289, Lot: 502. Estimate $100. Sold for $65. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

INDONESIA, Islamic. Uncertain. Circa 15th century AD. Tin Cash (19mm, 0.69 g). Palembang(?) mint. Shi Dan Li Bao or Zhong Dan Li Bao in Hànzì / Blank. Zeno 5443, otherwise unpublished . Good VF, grey patina.

Hang Li Po first appears in the Malay Annals as a Chinese princess sent to be the fifth bride of sultan Mansur Shah of Malacca. However, there is no reference to this event in official Ming documents. Li Po may merely be a beautiful concubine given to the Sultan. Alternatively, she may be the daughter of an otherwise unknown Chinese ruler in the area, to whom this coin may perhaps be attributed.