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.

物件編號: A512

年代: 公元 1831 年

材質: 紅銅

尺寸: 21.2 x 21.3 x 0.5 mm

重量: 1.9 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，正中央是一隻向右昂首的鬥雞，惜因年代久遠，諸多細節已經遭到磨平。鬥雞是東南亞重要的娛樂和文化，故英國企業發行的鬥雞系列代幣在當地廣受愛戴。鬥雞上緣鐫刻流通於東南亞的爪夷文，「تاته ملايو」意指「馬來之地」，反映這枚錢幣流通於馬來半島和周遭的島嶼。

錢幣背面則有三行銘文。上方是以東方阿拉伯數字「۱」標示的面額「1」。中央是爪夷文「سات کڤڠ」，即完整的面額「1 克平」。下方的東方阿拉伯數字「۱۲۴۷」是回曆1247年，即公元1831年。

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。