Indian Antiquary Vol 42

Author(s): Richard Carnac Temple, Devadatta Ramkrishna Bhandarkar
Publisher: Swati Publications

Page 113

APRIL, 1913.)
THE OBSOLETE MALAY TIN CURRENCY
109
Malaya, s. r. money, states that Castanheda, Vol. II., says:-As there was no money in Malacca except that of the Moors, the Governor-General (Albuquerque) ordered (1510) some to be coined, not only that he might extinguish the Moorish coin,12 but also in order that a coin might be struck with the stamp and arms of his royal master. Also, taking on this subject the opinion of the Gentile Chinals and other honorable men, dwellers in the city of Malacca), he commanded forthwith that a tin coinage should be struck. Of the one small coin called caixa (cash) be ordered two to be made into one, to which he gave the name dinheiro. Ho struck another coin, which he named soldo, consisting of 10 dinheiro, and a third which he called the bastardo, consisting of 10 soldo. As there existed no coin of gold or of silver, for the merchants made their sales and purchases by weighing the precious metals, the Governor-General resolved, with the advice of the persons abovementioned, to coin gold and silver money. To the gold coin he gave the name of catholico, and it weighed 1000 reas, and to the silver that of malaque. Both were of the purest metal that could be smelted. 14
From this statement it can be deduced that the catholico and malaque represented the milrei or dollar of 1000 reis in gold and silver respectively, and that the caixa or cash equalled the reis. We can further construct table which shows the relationship of the modern dollar and its parts to the Portuguese coinage in the Malay Peninsula, which was obviously based on the coinage invented by the Chinese to suit their commercial dealings with the Malays.
Albuquerque's Portuguese Coinage. 2 caixa (cash) make 1 dinheiro 10 dinheiro
1 solda 10 soldo
1 bastardo
Si malaque (silver, 416 grs.) 5 bastardo
1 1 catholico (gold, 26 grs.) 15 1000 cash to the dollar. Therefore : -
Cents of the British
dollar. caixa
1/10 dinheiro
1/5 soldo
20 bastardo
20 malaquela 1000
100 13 Malay tin money was found by Pyrard de Laval (Hak. Soc. ed. of Voyage, p. 285) in the Maldives in 1602 and according to his editor, Gray, it existed before the days of the Portuguese. Under the names of calaim and calin (kalang, tia) the coins were worth 100 cash or half one of Albuquerque's bastardo (see below).
13 heling, Kaling, Kling, that i. Tri-Kalinga, Telinga ; Hindus from the Coromandel Coast of India. These Hindus were at first ordinarily known to Enropeans as Gentiles, Gentus, through Portuguese, gentio, a heathen. See ante, Vol. XXX., p. 850.
1. Biroh, Commentarios of Albuquerque, Hak. 80c., Vol. II., PP. 128 ff.; III., p. 41, gives an account of Albaqaerque's coinage in Gon in 1510, and in Vol. III, pp. 138 ff, there is an elaborate account of his coinago at Malacon in 1511.. See also Hanitsch, J. R. A. 8., 8. B., No. 39, Collection of Coins from Malacca, Singapore, 1903. p. 183 ff: Danver's Portuguese in India. Vol. I. p. 230.
18 Assuming the ratio of gold to silver to be 1: 16.
Ha Birch, op. cit., vol. III, p. 140n., makes out tables of Albuquerque's coinage which are not quite the same as mine, but I think he has misinterpreted the text. In the Commentaries, malaque appears as malaquese. Dr, Hanitech
cit. loc. cit.. shows some coins in the Rames Museum, Singapore, which are probably of Albuquerque's minting In op. cit. No, 44, pp. 219 ff, he shows some Portuguese imitation of Malay tin ingots cast by Albuquerque or soou after his time (see ante, p. 92), which, weighed 571, 642 and 69 grs. They represent in fact Albuquerque's bastardo, or dollar, Dr. Hanitach also shows, op. cit., loc. cit., two smaller contemporary tin coins found in Malacca at the same time, inscribed nostrae (a) spes unica, and bearing the same cross and globe. These weigh 611 gin., or c. to of the large opins, and are therefore Albuquerque's soldo or tb bastardo.
Cash
200