The History of Melaka Currency/Tin Money Of Malacca

During the period of Malacca Sultanate Era, the traders and merchants used mostly the gold dust, pieces of silver bars, also blocks of pure tin in their transactions, beside early days of barter trade. Gold Dinars and tin tipis coinage from Pasai, Sumatra were also used in Malacca at that time, only very small purchases, cowries shells were also accepted in their payment. Chinese copper cash was also used. From the Ming Annals in 1436, Fei Sin, a Chinese chronicler, he reported that blocks of pure tin ingots in circulation in Malacca, were weighted at “ 1.1/4 katis (755 grams) and 1.1/2 katis (9076 grammes), but, coins of Malacca were not mentioned at all.
The first tin “ pitis “ coinage issued in the reign of Sultan Muzzafar Shah (1445-1477) and bear his name , are the common currency used and trade during the Sultan Muzzafar Shah period, this tin coinage was die struck and was known as “Pitis”. These tin coins of Malacca were withdrawn by the Portuguese soon after their capture of Malacca in August 1511 and melted down at the Malacca mint, anyway, the Arabic inscriptions resemble that of coins also found in Southern India and may have been influenced by Muslim traders from this region.
Islamic Monetary of Melaka , First Of Its Kind In This World, Islamic Tin Money… 600 years…
Early found “Islamic money” from the areas of Mahkota Parade in 1983, Kg. Hulu and sea front of Straits of Malacca in early ’70 and ’80, with average diameters of 15mm – 33mm, sound s issued under the period of “Sultan Muzaffar Shah (1445-1456)”, “Sultan Mansur Shah 1456-1477” and “Sultan Ahmad Ibni Mahmud Shah 1510”, with average diameters of 13 mm – 22 mm, can be categorized in (A) with Arabic “Muzaffar Shah Al Sultan”, reverse interlaced with Arabic inscription “Nasir al Dunia Wa’l Din”, (B) inArabic “Mansur Shah bin Muzaffar Shah al-Sultan”, half tipis in Arabic (C) “Mansur Shah ibnu Muzaffar Al-Adil”, (D) “Mahmud Shah” (E) “Al Sultan Al Adil (The Just Sultan) (G) “Ahmad Abu Mahmud Shah , (H) “Sultan Ahmad”