Tin and lead coins from Brunei
This note by R. Hanitsch describes three types of tin and lead coins from Brunei, Borneo, found in 1906–1907 and presented to the Raffles Museum, Singapore.
Summary
Hanitsch documents two tin coins of similar size (36 mm diameter, 1 mm thick) bearing a recumbent buffalo on the obverse and the Malay inscription “Sultan ul-adil malik ul-dhahir” on the reverse, arranged in a mill-sail pattern. He considers the simpler, less well-preserved specimen the older of the two, but is unable to fix their date or origin beyond noting the absence of a sultan’s name or year (p. 111–112).
The third coin, of lead (30 mm diameter, 10.6 g), was found separately in 1906 and bears the State umbrella and Sultan’s flag on its obverse. Its reverse carries a Malay inscription identifying it as issued “by order of the administration of the Finances of the State of Brunei,” dated 1285 A.H. (1868 A.D.), the reign of Sultan Abdul Mumin. Hanitsch notes that despite its relatively recent date, no other specimens of this lead coin had been identified at the time of writing (p. 112–114).