II, figs. 9 and 9a)
Another kind, of which there are fifteen specimens, resembles this last in all details except that it is of a much ruder make
Of a smaller size of this coin, possibly the Dinheiros, there are about forty specimens, some in excellent condition. Size 19mm = 3/4 in; weight 2 to 2.3 grammes. The obverse bears around the cross the inscription
IOA: III: POR: ET: AL.
The reverse has the sphere (pl. II, figs. 10 and 10$^a$).
There are some coins which on the obverse round a coat-of-arms merely bear the inscription.
IOANNES. R. P. ET. AL. D. G.,
i. e. Ioannes Rex Portugaliæ et Algarbiorum Dei Gratia, and on the reverse the sphere. Although not clearly assigned to the reign of John III, still there is no reasonable doubt that they too belong to his time, and not to that of John IV, 1610-1656, during the second year of whose reign Malacca was lost to the Portuguese, nor to the time of John V, 1706-1750. There are about twenty specimens of it, but most of them in a very indifferent condition. Size 24 mm. = 15/16 in; weight 6.3 to 6.4 grammes. (pl. II, figs. 8 and 8$^a$).
A smaller coin, of which there are two specimens, has on the obverse a cross, with the letters ISMA in the four angles of the cross, and on the reverse again the sphere. These letters probably stand for 'Ioannes, Malacca,' shewing that the coin was struck at Malacca during the reign of a King Ioannes, probably again John III. The cross is very like the cross on certain coins figured by Da Cunha (part 1, pl. I, figs 3, 4 and 7) from the mints of Goa and Diu and belonging apparently to the eighteenth century. Size 17.5 mm. = 11/16 in; weight 3.8 to 3.9 grammes (pl. II, figs. 13 and 13$^a$).
Belonging probably to the reign of the next king, Sebastian, 1557-1578, there are six specimens of a large coin which has on the reverse the two letters S. B. with three crossed arrows between them, and on the reverse the coat-of-arms. The S. probably stands for 'Sebastian', and the letter B. may stand either for ​for 'Bassein,' one of the mint towns, or for 'Bastardo,' the name of the largest tin coin. The arrows are symbolic of the martyrdom of St. Sebastian after whom the king was called. The size of the coin is 30 mm. = 1 3/16 in; weight 11.3 to 11.9 grammes (pl. I, figs. 4 and 4a).
Another coin, which very probably also belongs to this reign, bears on the obverse the letters B and A, with three crossed arrows between them, and on the reverse the sphere. The coin is too small for the letter B to stand for 'Bastardo,' and it is pro- bably the mint mark of Bassein, whilst the letter A may stand either for 'Asia' or 'Albuquerque (see above p. 190). The three crossed arrows show that the coin was struck during the reign of Sebastian, like the previous coin, and the two dots above them probably indicate its value in dinheiros. Eight specimens were found: size 17 mm. = 11/16 in; weight 3.5 to 3.7 grammes (pl. II, figs. 12 and 12a).
The coin pictured on pl. I, fig. 1, of which there is only one specimen, was probably struck at Goa, as its obverse bears a device very like the wheel, the symbol of the martyrdom of St. Catherine, the patron saint of Goa. This wheel is often found on coins struck at Goa, as it commemorates the conquest of Goa by the Portuguese on St. Catherine's Day, November 25th, 1510. Its reverse is entirely smooth. Size 27 mm. = 1 1/16 in.; weight 8.9 grammes.
A small coin, represented by five specimens, shows on the obverse a coat-of-arms, and on the reverse a ship, but no inscrip- tion whatever. Size 18 mm. = 3/4 in.; weight 2.2 to 2.4 grammes (pl. I, figs 6 and 6a).
A considerably larger coin shews on the obverse the coat- of-arms, and on the reverse the sphere, but has no inscription either. There are five specimens of it. Size 28 mm. = 1 1/8 in.; weight 10 to 11.2 grammes (pl. I, figs. 3 and 3).
Finally there is a coin represented by only one specimen shewing on the obverse a small coat-of-arms surrounded by large and deeply impressed Roman letters, and on the reverse the sphere. Notwithstanding that the letters are deeply im- pressed and only little worn, they are so very rough, that my efforts to decipher them have not been successful. Size 24 mm. = 15/16 in; weight 3.7 grammes (pl. II, fig. 7).
2. The Dutch, French and English Coins.
The Dutch during their possession of Malacca (1641-1795, and 1818-1824) never minted any coins especially for that place, but naturally used the coinage current in Java. That island has changed its rulers several times since the end of the six- teenth century, viz:
| 1591-1602: | Compagnie van Verre te Amsterdam. |
| 1597-1602: | Compagnie van Verre te Middleburg. |
| 1602-1799: | Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie |
| 1800-1807: | Batavian Republic. |
| 1807-1811: | French Government. |
| 1811-1816: | British Government. |
| 1816 : | Dutch Government. |
Coins belonging to four of these epochs were discovered at Malacca.
The two Companies van Verre seem to have issued silver coins only, but none are in the collection.
The Dutch East India Company issued gold, silver and copper coins. The first copper coins were minted in 1644, but in the Malacca collection which contains no gold or silver coins. the earliest copper coins date from 1729. From the fact that the earliest copper coin figured by Netscher and Chijs (13) dates from 1726 we may conclude that still earlier ones are rare in numismatic collections.
The Batavian Republic issued gold, silver and copper coins, but the collection does not contain any. The Raffles Museum, however, possesses a copper coin of that period. The obverse shows the Dutch coat-of-arms consisting of a crowned shield enclosing a lion rampart, with the figures 5 and 1/10 to the right and left of the shield respectively. The reverse bears the inscription INDIÆ BATAV. 1802.
The French Government issued silver and copper coins, and two of the latter were found at Malacca.
The British Government issued gold, silver, copper and lead coins during its occupation of Java, but the Malacca collection contained none of them. The Raffles Museum, however, possesses silver Rupees of the years 1812 and 1816, half Rupees of 1813, copper Stuivers of 1814, half Stuivers of all the years ​1811 to 1815, copper Duits of the years 1811 to 1813 and lead Duits of 1814.
The Dutch Government of Java has so far issued no gold coins. The first silver coins, Guilders, seem to have been struck in 1821, the first copper coins in 1817 or 1818. The Malacca collection contains four copper coins.
In addition to coins current in Java also some of the well-known tokens issued by British merchants and traders in Sumatra were found, further some coins struck by the British East India Company for Penang, and finally a coin from India and one from Holland.
(a). Coins of the Dutch East India Company (1602-1799.)
Most of the coins issued by this Company bear the monogram , formed of the letters V. O. C., standing for 'Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie,' i. e. United East India Company.
    1. Copper. One Duit.
       Obv. Coat-of-arms consisting of a crowned shield containing two lions passant.
       Rev. 1729.
       See Netscher and Chijs. p. 103. No. 21; pl. IV, No. 21$^c$
    2. Copper. One Duit.
       Obv. Coat-of-arms consisting of a crowned shield containing one lion rampant.
       Rev. 1730.
       Except for date similar to Netscher and Chijs, pl. III fig. 21$^a$,
    3. Copper. One Duit.
       Dated 1731. Otherwise similar to No. 1.
    4. Copper. One Duit.
       Obv. Coat-of-arms with two lions rampant. Around it the legend 'SP NOS IN DEO' (i.e. Spes nostra in Deo).
       Rev. 1732.
       Except for date similar to Netscher and Chijs, pl. IV, No. 21$^d$.
    5. Copper. One Duit.
       Obv. Coat-of-arms with two lions rampant. Around it the legend 'SPES NOSTRA IN DEO' (written in full).
       Rev. (Date effaced).
    6. Copper. One Duit.
       Obv. Coat-of-arms with one lion rampant; no legend.
       Rev. 1735.
       Except for date similar to Netscher and Chijs, pl. IV, fig. 22$^a$.
    7. Copper. One Duit.
       Date 1737. Otherwise identical with No. 6.
    8. Copper. One half Duit.
       Obv. Coat-of-arms consisting of a crowned shield without lions. The shield is divided by a diagonal line, a bende, the upper and sinister portion of the shield being argent, the lower and dexter portion gule.
       Rev. 1753.
       See Netscher and Chijs, pl. IV, fig. 22$^c$.
    9. Copper. One half Duit.
       Date 1754. Otherwise identical with No. 8.
    10. Copper. One Duit.
       Obv. Coat-of-arms consisting of a shield similar to that of Nos. 8 and 9, but supported on the left and right by two rampant lions.
       Rev. 1786.
       Except for date similar to Netscher and Chijs, pl. IV, fig. 21$^c$.
    11. Copper. One Duit.
       Obv. Coat-of-arms consisting of a crowned shield, the lower half of which contains three horizontal wavy lines, the upper half a demi-lion.
       Rev. 1786.
       Except for date similar to Netscher and Chijs, pl. IV, fig. 22$^h$.
    12. Copper. One Duit.
       Dated 1790. Otherwise similar to No. 10. ​
    13. Copper. Two Duits.
       Dated 1790. About twice as large as No. 12, but otherwise similar to it.
    14. Copper. One Duit.
       Obv. Coat-of-arms, consisting of a crowned shield containing two lions passant.
       Rev. 1792.
       Except for date similar to Netscher and Chijs, pl. IV, fig. 22$^c$.
(b). Coins of Java under French Rule (1807-1811.)
    1. Copper. One Duit.
       Obv. 'JAVA, 1810'. Below this the letter 'Z.'
       Rev. A monogram of the two letters 'L. N.', standing for Louis Napoleon.
       See Netscher and Chijs, p. 112, No. 60; pl. VII, fig. 60$^a$.
    2. Copper. Two Duits.
       Obv. 'JAVA'. Date effaced.
       Rev. 'L. N.'
(c). Coins of Java under Dutch or British Rule?
The Malacca collection contains a copper coin, probably one Duit, of the following description:
Obverse: Coat-of-arms consisting of a crowned shield enclosing a lion rampant, with the figures '5' and '1/16' to the right and left of the shield respectively.
Reverse: the legend INDIÆ BATAV, 1816.
In 1816 Java was handed back by the British to the Dutch, and as the coin bears a coat-of-arms used by the Dutch East India Company throughout the eighteenth century, there is no reasonable doubt that the coin is of Dutch, not British origin. Coins identical with it, except for the date, were issued by the Batavian Republic previous to the English occupation of Java, and by the Dutch Government after the English occupation, and the Raffles Museum contains such coins of the years 1802, 1818, 1819, 1821 and 1824. But the Museum also contains a coin of 1815, that is a coin struck in Batavia with the Dutch coat-of-arms during the time of the English rule. Therefore it is just ​possible that the above coin of 1816, found at Malacca, may also have been struck under English rule. I cannot offer any explan- ation of this.
A coin of this kind, but of the year 1802, is figured by Netscher and Chijs, pl. VI, fig. 39. The figures '5' and '1/16' to the right and left of the shield respectively are somewhat mysterious. Netscher and Chijs (p. 108) say that they are not able to offer any explanation of their meaning, nor am I in a position to do so.
(d). Coins of Java under Dutch Rule (from 1816).
    1. Copper. 1/8 Stuiver.
       Obv. A coat-of-arms consisting of a crowned shield enclosing a lion rampant, with the figure to the right and the letter S to the left of the shield.
       Rev. NEDERL. INDIE 1823.
       See Netscher and Chijs, pl. IX, fig. 85.
    2. Copper. 1/4 Stuiver.
       Date 1826. Except for size, date and the figure 1/4 instead of 1/9, similar to No. 1.
    3. Copper. One Cent.
       Obv. The usual coat-of-arms enclosing a lion rampant with '1' and 'Ct' to the right and left of the shield respectively.
       Rev. NEDERL. INDIE 1838.
    4. Copper. One Cent.
       Date 1856. Identical with the currency of the present day.
(e). Tokens of the British East-India Company of Sumatra.
    1. Copper. One Keping.
       Obv. The Company's coat-of-arms, and around, in Roman characters, the legend 'Island of Sumatra, 1804.'
       Rev. The legend, in Malay characters, 'Satu Keping, 1219.'
       See Rodgers (14), Vol. II, pl. VIII, No. 12081; Ellis (7) p. 9, No. 1; Atkins (1), p. 204, No. 24. ​
    2. Copper. One Keping.
       Obv. A Bantam Cock, with the legend, in Malay characters, 'Tanah Malayu' (i. e. the Land of the Malays).
       Rev. In Malay characters: 'Satu keping, 1247,' (i. e. 1881 A.D.)
       See Rodgers (14), Vol. II, pl. VIII, No. 12083; Millies (11), pl. II, fig. 23.
    3. Copper. One Keping.
       Obv. As in No. 2.
       Rev. A star of sixteen points, with the legend, in Bugis, 'The Land of the Bugis, One Keping, 1250' (i. e. 1834 A. D.)
       See Netscher and Chijs. p. 188, No. 251; pl. XXVII, fig. 254.
(f). Coins of the British East India Company struck for Penang.
    1. Copper. Three Kepings.
       Obv. A heart-shaped shield diagonally divided into four sections with the letters V. E. I. C. respectively (i. e. United East India Company). The shield is surmounted by the figure '4'. Below the date 1798.
       Rev. 'Tiga Keping, 1213', in Malay characters.
       See Netscher and Chijs, p. 123, No. 100; pl. X, fig. 100b.
    2. Copper. Four Kepings.
       Obv. The Company's coat-of-arms with the legend East India Company in Roman letters around it. Below, the date 1804.
       Rev. 'Ampat Keping, 1219', in Malay.
       See Netscher and Chijs. p. 123, No. 99; pl. X, fig. 99.
    3. Copper. Two Kepings.
       Obv. Smaller than, but otherwise identical with, No. 2.
       Rev. 'Dua Keping, 1219,' in Malay.
       See Millies (11), p. 93, No. 14; pl. I, fig. 14.
III. OTHER COINS.
There are two more coins which belong to none of the above sections.
    1. A copper coin of the East India Company, struck in the name of Shah Alam II. The obverse shows an inscription in Arab, the reverse in Bengali, Malay and Hindostani. See Rodgers, Vol. II, p. 124, No. 12138; pl. VII, No. 12138.
    2. Copper. Two Stuivers.
    This is the only coin of European origin found in the collection, coming from Zeeland in Holland.
       Obv. The Dutch coat-of-arms consisting of a crowned shield. The lower half of the shield has three horizontal wavy lines, the upper half a demi-lion, therefore exactly similar to the coat-of-arms of the coin No. 11 of the Dutch East India Company described above (p. 196). The figure 2 to the right and the letter S to the left of the shield indicate its value, two Stuivers.
       Rev. The legend
    ZEE
    LAN
    DIA
    1780
LITERATURE.
1. Atkins, James, Coins and Tokens of the Possessions and Colonies of the British Empire. London, 1889.
2. Birch, W. de Gray, The Commentaries of the Great Afonso Dalboquerque, Second Viceroy of India. 4 Vols. London (Hakluyt Society), 1875-1884.
3. Crawford, John, A Descriptive Dictionary of the Indian Islands and Adjacent Countries. London, 1856.
4. Da Cunha, J. Gerson, Contributions to the Study of Indo-Portuguese Numismatics. Journal, Bombay Branch, R. Asiatic Society. Part 1, Vol. XIV, pp. 267–273, 1 pl.; part 2, Vol. XIV, pp. 402–417; part 3. Vol. XV. pp. 160-202, 1 pl.; part 1, Vol. XVI, pp. 17–73, 1 pls. (1880-1883).
5. Danvers, F. C., The Portuguese in India. 2 Vols. London, 1894.
6. De Faria, Manoel Severim, Noticias de Portugal. Lisbon, 1791.
7. Ellis, Lt. Col. H. Leslie, British Copper Tokens of the Straits Settlements and Malayan Archipelago. Numismatic Chronicle, ser. 3., Vol. XV, pp. 135-153, pl. VI.
8. Fernandes, M. B. L., (Title of Work?), Mem. Acad. Real das Sciencias de Lisboa, 1850.
9. Marsden, W., The History of Sumatra. 3rd ed., London, 1811.
10. ——— Numismata Orientalia Illustrata. London, 1869.
11. Millies, H. C., De Munten der Engelschen voor den Oost-Indischen Archipel. Amsterdam, 1852.
12. ——— Recherches sur les Monnaies des Indigènes de l'Archipel Indien et de la Péninsule Malaie. La Haye, 1871.
13. Netscher, E., and J. d. van der Chijs, De Munten van Nederlandsch Indie. Batavia, 1860 (?)
14. Rodgers, Chas. J., Catalogue of the Coins of the Indian Museum. 4 parts. Calcutta, 1893-96.
15. Stephens, H. Morse, Albuquerque (R. 1.). Oxford, 1892.
16. Valentyn, François, Oud en Niew Oost-Indien. 5 Vols. Dordrecht and Amsterdam, 1721.
References to the Illustrations.
PLATE I. :
| Fig. 1 | see page 193. |
| Figs. 2 and 2a | see page„ 191. |
| Figs. 3 and 3a | see page„ 193. |
| Figs. 4 and 4a | see page„ 193. |
| Fig. 5 | see page„ 186. |
| Figs. 6 and 6a | see page„ 193. |
| PLATE II. ||
| Fig. 7 | see page 193. |
| Figs.8 and 8a | see page„ 192. |
| Figs. 9 and 9a | see page„ 191. |
| Figs. 10 and 10a | see page„ 192. |
| Figs. 11 | see page„ 186. |
| Figs 12 and 12a | see page„ 193. |
| Figs. 13 and 13a | see page„ 192. |
JOURNAL 39, PLATE I.
Tin Coins from Malacca.
JOURNAL 39, PLATE II.
Tin Coins from Malacca.
* ↑ These numbers refer to the list of Literature at the end of the paper.
* ↑ Since writing the above I have seen a paper by Lt. Col. Gerini, 'A Malay Coin', Journal, Royal Asiatic Society, April 1903, pp. 339-343, in which certain small gold coins, found in Jaring, near Patani, are described. Their obverse is 'an imitation of a Southern Indian fanam bearing the figure of a maneless lion,' whilst their reverse bears the inscription العادل, reminding thus strongly of the tin coins described above. Dr. Codrington is of opinion that those gold coins had come from Acheen.
* ↑ This is probably an error: no copper coins of Malacca are previously mentioned. Probably pewter coins are meant.