Islamic RRR type - round pitis, c.18th century?, Palembang Sultanate, Indonesia (Rob.#18)

Four sets of Arabic inscriptions (arranged in the fashion of Chinese cash -  Alaa / min / Sulta/n)), crescent and star / Blank. 19mm, 0.48 grams. Krause -; Millies -; Robinson #18.

Very rare larger round pitis with a round hole. Undated. It is sometimes given to Badar-ud-Din II (1803-1825), but the issuer of this type is unknown. It probably comes from Palembang, since these are often fished out of the Musi river, but it maybe date to an earlier period, ca.17th-18th century (Robinson dates it to the 18th century).

The Palembang Sultanate, founded in 1659 in southern Sumatra, controlled trade along the Musi River and became a key center for pepper and tin commerce with Chinese, Arab, and European merchants. Its rulers balanced local authority with Dutch pressure, but after conflict with the VOC, the Dutch abolished the sultanate in 1823. Though short-lived, it preserved Malay-Islamic court culture and linked Sumatra’s maritime past with the colonial era.

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