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1 Pitis
| Issuer | Malay peninsula |
|---|---|
| Year | |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | 0.75 mm |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Circular cast tin flan pierced by a central square hole, characteristic of the pitis coinage tradition of the Malay peninsula. The annular field surrounding the square perforation bears a poorly defined inscription tentatively identified as Javanese script, arranged in four quadrants around the hole. The legends are weakly struck and heavily worn, rendering individual characters difficult to distinguish. The flat, unraised rim shows the irregular edge typical of hand-cast production. The overall surface exhibits the granular, pitted texture inherent to cast tin coinage of the region. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Plain, unadorned reverse flan of cast tin, centrally pierced by a square hole mirroring the obverse. The field is featureless and smooth relative to the obverse, displaying only the natural pitting and oxidation patina typical of aged cast tin. No inscriptions, symbols, or devices are discernible on this face. The square hole is neatly defined, with slightly raised edges resulting from the casting process. The irregular outer rim is consistent with the hand-cast manufacture standard for Malay peninsula pitis issues. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Tin pitis circulated widely across the Malay peninsula as the lowest denomination in daily trade, used primarily for small market transactions where heavier silver coinage was impractical. The metal was locally abundant — the Malay states sat atop some of the richest tin deposits in the world, which made minting in tin an economic rather than a compromised choice. Production methods were rudimentary, with many issues cast rather than struck, resulting in considerable variation in flan shape and surface texture across examples of nominally identical types.