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Sumatra Palembang Sultanate
Mahmud Badaruddin II
Octagonal Pitis
蘇門答臘 巨港蘇丹國
馬哈茂德·巴達魯丁二世
八邊形皮蒂斯
Item number: A1443
Year: AD 1804-1805 (AH 1219)
Material: Tin
Size: 18.2 x 17.9 x 0.3 mm
Weight: 0.7 g
Provenance: Teutoburger Münzauktion GmbH 2023
This is a “Pitis” tin coin minted in the year AH 1219 (AD 1804 to AD 1805) during the reign of Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II, the eighth Sultan of Palembang in Sumatra, Indonesia. The term “Pitis” in Malay means “thin” or “light.”
This octagonal coin’s design is modelled after the square-holed coins brought by Chinese merchants or pirates who had long engaged in trade in the Southeast Asia region. The coin features a central hole for stringing.
The coin’s surrounding inscription in Jawi script, commonly used in the Malay Peninsula and the Indonesian archipelago, reads “مصروف في بلد ڤلمبڠ,” which translates to “Coin of Palembang.” The coin also bears the Islamic year “١٢١٩” (AH 1219), which corresponds to the period from AD 1804 to AD 1805.
Palembang is an important trading port located in the southern part of Sumatra Island, facing the South China Sea. Prior to the Age of Exploration, its advantageous position as a seaport, along with the abundance of pepper and tin, attracted merchants from China, India, and the Arab world for trade. In AD 1511, following the Portuguese conquest of the neighbouring Sultanate of Malacca, many of the Malaccan nobility fled to Sumatra, accelerating the Islamisation of Palembang and other areas.
In AD 1659, the Sultanate of Palembang was established, with the city as its capital. By AD 1803, during the reign of Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II, the throne had passed to the eighth generation. However, the sultanate faced increasing threats from the Dutch East India Company, headquartered in Batavia on Java. Throughout his reign, Mahmud Badaruddin II had multiple confrontations with both the British and the Dutch. Unfortunately, in AD 1821, he was captured by the Dutch and exiled to Batavia under house arrest. Ultimately, in AD 1825, the Dutch East India Company successfully dismantled the Sultanate of Palembang, incorporating it into their colonial empire.
Michael Mitchiner, “Coin Circulation in Palembang (Sumatra), circa AD 1710 to 1825. Including Coins made in Banten, Siak, Kampar, Indragiri, Jambi, Palembang and Batavia,” Journal of the Oriental Numismatic Society, 2012, pp. 22-38
Michael Mitchiner, Oriental Coins and Their Values: The World of Islam (London: Hawkins Publications, 1977)