Article

Coins of Kelantan

From Munshipedia, the MBRAS digital historical encyclopedia

Coins of Kelantan

W. Linehan’s 1934 note “Coins of Kelantan” surveys the numismatic evidence from the Malay state of Kelantan, spanning gold coins tentatively dated to the 17th or 18th century and pewter coinage of the 19th and early 20th centuries. The article argues that the gold coins, particularly those bearing the kijang (barking deer) motif, are of indigenous Kelantan origin rather than Achinese, and that the pewter coinage reveals a pattern of fiscal mismanagement by a noble-run minting company that ultimately forced Siamese governmental intervention.

Summary

Linehan’s note was prompted by Sir John Bucknill’s 1923 paper on Malayan coins and draws on specimens provided by local collectors, notably Mr. Anker Rentse of Kota Bharu, and by Tengku Khalid. The author examines four types of gold coin, all reportedly excavated from the north bank of the Kelantan River at Kubang Labu, near the site of an old fort. The most significant type bears the inscription Malik al-‘adil (“The just Lord”) on one face and a kijang on the other; Linehan argues for Kelantan provenance on the grounds that similar coins have been found at Jaring near Patani, that Kelantan royalty claim kinship with Patani, and that the kijang appears on the Sultan’s coat of arms. A fourth type, dinar matahari (“the sun coin”), bears a floral motif. Linehan dates all gold coins to the 17th or 18th century, a period for which Kelantan’s history is “wrapped in almost complete mystery,” noting that the present royal dynasty was only founded around 1793.

The pewter section is more detailed, tracing the coinage through the reigns of the dynasty’s rulers from Long Yunus (c. 1766–1794) to Sultan Ismail. Linehan documents several dated issues, including a rare square-holed coin of 1256 A.H. (1840) and a puloh coin of 1321 A.H. (1903). The most substantial portion of the article is an extended quotation from W. A. Graham’s “General Report of Affairs of the State of Kelantan” (1904–1906), which describes the minting company’s deliberate debasement of the pewter coinage, the resulting financial crisis, and the Siamese government’s decision to take over the mint. The postscript reports three post-publication discoveries: a series of coin moulds found at Kota Lama (the former residence of Long Yunus and his son), a pair of gold coins found at an old Siamese temple site at Sungai Pinang, and ten gold coins of four types recovered by Rentse at Kubang Labu.

Key Findings

  • Gold coins bearing the kijang motif and the inscription Malik al-‘adil were excavated at Kubang Labu on the north bank of the Kelantan River; Linehan dates them to the 17th or 18th century and argues for Kelantan rather than Achinese origin (pp. 63–64).
  • A pewter coin of 1256 A.H. (1840 A.D.) bearing Khalifat al Muminin with a square central hole is described as “of the greatest rarity” (p. 64).
  • The puloh coin struck in Zu’l-Hijjah 1321 A.H. (1903) had a nominal value of 1/480 of a dollar but an actual value of less than 1/100 of a dollar; 480 kepings equaled one dollar (pp. 65–66).
  • The Siamese government redeemed $40,000 worth of debased coin, incurred a debt of $90,000 to His Majesty’s Government, and recovered 85 tons of coin whose metal content was worth only about $40,000; the coin was reminted into small pitis providing a local currency of $55,000 (p. 65).
  • A series of coin moulds of varying quality (from red soft brick-stone to grey stone) were discovered at Kota Lama, the former residence of Long Yunus and Sultan Muhammad I, dating them to approximately 1766–1800 A.D. (p. 68).
  • A keneri (branch of 13) of the rare 1314 A.H. pewter coin was sold at Amsterdam in 1922 for £1.13.4 (p. 65).

Conclusion

Linehan’s definitive contribution is the argument that Kelantan possessed an indigenous gold coinage predating the present dynasty, likely connected to the old capital on the north bank of the river, and that the kijang motif on these coins may be the origin of the animal’s later adoption into the royal coat of arms. The pewter coinage, by contrast, documents a well-attested episode of fiscal corruption in which a noble-run minting company deliberately debased the currency to extract profit before anticipated government takeover, ultimately forcing Siamese administrative intervention and the reminting of the state’s small change.

Context

  • The article draws on local Kelantan collections (Rentse, Tengku Khalid), Bucknill’s 1923 JRASSB paper, Evans’ 1924 F.M.S. Museums paper on a Kelantan coin mould, and the official “General Report of Affairs of the State of Kelantan” by Adviser W. A. Graham (1904–1906).
  • The postscript mould discoveries at Kota Lama and the gold coins at Sungai Pinang and Kubang Labu were subsequently offered to the Raffles Museum, indicating the article’s role in building the institutional numismatic record for the state.

References