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1 Keping Sultana
| Issuer | Sumatra |
|---|---|
| Year | 1835 |
| 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 | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
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| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Singh#SS 13, KM#Tn5 |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Reverse description | The reverse bears Arabic script legends disposed across the field in a somewhat irregular arrangement, typical of locally cast or struck Sumatran kepings of the early nineteenth century. The numerals and script, partially illegible due to the crude strike and heavy patination, appear to include an Arabic numeral nine rendered sideways alongside additional characters. The overall presentation of the Arabic text is consistent with a locally composed inscription rather than a formal Arabic legend, and the field shows considerable flatness and porosity characteristic of emergency token issues. |
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| Additional information |
The keping coinage of Sumatra occupies an unusual corner of numismatic history — these pieces were struck not by a sovereign mint but effectively by commercial interests operating under sultanate sanction, filling a chronic small-change void that Dutch colonial authorities had repeatedly failed to address. By the 1830s, the East Indies trade in tin and pepper created constant demand for low-denomination transactional currency that neither Batavia nor the local sultanates could reliably supply in quantity. The kepings that emerged were quasi-official at best.
Singh's classification of this piece as SS 13 reflects how fragmented the attribution record remains for Sumatran copper issues of this period.