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Pitis Harimau - Sultan Al Adil, Malik Al Dzahir
| Issuer | Brunei |
|---|---|
| Year | 1618-1868 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Technique | Cast |
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| Obverse description | A stylized tiger in profile facing left occupies the central field, rendered in the traditional Bruneian decorative style characteristic of cast tin-lead pitis coinage. A solar motif, representing the sun, is depicted above the tiger's head. The entire design is enclosed within a beaded or dotted inner circle, with a raised outer rim forming the border of the flan. The low-relief casting gives the device a somewhat crude but expressive appearance typical of Brunei pitis of this period. |
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| Reverse script | Arabic |
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| Additional information |
The pitis was Brunei's workhorse coin for everyday petty transactions — the denomination that actually changed hands in the markets of Bandar Brunei while silver coinage sat in stronger hands. The attribution "Harimau" (tiger) distinguishes this type within the pitis series by its specific die characteristics, though across the 250-year span this issue was produced, multiple sultans bearing the regnal title Al-Adil or Al-Dzahir struck coins of near-identical type, making precise reign attribution genuinely difficult without die study.
Tin-lead coinage of this kind was cast rather than struck, which accounts for the surface porosity collectors routinely encounter.