1 Mas - Alauddin

The Sultanate of Gowa, centered on what is now Makassar in South Sulawesi, adopted Islam officially in 1605, and the mas coinage followed closely as a marker of that transition — small gold fractions used in the spice trade networks that ran through the Strait of Makassar. Alauddin was the first Muslim ruler of Gowa, reigning until 1639, and his coinage circulated alongside Dutch VOC trade goods as the Company was simultaneously pressuring Makassar to close its ports to rival European merchants.

The "var" designation against HCM#279 suggests a die variant not fully catalogued — not uncommon for this series, where hand-struck production at small regional mints produced considerable inconsistency across individual pieces.