Catalog
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
| Issuer | Sultanate of Demak (Indonesian States) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1475-1518 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1 Pitis (0.1) |
| 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 |
| 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 | Cast tin flan bearing a three-line Arabic legend in the central field, reading the ruler's title and name: Sultan Ratu Pangeran al-Patah. The script, rendered in a crude but legible Jawi-influenced calligraphic style typical of early Javanese Islamic coinage, fills the field with raised characters. A plain raised rim encircles the entire design, demarcating the legend from the edge. The overall execution reflects the characteristic roughness of cast tin pitis production from the early Sultanate of Demak period. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Arabic |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| 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 Demak was the first Islamic sultanate on Java, and its currency reflects the transitional monetary moment between Hindu-Buddhist trade networks and the new commercial order being established along the north Javanese coast. Tin pitis of this period circulated alongside Chinese cash coins — often interchangeably — in the port markets of the Pasisir region, where Demak's political authority was built on controlling spice trade routes rather than agrarian taxation.
Attribution to Sultan Ratu Pangeran al-Patah, the sultanate's founder, keeps this issue among the earliest dateable Islamic coinages produced on Java itself.