TIN COINS OF KEDAH (1600--1900)

Tin Coins Of Kedah (1600-1900)
 
From the beginning of the 17th century, Kedah (which had already begun the manufacture of its own tin cash and copper coin for the market) began to import gold coins from Johor, Patani and Acheh for use in trade as the principal division to the Spanish Dollar. As far as it is known, the gold and silver coins of Kedah were minted under two reigns (one in the 17th and the other in the 18th century) and they appear to have been copied from the contemporary currency of Johor at that time.
 During the reign of Sultan Muhammad Jiwa Zainal Abidin Muazzam Shah (1710-1733),animal money made of tin was introduced in Kedah. This form of currency was restricted to models of the fighting cock perched on a number of rings attached to its base.



 From the few records available, it is known that the fighting cock itself was worth five cents of the Spanish Dollar while each attached ring below added a further one cent to its value. For small purchases, the metal rings were broken off and used as one cent pieces. A few pieces of this tin cockerel on rings were still in circulation as late as the 1850's when each ring was worth 10 pieces of the Singapore Merchants one Keping tokens.







DUIT SYILING NEGERI KEDAH (1600-1900) 


Ring Tin Coins Of Kedah.

Sejak awal kurun ke-17,  negeri Kedah (yang telah mula membuat duit-duit timah dan tembaganya sendiri  untuk pasaran) mula membawa masuk duit-duit syiling emas dari Johor,Patani dan Acheh untuk kegunaan dalam perdagangan sebagai pecahan utama Dolar Sepanyol. Setakat yang diketahui, duit-duit syiling emas dan perak negeri Kedah ditempa pada zaman dua pemerintahan, (satu dalam abad ke-17 dan satu lagi dalam abad ke-18) dan ada kemungkinan duit-duit syiling ini ditiru daripada metawang negeri Johor pada masa itu.


  



Semasa pemerintahan Sultan Muhammad Jiwa Zainal Abidin Muazzam Shah (1710-1773), duit bentuk binatang yang diperbuat dari timah diperkenalkan di Kedah. Matawang bentuk ini terhad kepada model di atas beberapa bulatan yang dilekatkan di bahagian bawahnya.


  




Dari rekod-rekod yang didapati adalah diketahui bahawa ayam jantan tersebut bernilai 5 sen daripada Dolar Sepanyol sementara setiap satu bulatan yang melekat dibawahnya  menambahkan nilainya dengan 1 sen. Untuk pembelian-pembelian kecil,bulatan-bulatan logam ini  dipatahkan dan digunakan sebagai  kepingan 1 sen. Beberapa keping duit ayam jenis ini masih di dalam edaran selewat tahun 1850, dimana setiap bulatan bernilai 10 keping Token Perdagangan Singapura yang dikenali sebagai satu Keping.

7 comments:

  1. Its a little bit hard to find a full set nowadays and the price ain't 5 sen anymore....

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  2. Hi Bro,
    You are right!
    No more easy to find these tin coins of Malay states and some more in good condition.Should collect them while still available.Surprisingly,some foreigners are inheriting them and always in good condition.

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  3. Hi Dickson and lunaticg,
    Aiya where still got things can buy with 5sen lor, haha.
    You are right about some foreigners still keeping them in good condition.
    In fact,we have friends bidding antique Chinese porcelain wares through auctions in the western countries, and then reselling them in China and Taiwan, which fetches much higher prices.
    We were told in most cases the western owners never use these antiques but only as decorative items in their lavish homes.
    And that could be the reason why many of these items are still in good condition.
    Due to the economic downturn, many of these owners are now forced to sell them at below the market values.
    What we were told was that the Eastern buyers were willing to pay good prices for these items if the sellers could ensure they were in tip-top condition, genuine and rare.
    When all these factors were in place, price is not a factor to these highly resourceful buyers.
    Thanks a lot for sharing, Dickson :)

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  4. Hi Whycollect,
    One suggestion,you,me and invite Lunaticg to join us, we camp in Europe,visit all their flea markets if possible,I am sure we can get good treasure items that they lambak in their market! Any one coinage,reserve for our good "cents" men depankanta!haha!

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  5. I never saw this coins personally. This is very interesting. Hope to find some to add my collections.

    cash for coins

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  6. Hi Dickson,
    Haha,in fact we have been carrying out this practise with our tea purchases.
    Some hoards or good stash are just too expensive to be purchased by a single person.
    Even though this practise can turn sour once in a while, when some didn't get their equal share.
    But mind you, hehe its really fun.
    At times,think about it, the best part is not getting the fair share of the tea in question but the highly exciting collective effort made to acquire them.
    The joy of working together for a common goal.
    So, hehe, maybe one day when we eventually retire, we could carry out treasure hunt expeditions overseas or rather looking around for 'low-hanging fruits', hehe those 'big juicy fruits' ready to be pluck right in front of us..no need to use ladder wan, hahaha.
    Thanks a lot, Dickson :)

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  7. Dear ahnn,
    You may get them at Dickson Niew Collection Corner at Subang Jaya.

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