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1 Cash - Guangdao Jubao
| Issuer | Bangka Island |
|---|---|
| Year | 1710-1825 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
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| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Coin alignment ↑↓ |
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| Obverse description | Central square perforation surrounded by four Chinese characters in traditional regular script (kaishu), arranged in cruciform fashion around the central hole and read top to bottom, right to left: 光 (guāng, top), 道 (dào, bottom), 聚 (jù, right), 寶 (bǎo, left), together forming the legend 光道聚寶 (Guangdao Jubao, meaning 'Collecting Treasures of the Guangdao'). The characters are raised in low relief against a flat field, bounded by an inner square rim surrounding the perforation and a plain outer raised rim. The overall execution is consistent with the rough, utilitarian casting typical of tin emergency coinage produced on Bangka Island. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Chinese (traditional, regular script) |
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| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
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| Additional information |
Bangka Island's tin cash were issued not by any government mint but by the pepper and tin trading companies operating under VOC influence — essentially private commodity money, struck in the same metal being extracted from the island's mines. The square hole follows Chinese cash conventions deliberately, targeting the island's substantial migrant labor population who would have recognized the form instantly.
The century-wide date range reflects genuine uncertainty; no production records survive.