374, Lot: 789. Estimate $150. Sold for $95. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

WORLD. Malay Archipelago. Lot of six (6) tin issues of the Srijivaya Kingdom. Includes: various types and sizes. Cf. Elsen 126, lot 1363-5 (for series). VF. LOT SOLD AS IS, NO RETURNS. Six (6) coins in lot.

These unusual coins belong to an unstudied series from the Malay archipelago. The series apparently consists of a variety of tin pieces bearing various animals, often with a letter or a floral reverse (cf. Elsen 128, 1639-45), and a single gold type. The metals are linked by virtue of a shared type, the fish with a complex and as-yet unread reverse legend (Elsen 126, lot 1365). It is not yet clear what weight standard the gold pieces belong to, with known examples weighing between 17.21 and 18.24 grams, all from the same dies. It is possible that, rather than a proper coinage, these pieces are currency ingots struck on a variable standard.