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1/2 Pitis - Sultan Abdul Momin
| Issuer | Brunei |
|---|---|
| Year | 1869 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 6.5 g |
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| Obverse description | Central device depicts the Royal State Umbrella (payung ubor-ubor), a principal element of the Bruneian royal insignia, surmounted by the Sultan's flag oriented to the left, with stylized wing motifs below. The design is rendered in low relief characteristic of cast tin coinage, with the umbrella form dominating the central field. The overall composition reflects the traditional Malay royal symbolism of the Brunei Sultanate under Sultan Abdul Momin. The field surrounding the central device shows the granular texture typical of cast tin issues of this period. |
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| Reverse description | The reverse field is occupied entirely by a multi-line Jawi Arabic inscription arranged in three registers within a beaded border, reading 'Inilah Titah Pitis Belanja Negeri Brunei' (This is the Pitis Currency of the State of Brunei), with the Hijri date 1285 appearing in Eastern Arabic-Indic numerals in the lower register. The legend is cast in relief against a flat field, the script flowing in the cursive Jawi tradition characteristic of nineteenth-century Bruneian official documents and coinage. The beaded border encircles the entire inscription, and the coin's surface shows the characteristic oxidized patina of aged tin. This reverse legend formula follows the standard proclamatory style used on Brunei pitis coinage of the Abdul Momin reign. |
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| Additional information |
Abdul Momin was the longest-reigning sultan in Brunei's history, ruling from 1852 until his death in 1906, yet his sultanate was a period of acute territorial contraction — ceding Sarawak incrementally to James and Charles Brooke and surrendering Labuan to the British Crown. These tin pitis, struck in 1869, circulated as the empire was actively shrinking around them. Tin coinage of this type was notoriously soft and prone to corrosion in tropical humidity, which accounts for the rarity of problem-free survivors.