Digital museum showcasing the collection of worldwide legends over the years! 千古不朽博物館展示多年來收藏的世界傳奇故事!
A.L. Johnston & Company
Trade Token 1 Keping
A.L. 約翰斯頓公司
貿易代幣 1克平
Item number: A512
Year: AD 1831
Material: Copper
Size: 21.2 x 21.3 x 0.5 mm
Weight: 1.9 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 coin’s obverse features a beaded circle, with a central depiction of a fighting cock facing right. Unfortunately, due to its age, many details have worn away. The fighting cock, a significant element of entertainment and culture in Southeast Asia, made the series of tokens issued by British enterprises very popular in the region. Above the cock, the Jawi script inscription “تاته ملايو,” meaning “Land of Malay,” indicates that this coin circulated in the Malay Peninsula and the surrounding islands.
The coin’s reverse features three lines of inscriptions. At the top, the denomination is indicated by the Eastern Arabic numeral “۱” for “1.” The middle line contains the Jawi script “سات کڤڠ,” which represents the full denomination “1 Keping.” The bottom line shows the Eastern Arabic numeral “۱۲۴۷,” corresponding to the Islamic year 1247, or AD 1831.
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 also acted as agents in Singapore for several European shipping, banking, and insurance firms.