Catalog
1 Keping Siak
| Issuer | Sultanate of Siak |
|---|---|
| Year | 1836 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| 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 | 20 mm |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Plain copper field bearing a two-line Jawi Arabic inscription centrally positioned, reading 'نݢري سيك' (Negeri Siak, meaning 'Land of Siak'). Small decorative lozenge or diamond-shaped ornaments appear above and below the legend, serving as dividers within the field. The entire design is contained within a beaded border that runs along the full circumference of the coin. The lettering is rendered in a bold, deeply engraved Jawi script characteristic of early nineteenth-century Malay sultanate coinage. No effigy or pictorial device is present, reflecting the Islamic numismatic tradition of the issuing authority. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse script | Arabic |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
The Sultanate of Siak Sri Indrapura, situated on the eastern coast of Sumatra, operated within a trading economy heavily contested by Dutch commercial interests throughout the nineteenth century. This keping was issued under Sultan Ibrahim Abdul Jalil Khaliluddin, who navigated an increasingly constrictive relationship with the VOC's successor administration. Copper kepings of this type circulated alongside Dutch colonial issues and Chinese cash coins in the river-basin markets of the Siak region, a monetary environment that made locally-issued coinage as much a political declaration as a practical instrument.
The Scholtens reference remains the primary authority for Sumatran sultanate coinage, and the 1001a designation places this among the earliest documented Siak issues.