CENTREFOLD

Ancient Money in
8
Southeast Asia – Part 1
—BY FOO SHU TIENG (NSC RESEARCH OFFICER)

PIGGY BANK FROM EAST JAVA, 14TH-16TH CENTURY. H 16.0CM X W 13.0 CM X D 17.3 CM. (CREDIT: RIJKSMUSEUM AK-RAK-1988-18)

The history of money is an important different people, and its meaning and for commodities; they had an inherent
subject that has been studied since use can change with time. Money is value, and were heritable (ibid.: 40).
antiquity. Many people today collect used as a medium of exchange, a store Studies on how money affected social
ancient coins and forms of cash as of value, a unit of account or standard relations, particularly between market
a serious hobby and investment, and of value, and a method of payment participants and between the state and
despite many experts who conduct (Nelms & Maurer 2014: 38). Money its citizens placed money’s origins in
numismatic research, very few studies can show the extent and flows of “barter and emphasising its functions
truly target ancient money in Southeast trading communities and may become as a medium of exchange (in theory)
Asia. This article looks at some important markers for time, particularly and store of value (in policy)” (ibid.: 40).
interesting facts, discusses some less when discovered at archaeological The terms “general purpose” money
obvious implications, and suggests sites, but their extreme portability and and “special purpose” money were
future directions for further research. longevity can also be a limitation. coined by K. Polanyi to differentiate
the Western unitary concept of money,
It is important to explicitly define money, Metal based currencies were initially which was thought to be more abstract
as money means different things to thought to solve a value-storage problem and impersonal, and the non-Western
 9
“[Southeast Asia’]s idea of coinage
might have been inspired by South
Asian trade either with South
India, Sri Lanka, or Bengal.”

political history, as the coins mention the

kings’ names, and can also provide clues
regarding the religious preferences of the
elite (ibid.: 55, 57). Ratti beans (Abrus
precatorius) were used as the standard
SILVER RISING SUN / SRIVATSA COIN, SAID TO BE MINTED IN HALIN. DIAMETER: 30MM. (© TRUSTEES OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM; base weight in northern India, while in the
1983,0118.10) south, the standard base weight of coins
was calculated either using the manjadi
(Odenathera pavonina) or the kalanju
concept of money, which was plural, largely began in the 19th century (Caesalpinia bonduc) beans (ibid.: 51-52).
and embedded in a complex web of (see Marsden 1825, Chaudoir 1842,
social relationships (ibid.: 43). D. Millies 1871) and was focused on small According to Zhou (2005: 95), the way
Graeber found that money arises from collections from a particular area. As Chinese coins were made differed from
a virtual credit system and positioned “Southeast Asia” rose as a term of the western method, in which coins were
the invention of cash as something that convenience only in WW2, it was only in struck with dies and were made of gold,
transformed person-to-person moral the 1970s and 1980s that publications silver, and bronze. Instead, Chinese
obligations to a more generalised used the term as a unit of analysis (see coins were cast in moulds and bronze
and transferable form; metallic based Cresswell 1974, Gutman 1978, Wicks coins were primarily used in its currency
currencies were also distinguishable 1985). Of the studies that came out on tradition. One of the earliest pieces of
from credit arrangements in that they Southeast Asian money, it was Wicks’ archaeological evidence for bronze coin-
could be stolen (Elvin 2015: XI). (1992) Money, Markets, and Trade in Early making can be found as early as 600 BCE
SEA that gained the most traction, even at the site of Houma, Shanxi province,
Although many types of money existed in though it has its limitations (Miksic 1994). where money shaped similarly to spades,
ancient Southeast Asia (SEA), this article Recent publications on the subject (eg: the moulds for making such spades, and
focuses on coins that existed prior to Krisadaolarn 2016) continue to refine the bronze remains of the casting process
colonial era as they are the most readily the available data on the existence of were discovered (Zhou 2005: 95). From
identifiable item for metallic exchanges, coins in certain parts of SEA but are the 3rd century BCE until the 1920s,
and as coins are in use as a form of often decontextualised catalogues. however, the main official form of currency
small money even today. As this article Similarly, although coin finds may be in China was the standard copper alloy
will not discuss coin production, I have reported in archaeological excavation coin (Cribb 2005: 1). Chinese coins were
provided a preliminary use-life flow chart reports, studies at a larger regional scale steadily exported “from the 7th century
for this type of metal-based currency (see are often lacking, and this means the to Eastern Turkestan, Mongolia, Japan,
centrefold), which illustrates aspects field of numismatic archaeology in SEA Korea, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia,
of production, supply chain, and the continues to be a burgeoning one. Thailand, India, the Persian Gulf, the
socio-political and logistics networks Arabian Peninsula and East Africa, [and]
that are involved in it. It should be noted, India and China’s historical trajectories has also provided these regions with a
however, that barter did not disappear in using coinage as money may reveal supply of copper alloy” (ibid. 2005: 1).
when coins were introduced; these insights for looking at SEA’s trajectory.
systems coexisted for quite a long time According to Singh (2009: 51), the So how did coins come to be used in
(Singh 2009: 52). According to Christie earliest archaeological evidence for SEA? Currently, scholars (such as
(1996), the study of coins in SEA has coinage in South Asia dates from the Wicks 1992) believe that the earliest
lagged behind that of China and India 6th to 5th centuries BCE, where mostly use of coinage on the SEA mainland
as they often lacked royal names or silver (and some copper) punch-marked was found to be in the Mon settlement
dates, making it difficult for academics coins were found. Unsubscribed cast areas of lower Myanmar and Thailand,
to reliably use them as a dating method. coins made of copper alloy, using clay and the idea of coinage might have been
Some coins which have inscriptions or bronze moulds, were also found at inspired by South Asian trade either
give unit names or place names; those the same archaeological level as punch- with South India, Sri Lanka, or Bengal,
that have place names are often used by marked coins, and this indicates that as “the local coinage [used] religious
scholars to corroborate other historical their use overlapped (ibid.: 52). By the symbols surrounded by bead borders,
references, such as the existence of 1st century BCE, Indo-Greek coins, rather than anthropomorphic deities
a polity named Lavapura (presently which were mostly made of silver, were and identifying inscriptions, as was the
Lopburi, in Thailand) (Wicks 1992: 164- produced using the die-struck method. norm among North-Indian coins” (Hall
165; Boeles 1967) or the existence of a These coins bore the name and portrait of 1999: 443). Although there is still no
kingdom called Dvaravati (Boeles 1964). the issuing ruler on the obverse side, and evidence that Indian currency was ever
had religious symbols on the reverse side used in SEA, the Javanese, for example,
The study of coins in the SEA region and can thus be an important source for did borrow from the Indian system of
Use-life flow chart for coins
CREDIT: S. T. FOO
 12
MAGIC COIN FROM JAVA FIRST REPORTED BY RAFFLES, ATTRIBUTED TO THE 15TH-16TH CENTURIES IN THE MAJAPAHIT PERIOD.
DIAMETER: 35.5MM. (© TRUSTEES OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM, CH.651)

weights and measures (Miksic 2000: Ingot-type currencies or bracelet money fine for murder (Wicks 1986: 59). As
111; Christie 1996: 244). According were also used as substitutes for coins a consequence of this high usage of
to Miksic (personal communication, 13 in other mainland SEA kingdoms such coins, artisans in the Majapahit kingdom
September 2018), 12th and 13th-century as Lan Na (Krisadaolarn 2016: 54-89). also produced earthenware coin banks
Sri Lankan coins were found at Kota ranging from the size of tennis balls to
Cina and Singapore, and some Persian Coins were not minted in insular SEA basketballs, and possibly one of the
coins were found in Kedah and southern until the late 1st millennium CE, later world’s earliest pig-shaped coin bank
Thailand. Coins were not the first metal than on the mainland and those that (Rahardjo 1990). Furthermore, the large
currency used, with several types of were produced in insular SEA were not exportation of Chinese copper coins
“special-purpose” currency used for produced elsewhere in Asia (Christie to SEA eventually led to a shortage
ritual contexts such as temple offerings 1996: 244-245). Christie mentions two of copper and copper coins in China
and ceremonial gifts, such as iron bar types whose prototype seems to have itself, with the first export ban policy
bundles and gold rings with auspicious been produced in the late 8th to mid- proclaimed during the early 13th century
inscriptions (Christie 1996: 248). 9th century by the kingdom of Mataram, in the Song dynasty; substitute goods
central Java: (1) dice-like or globular gold such as silk, porcelain and lacquer had
In Mainland SEA, silver was the preferred “piloncito” coins, and (2) round coins to be used for official trade (Li 2007).
metal for minting coins, with gold and with a stamped “sandalwood flower”
copper rarely used (Hall 1999: 444). An type pattern on the reverse made of gold, It should be noted that imported foreign
early widespread coinage design was the electrum, silver, or silver alloy. These coins could take on new meanings
Conch / Srivatsa coin, mostly reported in types of coins spread to East Java and that did not exist in its place of origin.
Pegu (Wicks 1992: 112-113). The most Bali by the 10th century (ibid.: 246). The Chinese coins in East Java were
widespread motif for coins in Mainland piloncito type seems to have spread to duplicated locally during the Majapahit
SEA was the rising sun type, which may Luzon but the sandalwood type seems to and then were adapted to meet local
have been associated with the Pyu as have been used as a prototype to produce needs (Aelst 1995, Cribb 1999). Recent
well as the Mon (ibid.: 116-118). Some coins in Sumatra (ibid.: 247). By the studies in Bali suggest that some
states in mainland SEA also moved 14th century, north Sumatra was using localised coins, similar in shape to the
away from earlier coinage traditions; Islamic coins, tin coins were struck in the Chinese-alloy coins but with adorned
Bagan (9th-13th century) and the Khmer Malacca Straits, and most of insular SEA with local motifs, are still used for rituals
empire (9th-15th century) did not use was affected by the spread of Chinese and considered to be auspicious and
coins. In Bagan, silver bars called klyap copper coinage and locally cast copies have mystical powers (Arisanti 2017:
were given for wages in the 13th-14th (ibid.: 247, see Heng 2006 for the role of 167). For example, by imbuing coins with
centuries (ibid.: 306-30). In Angkor, the Chinese coins in the Straits of Melaka). magic through a specific ritual, the owner
government regulated taxation and the of coins which have the Arjuna wayang
redistribution of currency, for example, The Kota Cina site (11th-13th century) on character depicted (pis rejuna) were
where rice fields were valued in units of the NE coast of Sumatra was the oldest thought to possess the ability to attract
silver or cloth but where taxation could known site in SEA where Chinese cash women to his heart’s desire (ibid.: 168).
be paid in paddy (Miksic & Goh 2017: was used as a medium of exchange, as
358; Wicks 1992: 301, 303). Earlier, hundreds of these coins were found there In conclusion, the study of coins can
scholars such as P. Gutman (1978: 9) had (Miksic 2000: 111; 2013: 125). Chinese give insights into the networks of
theorised that it might have been political coins also became the standard currency trade within and between SEA and its
and economic destabilisation which for the Majapahit kingdom sometime neighbours. From the evidence given
led to their disuse, as “the last Arakan between 1296 to 1350 CE, with Chinese above, it’s clear that SEA’s adoption of
coinage hoards date to the 9th-10th reports, Javanese inscriptions, and the coins was not uniform – it was the states
centuries, as do coins from Mon sites.” Laws of Majapahit (Kutaramanawa) and communities that held the power to
However, Wicks (1992) gave evidence requiring that it be used to pay for taxes, accept certain currencies as legal tender
to show that there were other market fines, irrigation fees, and debts (Amelia for market transactions. As the field of
exchange goods whose standardised S. 1995: 100). The Kutaramanawa numismatic archaeology is one that is still
values could be used as a substitute. for example, stated a 40,000 copper relatively new, many questions still remain.
 13

JAVANESE GOLD COIN, ATTRIBUTED TO 9TH CENTURY. OBVERSE: CUBE WITH NAGARI LETTER ‘TA’DENOTING ‘TAHIL.’ IF IN KAWI,
IT MAY DENOTE ‘NA’ (ANDREA ACRI, PERSONAL COMMUNICATION, 14 SEPTEMBER 2018). REVERSE: SQUARE INCUSE MARK
SUBDIVIDED BY POINTED VERTICAL LINE WITH DOT ON EITHER SIDE. 7X6.5X5MM. (© TRUSTEES OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM,
CH.399)

It is hoped that with further research, CRIBB, J. (2005). “INTRODUCTION.” IN WANG, H., COWELL, MIKSIC, J. N. (1994). [REVIEW OF THE BOOK MONEY,
M., CRIBB, J., AND BOWMAN, S. (EDS.), METALLURGICAL MARKETS, AND TRADE IN EARLY SOUTHEAST ASIA: THE
these questions can be answered.
ANALYSIS OF CHINESE COINS AT THE BRITISH MUSEUM. DEVELOPMENT OF INDIGENOUS MONETARY SYSTEMS TO A.
BRITISH MUSEUM RESEARCH PUBLICATION 152. LONDON: THE D. 1400, BY ROBERT S. WICKS.] BULLETIN OF THE SCHOOL
S. T. FOO IS A RESEARCH OFFICER AT THE ARCHAEOLOGY UNIT, TRUSTEES OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM, PP. 1-3. OF ORIENTAL AND AFRICAN STUDIES 57(3) (OCT.): 630-631.
NSC, ISEAS – YUSOF ISHAK INSTITUTE. SHE RECEIVED HER HTTPS://DOI.ORG/10.1017/S0041977X00009290
MA BY RESEARCH IN SOUTHEAST ASIAN STUDIES FROM THE CRIBB, J. (1999). MAGIC COINS OF JAVA, BALI AND THE
NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE (NUS) AND HAS HELPED MALAY PENINSULA: THIRTEENTH TO TWENTIETH CENTURIES. MILLIES, H. C. (1871). RECHERCHES SUR LES MONNAIES
TO FACILITATE FIELD STUDY PROGRAMMES BOTH AT ISEAS LONDON: TRUSTEES OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM. DES INDIGÈNES DE L’ARCHIPEL INDIEN ET DE LA PÉNINSULE
AND NUS IN CAMBODIA, THAILAND, AND INDONESIA. SHE MALAIE. THE HAGUE: MARTINUS NIJHOFF.
WOULD LIKE TO THANK DR. KENNETH R. HALL, PROF. JOHN N.
MIKSIC, DR. IAIN SINCLAIR, DR. TAI YEW SENG, DR. ANDREA ELVIN, M. (2015). “PREFACE: SOME THOUGHTS ON THE NELMS, T. C., AND MAURER, B. (2014). “MATERIALITY,
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ACRI, DR. D. KYLE LATINIS, AND MS. FONG SOK ENG, WHO
(EDS.), MONEY IN ASIA (1200-1900): SMALL CURRENCIES MONEY.” IN BIJLEVELD, E., AND AARTS, H. (EDS.), THE
GAVE USEFUL COMMENTS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR THIS PAPER.
IN SOCIAL AND POLITICAL CONTEXTS. LEIDEN: BRILL, PP. PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE OF MONEY. NEW YORK: SPRINGER
ANY ERRORS THAT REMAIN ARE THE AUTHOR’S OWN. IX-XXXIX). SCIENCE + BUSINESS MEDIA, PP. 37-69. RETRIEVED FROM:
HTTPS://ESCHOLARSHIP.ORG/UC/ITEM/8X59267F
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