A Jambi Coin with Kawi Inscription from Indonesia

Abstract

ABSTRACT The Malay archipelago has a rich numismatic legacy. However, identification of many native coins is still a challenge to this day, especially for those found in Indonesia. This study aims to re-examine a particular coin type made of tin-lead alloy with suspected copper content, reported to be found in the Musi river in south Sumatra. Available literature presumed the coin as a Siak issue, based on rather unsatisfactory reading of its inscription. While native Malay coins typically used Arabic Jawi for their inscription, the coin is unusual in using Indic script that can be described as a transitional form between late Kawi and early Modern Javanese, somewhat inclined towards the former. Through letterform comparison with artefacts such as Nītisārasamuccaya, this author proposes a revised reading of pangéran ratu hing jambi, making this coin attributable to Jambi. The commercial success of the early 17th century Jambi sultanate and the propensity of its court to emulate Javanese-ness seemingly support this attribution. A narrower date range, however, could not be drawn as the inscription provides little orthographic or linguistic indications. Analogy with contemporaneous Banten copper coins suggests that the Jambi coin may have been used as a prestige item rather than common currency.