1/2 Larin 'Kuda' - Muhammed Ghiya'as ud-din

The larin — a wire coinage bent into a hairpin shape — was the dominant trade currency across the Indian Ocean littoral for centuries, but the Maldives eventually shifted to cast copper pieces for local circulation. This half larin dates to the reign of Muhammad Ghiyasuddin, one of the shorter-tenured sultans of the late 18th century, ruling under a sultanate that had already weathered repeated attempts at colonial subordination by the Portuguese and later the Dutch. The archipelago's geographic isolation made consistent coin supply a practical problem; local bronze issues like this filled gaps that imported silver could not.