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1 Pitis - Muhammad Bahauddin
| Issuer | Sultanate of Palembang (Indonesian States) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1203 (1789) |
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| Currency | Keping |
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| Obverse description | Arabic legend distributed across the annular field surrounding a central circular perforation, reading clockwise. The inscription occupies the entire available field between the central hole and the irregular outer rim, rendered in a bold, somewhat crude cast style characteristic of Palembang tin pitis coinage. The legend reads 'Al-Sultan fi balad Palembang' followed by the Hijri date 1203, giving both the issuer's title and the mint city. The casting texture is rough and the flan slightly irregular, consistent with the hand-casting methods employed by the Palembang sultanate. |
|---|---|
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| Obverse lettering | السلطان في بلد ڤلمبڠ ١٢٠٣ |
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| Additional information |
Muhammad Bahauddin ruled Palembang from 1776 to 1803, a period during which the sultanate maintained an uneasy but profitable relationship with the Dutch VOC while retaining enough autonomy to strike its own coinage. Tin was the obvious choice — South Sumatra's Bangka and Belitung islands were among the most productive tin sources in the world, and the metal was effectively a local commodity currency long before it was struck into official pitis.
The AH date 1203 places this piece in the early years of Bahauddin's consolidation of power, when the sultanate was actively asserting administrative independence through symbolic acts including coinage.