Catalog
| Issuer | British East India Company |
|---|---|
| Year | 1804 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The central field bears a multi-line Arabic inscription stating the denomination and the Hijri date, with the numeral ۴ (four) positioned at the top and the Hijri year ۱۲۱۹ (AH 1219) at the bottom. The inscription is enclosed within a continuous inner border of beads that runs along the full circumference of the reverse, framing the legend against a plain field. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | ۴ امڤت کڤڠ ۱۲۱۹ (Translation: Four keping AH 1219) |
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| Additional information |
The 1804 Penang kepings were struck at Matthew Boulton's Soho Mint in Birmingham under contract with the East India Company, part of the same broader reform effort that produced the famous Soho-struck coinage for Britain and its colonial possessions. The "thin flan" designation is not incidental — it distinguishes this issue from the heavier, thicker strikings of the same type, a variation that arose from production inconsistencies at Soho rather than any deliberate policy change.
Penang, ceded to the Company by the Sultan of Kedah in 1786, required its own token coinage because Spanish dollars and local tin currency created chronic small-change shortages in the port settlement.