Indian Antiquary Vol 31

Author(s): Richard Carnac Temple
Publisher: Swati Publications

Page 56

62
THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY.
(JAXOABY, 1902.
The Malay terms are patah, a fragment, and Tbe scale in all the cases is probably meant to kaping. But his statement that the patah of tin refer to the same standard, the differences arising was worth 3d. sterling was probably not meant out of the relation by weight and value to each to apply to wholesale purchases, as that would other of the several metals used for measuring make the tin to be worth 60 Spanish dollars the bullion. bahar, which we find from fol. 134 he did not pay for it: - "What else wee bringe hither are
Under date 1639, Mandelslo, Travels, E. T.. Ryalls of 8: w wee alsoe trucke for tinne, att
p. 107 f., has rather a difficult reference to Malay y! rate of 28 dollars p baharre ready moneys
weights in somewhat similar terms: -"A drug and 40 upon trucke for our Goods." Taking the they call Baroyboura [edible birds' neste, sarung. Spanish dollar (loyal of 8) at 58., T. B paid in
burung). These are only Swallow-nests, which cash at the rate of 11d. for the patah, and of 2d.
they find on the Rocks by the Sea-side, and are in goods, for wholesale purchases, one presumes.
of such esteem in China, that they sell them But Milburn says, loc. cit., that the tin in his day
for three or four Crowms the pound. There are sold at Junkeeylon at "from 12 to 16 Spanish
two sorts of tbem, the white which are in much dolls per pecul." Now 3 picul make 1 bahar:
request and are sold for six, seven or eight therefore at 36 dollars the bahar the price was 24d
Campans the China Catti; but the grey are
not 80 dear and are not worth three or four the patah, and at 48 dollars it was 3d. thé patah, which supports T. B. in his statement.
Campans the Catti, which amounts to not above It is worth noting here also that at 3d. the
eleven Sols, or a Mamide of Cambaya....
T'be Portugueze heretofore bought there at patah tbe value of the viss of tin works out to
Patani) fifteen or sixteen horned Beasts in a 26. 6d., the then approximate value of the Siamese
year, and carried them to Malacca, paying a tickal, the standard of value in Siam, of which Junkneylon formed a part.
Campan a head for the export."
It was this value that most likely settled the value of the patah for Now, taking the 16. Av. to be three quarters of retail payments.
a China catty, then at 3 Orowns the lb., the catty In 1887 Wilson, Documents of the Burmese War, would be worth el: at 4 Orowns the lb. it would says, Appx., p. 61, "the tical and tin piece were be worth 268. ed. Then it follows from the state. the currency of Tavai and Mergui, but the former ments that the campan was worth from 3.. 4d. to has been superseded by the rupee. The rates for
41. 9d. at the rate of 6 to the catty, or 2.. 60. to the rapee and pico' may be expected to vary, but
36, 7d. at 8 to the catty. This rate is something the following was in use at the date of our autho
like the probable fact, as at the present day in the rities (1826) :
Andamang clean white edible birde' nesta are 12 small piee make 1 large one or kobean
bought up for the Chinese at Rangoon for their 40 kebean 1 Madras Ruppe
weight in silver : i. 6., at Re. 1 per tólá, or say at
£2 the lb. Av. and £2 6s. 8d. the catty. Whereas 44 do.
1 Sicca Rupee 88 do I Spanish dollar" the next statement that Mandelslo makes, vis,
that 3 to 4 campans are equal to 11 sols or mamide This works out the value of the keboan of tin is impossible; because the mahmudi varied from to be 17 to the penny. Kebean no doubt repre- 3d. to 4d., which was no doubt the value of 11 sents some form of keping or kaping, but here
sols (sous) also. This makes the campan about a refers to the kapong as distinct from the keping.
pendy or less Thus from the following extract from Kelly's
Now, on Kelly's statement the keping would be Cambist, Vol. II. p. 348:
the eighth of a Spanish dollar, or say 7 d., and the Fort Malborough in Sumatra.
kapong would run about 40 to the dollar, 1. e., Gold and silver weights.
about 11d. each. Mandelslo evidently meant . 80 Coopdees (kondarf make 1 Keping the tapong by his "campan," and probably 8 Kepinge
1 Ringit [Sp.
mixed up with it some local form of the kaping, dollar)
from what he had heard or read that the kdpong
was worth. These considerations confirm the Moco Moca and Ft. Marlborough.
opinion that Wilson's kebean also refors in 4 Koopangs or Soocoo make 1 Mas (mace]
some confused way to the kupong as a measure 4 Mas
1 Pauh
1. of value. Pano. 1 Ringit
R. O. TEMPLE. • Beems to represent the word pichis and no doubt Buku quarter. represents the patah, it may also be miaprint for For an examination of Malay bullion weight so, "piec.."
ante, Vol. XXVII. Pp. 87 .