Foreign Coin Feature : Malaysia

[Dave8472]

Original Topic Name :
A morning of weird stuff ! 05-06-2021

Detecting : One of those strange days where you find a load of weird stuff Gridded a small very high trash pasture area (821 m2), plenty of false iron and fly buttons. First foreign coin of the year was in fact a colonial coin of a place I had never heard of. A Victoria 1897 1 Cent from "Straits Settlements". History lesson 101; its made up of four regions from modern day Malaysia!

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Next coin was what I thought was another foreigner, but turned out to be (after a friend told me) “A Brass Farthing token. AWARDED FOR FREEMAN’S • BAKING, EGG AND CUSTARD POWDER • curved, above and below bust of Edward, Prince of Wales, left; plumes behind. R. FREEMAN’S • PUDDING POWDER • above and below inner circle, within which — • — TRY IT — • — in three lines”

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Third coin was a market token, found a few different types here before. “W.BELCHAMBER. BILLINGSGATE. ONE SHILLING”, although its been later counter stamped 2/6.

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Last good find was a serpent terminal. Got a bit excited as some of this theme can be very old, ie Roman. However eventually found one on PAS and its just circa 1800-1900 AD. However I think it’s a bracelet rather than a strap end as the example on the database. I will add some reference links at the end. Thanks for looking

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Dave

https://www.galata.co.uk/london-farthin ... Uez0qV-WMQ

https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces ... 5nPro4ul3w

https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts ... Um1eAefheg

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straits_S ... -Ugxq2dMzs

EDITED POST

Malaysia.png

Malaysia added to the index. Here are my coins found in the UK

Most were found in Kent and even the London ones are postal Kent (PAS = Greater London) as that's where I mainly detect. A few notes on the coins. All the 'copper alloy' ones are colour photoshopped in order to harmonise the colour variations in photography so they are not all brown in real life. The sizes are also scaled but there is nothing unusual in any of them that need explaining . If you spot any dating errors on the spreadsheet timeline please let me know !

Please feel free to add any Malaysian (ONLY) coin finds to my post, always interested to see others

Coins added can be found anywhere in the world

Reference site : https://en.numista.com/catalogue/malaysia-1.html

Dave

[Bardolph]

The first coins for the Straits were issued by the East India Company in 1845. These were the quarter cent, half cent and one cent copper coins, with the Inscription East India Company.

IN 1858, following the Indian Mutiny, the British government took over the Straits Settlements from the EIC and issued new coins (the same three denominations) in 1862 bearing the legend India Straits.

In 1871 the Crown colony changed its name to Straits Settlements and issued new coinage under the new name and including for the first time silver 5, 10, 20 and 50 cents, and from 1903, one dollar.

The coins for the Straits Settlements, of different periods and times, were produced in various mints in India (Bombay, Calcutta, Madras) and in the UK (Royal Mint, Heaton, and James Watt).

Of the Victorian coinage, the largest mintage by far was the 1897 bronze one cent, with over 18 million minted.

The last of the Straits Settlements coins, which circulated throughout the whole of Malaya, were the 5 and 20 cents of 1935, as the Malay Currency Commissioners had decided to have a single coinage for the whole area.

I have a few 19th and 20th Century 5 and 10 cents from the Straits, and I would sent a photo if I could remember where I had stored them! I also have the first 5 and 10 cent Malay coins minted, dated 1943, which I always thought was rather odd. The Japanese started the invasion of Malaya in early December 1941 and the whole peninsular was in their hands by mid-February 1942 when the last British forces surrendered in Singapore. Did someone then think that we would be back in a year’s time?