Item number: A511

Year: AD 1835

Material: Copper

Size: 20.9 x 20.9 x 0.7 mm

Weight: 2.3 g

Manufactured by: Soho Mint

Provenance: Noonans 2022

This is a trade token issued by the British trading company “A.L. Johnston & Company,” based in the British colony of Singapore. The token is made of red copper.

The obverse of the coin features a beaded border, with a central image of a fighting cock facing left. The cock stands atop a rectangular plaque inscribed with the initials “C.R. READ,” representing Christopher Rideout Read, a partner in the company. Below the plaque, the year of minting is indicated by the Eastern Arabic numerals “١٢٥٠,” corresponding to the year 1250 in the Islamic calendar, which is AD 1835. On either side of the rooster, inscriptions in Jawi script, used in Southeast Asia, denote the place of circulation as “تاته ملايو” (Land of Malay) and the denomination as “ساتو كڤڠ” (1 Keping).

The reverse of the coin also features a beaded border, with the centre depicting a tanjung tree composed of sixteen leaves. Surrounding this central image are inscriptions in the Lontara script, prevalent in South Sulawesi, Indonesia, indicating the potential trade partners and locations of this token. The inscription “ᨓᨊᨘᨓᨈᨊᨕᨘᨁᨗ ᨔᨙᨉᨗᨀᨙᨄᨙ” translates to “Land of the Bugis, 1 Keping.” The Bugis are an ethnic group from Sulawesi who established their own kingdoms and maintained active trade with surrounding islands and European powers. It was not until AD 1905 that the Dutch, headquartered in Batavia (Jakarta), succeeded in controlling the entire island of Sulawesi.

In AD 1820, A.L. Johnston & Company was established in Singapore, making it one of the earliest European companies in the region. In AD 1824, Christopher Rideout Read became a partner in the company and served until his retirement in AD 1841, passing the baton to his son. The company engaged in trade of goods such as opium, pepper, batik, and spices, and acted as agents in Singapore for several European shipping, banking, and insurance firms.

物件編號: A511

年代: 公元 1835 年

材質: 紅銅

尺寸: 20.9 x 20.9 x 0.7 mm

重量: 2.3 g

製造地: 蘇荷鑄幣廠

來源: 諾南斯 2022

這是以英國殖民地新加坡為據點的英國貿易商「A.L. 約翰斯頓公司」發行的貿易代幣，材質為紅銅。

錢幣的正面邊緣有一道珠圈，正中央是一隻向左昂首的鬥雞，其腳踏的方形銘牌內，鐫刻著公司合夥人克里斯多福·賴德奧特·里德 (Christopher Rideout Read)的名字縮寫「C.R. READ」。方形銘牌下緣是花體造型的東阿拉伯數字「١٢٥٠」為鑄造年份為回曆1250年，即公元1835年。公雞的兩側以流通於東南亞的爪夷文，標示流通地點「تاته ملايو」(馬來之地) 和面額「ساتو كڤڠ」(1 克平)。

錢幣背面亦有一道珠圈，中央是十六片樹葉組成的子彈木。周圍是盛行於印尼南蘇拉威西島的隆塔拉文，反映這枚代幣可能的貿易對象和地點。銘文「ᨓᨊᨘᨓᨈᨊᨕᨘᨁᨗ ᨔᨙᨉᨗᨀᨙᨄᨙ」意思是「布吉人之地，1 克平」。布吉人是蘇拉威西島上的族群，曾經建立屬於自己的王國，並且跟周遭的島嶼和歐洲勢力維繫密切交易。直到公元1905年，以巴達維亞(雅加達)為總部的荷蘭人才成功控制蘇拉威西全島。

公元1820年，A.L. 約翰斯頓公司創立於新加坡，是當地最早的歐洲公司之一。公元1824年，克里斯多福·賴德奧特·里德成為公司合夥人，一直服務至公元1841年退休交棒給兒子為止。公司從事鴉片、胡椒、蠟染和香料等商品貿易，同時是多家歐洲的輪船、銀行和保險企業在新加坡的代理商。