162. Sarawak 1 cent 1870 with chinese characters

image 1: obverse and reverse of the coin

image 2: obverse of the coin

image 3: chinese characters on the coin

This coin was acquired at an antique shop at Kota Tinggi, Johor.

There are Chinese characters which were being etched by a sharp object onto this coin. As I am illiterate in Chinese, many thanks goes to blogger whycollect for helping me deciphering these Chinese characters.

The characters read as "Da Tou Xian", which he supposes the etcher wanted to imply "God of Longevity".

And another commentator, Kreditanstalt, had suggested that the characters "Da Tao Xian" could also lead to A Foreign's (Orang Puteh's) Cent. This is because the term "Xian" had been used to indicate "Cent" on early Hong Kong stamps and terms "Da Tao" is also used to indicate a foreigner.


It is quite interesting I suppose.

Collection of En Naseer.

161. 20 sen 1968 lamination error 20%

image 1: obverse and reverse of the coin

image 2: lamination of the coin

{amended entry}

        I would like to express my gratitude to my fellow bloggers friends, depankanta, whycollect and Dickson for correcting me. At first I thought that this is a strike through cloth error coin. But it seems my imagination dragged me too much.

       This is actually a lamination error coin. Lamination error is categorized under Planchet Error/Defect. A lamination error occurs when the surface of the coin looks like it is being peeled off. It is also caused by impurities in the metal used in the blanking process or by some debris that was in the stamping dies.

      About 20% of the area on reverse get affected by the lamination.

     A lamination error coin is a random error. No two lamination error coins are exactly same.

{original entry}

        At the first sight, I thought that this is a heavily stained coin. But upon close inspection, I suspect that this could be a strike through error coin, probably strike through a piece of cloth?

           Strike through error coin happens when foreign object came into the striking chamber, hence become struck into along the coins. Even remnants of the foreign object, or the whole object itself, sometime can be found stuck inside the coin.

         The weight of this coin is 5.59g, only 0.06g less than the supposed weight, 5.65g. Circulated coins are always having lower weight than the actual weight due to wear.

160. JOHOR KATUN SS24

image 1: obverse and reverse of the coin 1

image 2: inscriptions on the coin 1

image 3: obverse and reverse of coin 2

image 4: inscriptions on the coin 2

image 4: 

These are my favourite Johor Katun coins.

I find being able to read and write in Jawi is an advantage in collecting Malay Sultanate Coins. My friend, En. Nasser even has been able to read some Chinese characters in his Chinese Cash Coins collection.

If some Katun coins are not quite interesting as they are plain, these are not. Some Arabic letterings were placed in unusual manners. This could be a form of calligraphy or old spellings. The Jawi which I rewrote in image 4 are according to current standard writings.

Category	Coin > Malay Sultanate Coin > Johor
Country Of Origin	Johore (Now a state, a part of Malaysia)
Date	Unknown
Grade	-
Denomination	One Katun
Shape	Round
Weight	0.90g each (0.91g from SS)
Diameter	19mm each (12mm to 15mm from SS)
Thickness	-
Composition	Tin
Population	Unknown
Reference	SS24
Mint	-
Category	Normal Circulation Coinage
Demonetized	Yes
Engraver/Designer	-
Variety	Unknown
Edge	Plain
Obverse	In Jawi, "Al Adil" (the Just) stamped on a bar.
Reverse	In Jawi, "Sultan" (Ruler) circled by a line
Edge	Plain
Extra Note

159. malaysia 10 sen 1990 retooled date ?

image 1: obverse and reverse of the coin

image 2: doubled 0 on the reverse 

image 3: doubled 0 on the reverse (normal scan resolution)

Our Bunga Raya series coin are notoriously known for not-so-high quality minting products, especially compared to the Parliament Series.

Apart from die cracks errors, mechanical doubling, or also known as poor man's doubling also can be found easily among these coins.

But this coin particularly drew my attention.

Is this an ordinary Machine Doubling, or a Retooled Date? 

Comments are most welcomed, and sorry for the low quality scan images.

158. malaysia 5 sen 2009 doubled die obverse (DDO) Class I rotated hub doubling

image 1: obverse and reverse of the coin

image 2: obverse of the coin

My latest doubled die coin.

I think so far this is the only one Malaysian coin known for having doubling at its obverse.

This monstrous doubling is actually a major one, but due to small size of 5 sen coin, it hurts my eyes a bit.

I am still unsure about this doubled die class. Could it be a Class I Doubled Die, due to Rotated Hub Doubling?

Images are clickable for better resolution.

I wish I have a DSLR to shoot these lovely doublings.

Thanks Shaq for swapping this coin with me!

158. Malaysia rm1 Blank

image 1: obverse and reverse of the blank planchet

This is a Type 1 Blank of Malaysia RM1 coin.

A blank is a round disc of metal punched from a long strip rolled for a specific thickness of an intended coin. The edge of the coin is not upended/upsetting yet. Ref.

Found this among many coins sold in a flea market at Johor Bahru.

157. johor tin katun coin bar with undecipherable inscription round shape

image 1: obverse and reverse of the coin

image 2: inscription on the coin

Our smallest katun! Only 7cm of diameter.

Looking at this coin, we also wonder, is this really a coin?

Apparently, this is a round-shaped katun, with a bar and inscriptions stamped into the center of the coin on obverse. The reverse is blank.

The lone inscription could be a part of Adil.


And about the geometry of this coin, one collector at his first glance described this coin as having the shape of a leaf. And if we take a closer look, we can actually see the silhouette of a circle. Probably this is the intended shape of this coin.

Unearthed at Sungai Johor, Kota Tinggi.

156. johor tin katun hexagonal sultan anum unlisted unique

image 1: obverse and reverse of the coin

image 2: inscriptions on the coin

This tin coin, which was found in the Sungai Johor brought some discussion among Malay Sultanate Coins enthusiasts.

At the first glance, I thought that the inscription on the coin is undecipherable, or perhaps representating a flower.

But upon closer inspection, and thanks to its still good condition, I can still read some of its Jawi inscriptions.

Ibrahim Bakar, author of book titled "Sejarah Matawang Negeri Kedah and Perlis" tried to decipher the inscriptions on this coin as "Sultan Anum" which means Young Sultan - Sultan Muda.

According to him, Young Sultan existed during Johor Sultanate, and was located in Jambi, Indonesia. Jambi, once was a part of Johor's territory.

Is this probably a special issue tin coin by the Young Sultan?

155. malaysia 10 cents 1995 clipped rim

image 1: obverse and reverse of the coin

My latest catch of clipped planchet coin.

Clip happens at around 6 o'clock of reverse and Blakesley's Effect is quite noticeable at the area opposite of the clipping, at around 12 o'clock. The rim on this area is having some kind of weaknesses and if viewed from side, this area is thinner in its thickness.

Is off-centering is a common phenomenon associated with clipped planchet error?

154. Singapore merchant coin fighting cock series dua keping 1831

image 1: obverse and reverse of the coin

  Another addition into my Singapore Merchant Coin collection. She was badly circulated it seems. The only two keping of the fighting cock series.

Category	Coin > Singapore Merchant Coin
Country Of Origin	Malaysia / Indonesia / Singapore
Date	1831
Grade	G
Denomination	One Pitis / One Keping
Shape	Round
Weight	4.27g average from SS
Diameter	23mm - 30mm from SS
Thickness	-
Composition	Copper
Population	714,085
Reference	SS24, P.18
Mint	Soho Mint, Birmingham
Category	Normal Circulation Coinage
Demonetized	Yes
Engraver/Designer	-
Designer's Initial	-
Mint Mark	-
Variety	-
Edge	Plain
Obverse	A spurred fighting cock facing right, In Jawi, "Tanah Melayu" (Land of the Malays). Last two tail feathers of the cock are crossed.
Reverse	In Jawi, "Dua Keping 1247" (Two Keping 1247 = 1831)
Extra Note	Rarity level indicated by Saran Singh is R out of RRRR a

153. straits settlements 1 cent 1920 die break

image 1: obverse and reverse of the coin

      I cherrypicked and paid only RM1 for this die break error coin last night. The cud on this coin looks similar with Dickson's., but of different year.

     Die break error happens when the die used to strike the coin has become damaged, probably due to fatigue and broken away.

   Local collectors often call this error as extra metal. Even though the cud does make this coin look as it is, but in reality, the weight of this coin is exactly the same as a normal one.