The Gongsi cash pieces of western Borneo and Banka in the Ethnographical Museum at Rotterdam / T.D....

8/21/2019 The Gongsi cash pieces of western Borneo and Banka in the Ethnographical Museum at Rotterdam / T.D. Yih and J…

1/31

The Numismatic

Chronicle

VOLUME

153

LONDON

THE ROYAL NUMISMATIC SOCIETY

1993

hi d l d d f 83 85 130 64 30 2014 05 01 11


2/31

©

The

Royal

Numismatic

ociety

1993

ISSN 0078-2696

EditorialCommittee

M. A.

S. BLACKBURN I. A.

CARRADICE,

ditors

A. M.

BURNETT,

eviewsditor

HELENW.

BROWN

R. F. BLAND PHILIP

GRIERSON

J.

.

C.

KENT

P.

KINNS C. S.

S.

LYON

D. W.

MACDOWALL

W.

A.

ODDY

M.

JONES

J. . CRIBB

PrintednGreat ritain

y

he

University

ress

Cambridgeand istributedy

Spink

nd on 5-7

King

treetSt.James's

London

W1Y6QS

hi d l d d f 83 85 130 64 30 2014 05 01 11


3/31

The

Gongsi

Cash Pieces of Western

Borneo and Banka

in

the

Ethnographical

Museum at Rotterdam

T. D. YIH

and J.DE KREEK

[plates 25-6]

HISTORICAL

BACKGROUND

During the

eighteenth

nd nineteenth

enturiesChinese

immigrants,

especially

Hakkas

from he southern

art

of

China,

were nvolved

n

the

exploitation

f

tin

mines on the island

of Banka and

gold

mines on the

western oast

of

Borneo,

both

part

of the

former utch East Indies.

They

settled

n

separatevillages,

maintained heir wn

customs nd

in

due course

organized

themselves

nto a number f

political

unions,

known

as

gongsi.

A number f thesegroupsnthenineteenthenturyssued heir wncoinages

based

upon

thetraditional hinese

cash

pieces,

which re

the

subject

f this

paper.

Historically

ittle s

known about the

Chinese fromBanka.

Large-scale

mining y

the

Chinese started n the

western oast of

Banka around

1720,

and the

decades 1750-80 was the

period

of most

rapid

expansion.1

Millies's

quotation

of an

Englishreport

rom1821

n

which

he ssue of tin

coinage

by

the

gongsi

headmen s

mentioned

uggests

hat s

early

s that

year,

when

Banka

belonged

o the

sultanate f

Palembang,

he Chinese

on Banka

were

active n

producing

ash.

According

o Netscher nd

van der

Chijs,2

in ash

was issuednotonlybytheChineseminingommunities,utalso byChinese

merchants.

Much more

s

knownabout

the Chinese

gongsis

on the

western oast of

Borneo,

although

lot

of material

was lost

during

he

Sino-Dutch wars of

themid-nineteenth

entury.

or

instance,

he

historical

rchives fthe

gongsi

of

Lan-Fang

in

the Mandor

region

were

preserved

nd

translated.3 he

Abbreviations

sed:

M,

Ethnographical

useum; SAS,

atavian

ociety

or

Arts nd

Sciences; BG,

Notulenan

de

Algemene

n

Bestuursvergaderingen

an

hetBataviaasch

Genootschap

anKünstenn

Wetenschappen)

BG

Tijdschrift

oor

ndischeaal

,

Land-

n

Volkenkunde;BG Verhandelingenanhet BataviaaschenootschapanKünstenn

Wetenschappen.

1

J.C.

Jackson,

Mining

n

18th-century

angka',acific

iewpoint

0

1969),

p.

8-54.

E. NetscherndJ.A. van er

hijs,

e muntenan

Ned. ndieVBG

1

1864).

J.J.M. de

Groot,

et

Kongsiwezen

an orneo

The

Hague,

885).

This content downloaded from 83.85.134.3 on Sun, 14 Jun 2015 13:40:12 UTCAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions


4/31

172

T. D. YIH

AND J.DE

KREEK

annalsofLan-Fangmention uo Fang-bo 1777-95) as thefirst ead of the

Lan-Fang

gongsi.

Trade inks

between

orts

of western

orneo,

uch as

Brunei,

ambas and

Mampawah,

and

southernChina existed

ong

before the

coming

of the

Europeans

n the

ixteenth

entury,

s has been

evidenced

y

finds f Chinese

coins.4

n

the

1740s

the

Panembahan of

Mampawah

seems

to have invited

Chinese from

Brunei to mine

gold

in

the Doeri

valley

n

the Montrado

district.5

round Montrado Chinese

graves

have been

foundfrom he tenth

year

f the

Qian

Long

(1736-95)

period.6

Mining

lso started n

the outhern

regions

n

the

upper

reachesof the Mandor river.

Around 1760 a

Chinese

settlementas established urthernland t

Larah,

near the

Teraja

river,

or

the

exploitation

f

gold

mines n that

region

n the

nvitation f the sultan

of

Sambas,

Omar Akama'd-din.7Rumoursof

fortunes

eing

made

resulted

in

a

growing

nflux f Chinese

n

the 1760s and 1770s.

By

the

early

1770s

three

principalmining

ones

in

western orneo can be

distinguished,

ith

some

37

separate

mining

nions:

one

in

the

Mandor

region,

2 n

the Larah

region,

nd

24 in the

Montrado

region

see

Map

1).

Chinese

mmigrants

erenot

only

nvolved

n

mining,

ut also

employed

in food

production

nd

supporting

ndustries

or the

miners,

nd these

workers in about 1770 formedtwo specific agriculturalunions near

Montrado,

heTian-di-hui nd

Lan-fang-hui.

round

1772/74

war

broke

out between hese wo

resulting

n

the

destruction

f the

Lan-fang-hui.

he

Tian-di-hui

more and more

abused its

monopolyposition, specially

ver

rice

production.

The

miners,

ormerly

nited

n

a

large

numberof small

unions called hui or

very

mall unions called

san-sha

organized

hemselves

in

larger

unions

taking

he

name

gongsi

At the time

of

the

defeatof Lan-

fang-hui

herewere

14

gongsis

round Montrado. These

gongsis

declared

war on the

Tian-di-hui nd

defeated t

n

1775 t

Wang-li-dongAnanas hill).

A

number led

o

Pahang

and the

remaining

urvivors ere bsorbed nto he

different ining nions.

In

1776 the

14

mining

ongsis

round Montrado

Da-gang,

Lao-ba-fen,

Jiu-fen-tou,

hi-san-fen,ie-lian,

in-ba-fen,

an-tiao-gou,

Man-he,Xin-wu,

Keng-wei,

Shi-wu-fen,Tai-he,

Lao-shi-fen

and

Shi-er-fen)

formed a

federation nown

as He-shun.

A

short ime ater also the Chinese

around

Larah

organized

hemselvesnto seven

gongsis

Yuan-he,

Zan-he,

Ying-he,

Hui-he,

heng-he, huang-he

nd

Xia-wu)

which ater

became

closely

inked

to

the

gongsis

rom

Montrado.

Similarly,

he

Lan-fang ongsi

was

formed

n

4

T.HarrissonndB.Harrisson,KotaBatunBrunei',arawak useumournal1956),pp. 83-319.

J.C.

Jackson,

hinese

n

heWest orneo

oldfields

University

fHull

ccasional

apers

in

Geography

o.

15,

970).

S.

H.

Schaank,

De

Kongsi's

an

Montrado',

BG 4

1893),

p.

98-612.

P.

J.

Veth,

orneo's ester-

fdeeling

Zaltbommel,854).



5/31

GONGSI

CASH

PIECES

173

Map 1.

Regions

fChinese

oldmining

nWestern

orneo,

.

1775.

the Mandor

goldfield.

able

1

summarizes

he names

and locations

of

the

differentongsis.

As

long

as

gold

was

plentiful

o

disputes

arose

amongst

the

various

gongsis.

At the turn f the

century,

owever,

he

gold deposits

howed

igns

of exhaustion

nd

conflicts ver

theuse of water

or

water-wheels

nd chain-



6/31

174

T. D.

YIH AND

J.DE KREEK

Table 1

Summary

f

the

names

of

the various

ongsis

f

western orneo

Hakka

ialect

Wade-Giles

Pinyin

Montrado

egion

*1

Thai-kong

T'ai-kang Da-gang

2

Lo-pat-foen

Lao-pa-fen

Lao-ba-fen

%

A

3

Kioe-foen-theoe Chiu-fen-t'ou

iu-fen-tou -ft

4

Sjip-sam-foen

Shih-san-fen hi-san-fen

-h

-

^

5

Kiet-lien

Chieh-lien Jie-lian

tä

ÌM

6 Sin-pat-foen Hsin-ba-fen Xin-ba-fen &řA &

*7

Sam-thiao-keou

San-t'iao-kou

an-tiao-gou

-

8

Man-fo

Man-ho

Man-he

vft

fa

9

Sin-woek

Hsin-wu

Xin-wu

&ř

M

10

Hang-moei

K'eng-wei Keng-wei

M

*11

Sjip-ng-foen

Shih-wu-fen hi-wu-fen

+

£

^

12

Thai-fo

T'ai-ho

Tai-he

*

fo

13

Lo-sjip-foen

Lao-shih-fen ao-shi-fen

^

14

Sjip-ngi-foen

Shih-erh-fen hi-er-fen

+

*15

Fo-sjoenfederation)

Ho-shun He-shun

&

Jflff

Boedoekegion

16 Lim-tian

Lin-ťien Lin-tian

JR.

B

Larah

egion

17

Njan-fo

Yuan-ho

Yuan-he

jrt

^0

18 Tshan-fo

Tsan-ho Zan-he

Ä

19

Djin-fo

Ying-ho Ying-he

JÖZ

20 Foei-fo

Hui-ho Hui-he

WH

21

Sjin-fo

Sheng-ho Sheng-he

žh

in

22

Soeng-fo

Shuang-ho Shuang-he

XI %a

23 Ha-woek Hsia-wu Xia-wu

T

Ä

Mandoregion

24

Lan-fong Lan-fang

Lan-fang

M

^

1

Large

iver 2

Old

ight

hares 3 Old

nine hares

4 Thirteenhares

5 Union 6 New

ight

hares

7 Threeanals

8 Full

harmony

9 New ouse 10 End f he

it

11 Fifteenhares

12

Great

armony

13

Old en hares

14

Twelve

hares 15 Harmonious

rofit

16 Rain ield

17 First

armony

18

Supporting

arm. 19

True

armony

20 Favourable

arm.

21

Rising armony

2 Double

armony

3

Second

ouse

24

Orchid

lavour

*

Names

ccurring

n ash

oins.

pumps necessary

for the

mining

became

frequent.

This resulted n the

dissolution r

migration

f the smaller

gongsis.

Around 1808 the

He-shun

federation

riginally onsisting

f 14

gongsis

had

dwindled o

only

seven

members:

Da-gang,

Man-he, Xin-wu,

Shi-wu-fen, ai-he,

Keng-wei

and



7/31

GONGSI CASH

PIECES 175

Table 2

Composition f

the

He-shun

ongsi

Federation 1776-1854

in

the

Montrado

region

1776-1807

1808-22

1822-37 1850-54

Da-gang

Da-gang

Da-gang Da-gang

Keng-wei

Keng-wei

Keng-wei

d.

1837) (d.

12

Jun.

854)

Xin-wu

Xin-wu

Xin-wu

d. 1837)

Man-he

Man-he

Man-he

m.1830)

Tai-he

Tai-he

m.

1822)

Shi-wu-fen

Shi-wu-fen

m.

1822)

Shi-wu-fen

San-tiao-gou San-tiao-goum.1822) (d.12Jun.854)

Lao-ba-fen

d.

1808)

Jiu-fen-tou

d.

1808)

Shi-san-fen

d. 1808)

Jie-lien

d. 1807)

Xin-ba-fen

d.

1808)

Lao-shi-si-fen

d. 1807)

Shi-er-fen

d. 1808)

Lin-tian

(d.

12

Jun.

854)

d.,

date f

defeatr

disbanding;

.,

ate f

migration

utside

ontrado

egion.

San-tiao-gou Table 2).

Early

n

1819 a

quarrel

rose between

Da-gang

and

San-tiao-gou

bout

the

presidency

f

the

He-shun

federation,

esulting

n

a

withdrawal f

the

atterwith

ts

allies

Shi-wu-fennd

Tai-he.

They

settled

north

f

the

Selakau

river,

an-tiao-gou

with ts

capital

at

Seminis nd Shi-

wu-fen

t

Loemar

(Map 2).

The He-shun

federation

onsisted hus of four

gongsis.

Temminck8

ives

an

impression

f

the

numerical

trength

f the three

groupings

n

the

1840s:

Da-gang

could call

10,000

men to

arms,

Lan-fang

6,000 and San-tiao-gou5,000. In theperiodof minimalDutch authority

(1825-47)

Da-gang

continued

the

process

of

absorbing

and

eliminating

rivals.

The

Man-he

gongsi

eft

he

Montrado fields

nd

moved to

Landak.

After

he

detection f a

conspiracy

f

Keng-wei

nd

Xin-wu

together

with

San-tiao-gou

gainst

Da-gang,

these

He-shun

gongsis

were

dissolved

by

Da-

gang

on 8

October

1837,

eaving

Da-gang

now

synonymous

ith

He-shun n

absolute

power

n

Montrado

until

1854.

Some

members

f the

Keng-wei

nd

Xin-wu

gongsis

migrated

astwards

o

Tajan

and

northwards o

Sarawak,

respectively.

In

1849

Dutch

Borneowas reorganizedn three ivisions nd the Dutchstarted

orcibly

o

bring

he

Montrado

goldfields

nder

direct ule. n

1850

8

C. J.

emminck,

oup-ďoeil

énéral

ur

es

Possessions

éerlandaises

ans

L'Inde

ArchipélagiqueLeiden,

847),

ol. .



8/31

176

T. D. YIH

AND

J.

DE

KREEK

Map 2.

Territories

f

he even

ongsis

n heMontradond ambas

egions,

. 1825.

theShi-wu-fenongsi t Loemar and the Lin-tiangongsi t Boedoek were

forced

o

oin

theHe-shunfederationnd to

ally

with

Da-gang

n

an

attempt

to drive the Dutch from he

Sambas

region.

San-tiao-gou

ided

with the

Dutch,

but

by

October 1850 their ntire

erritory

ad been

captured

by

Da-

gang,

the

population

of Seminis

having

been

driven out

and that of

Pamangkat

on the

coast

having

fled

o Sarawak.

After he

arrival

f Dutch

reinforcements

a-gang

surrenderednd

agreed

o Dutch

control.

However,

skirmishes

ontinued,

nd in

1853

the Dutch

government

eclared war

against

Montrado.

This

war ended

with he urrender

f the

Da-gang

gongsi

to the Dutch on 25

July

1854. The

gongsi

of

Lan-Fang,

which

under ts

captain Liu Yaxin had remained neutralduringthe war, retained ts

independence.

owever,

n hisdeath

n

September

884

theDutch

attempted

to take over.

An

insurrection

ollowed,

which

was

suppressed

y

a

military

expedition,

nd

Lan-fang

was

placed

directly

nder

the Dutch

government.



9/31

GONGSI CASH

PIECES

177

THE

GONGSI

COINAGES

Littlehas been

published

bout the

gongsi

coinage

of the

former

utch

East

Indies,

and

virtually

he

only

llustrationsre those

n

two nineteenth-

century

orks

by

Millies9 nd Netscher nd van der

Chijs.10

he

latter,

which

was the

earlier,

was based on the collection f

the

Batavian

Society

forArts

and Sciences

BSAS)

at

presentkept

n the

Museum Nasional at Jakarta.

Some 200 tin or

pewter

ash coins of westernBorneo and Banka can be

traced

today.

The

great

majority

f these are fromBorneo and

they

were

issued

n

thename offive f the

gongsis Da-gang, San-tiao-gou,

nd Shi-wu-

fen ntheMontrado

region,

in-tiannthe Boedoek

region,

ndYuan-he n

theLarah

region.

he first our f these re

represented

n

the

Ethnographical

Museum

(EM)

collection

published

here,

and the fifthwas described

by

Stephanik11

n his

catalogue

of the collection of the State Museum

of

Amsterdam,

hichmentions

wo

pieces

of value tenwithout entral

ole and

countermarked

iththe

name of

the Yuan-he

gongsi.

Unfortunately,

his

collection

was sold in 1904

and

the

present

whereabouts

f these coins is

unknown.

urprisingly,

o coins are known of the

Lan-fanggongsi

n the

Mandor

goldfield.

ome of theBorneo

pieces

do not

name a

gongsi,

ut have

otheregends. wo coins ntheEM collectionnos.20 and21) nameonly he

He-shunfederation nd were

probably

ssued before

he domination f

the

Da-gang gongsi.

Three other

types nos. 27-31)

have mottoes

and were

perhaps

gambling

ounters.

Prior

o 1860

tin ash

pieces

fromBanka

were

pparently

nknown o the

BSAS,

as can be concludedfrom heminutes f a

BSAS

meeting

n 3

March

1860.

Mr

J.

R.

van den

Bossche,

a resident f

Banka,

was to be

asked for

information bout rumours hat tin duiten' had

been

circulating

n the

island,

and the

question

was to be

accompanied by

a

request

for some

specimens

orthe BSAS collection.12

hereupon

ix

specimens

were sent

to

the BSAS.13 The works of Millies atìd of Netscher nd van derChijs both

recordmore coins of Banka than of Borneo

18

to

4

in

Millies and

10 to

4

in Netscher nd van der

Chijs).

Yet

Banka coins are

considerably

arer

n

collections

oday.

There are two

specimens

n

the

EM

collection,

ne

with

legends eferring

o a mine

no. 33)

and

theotherwith

political

logan no.

32).

In

the

Hermitage

Museum

there

s

a coin

from

Banka with

he

egends

9

H.

C.

Millies,

echerchesur es

Monnaieses

ndigènes

e V

Archipel

ndien

t de la

Péninsule

alaye

The

Hague,

871).

10

Op.

cit.

n. ).

11

J.W.Stephanik,eschiedkundigeataloguserverzamelinguntenanNederland,

Bezittingen

nKolonien

Amsterdam,

888).

Minutesf

BSAS

meeting

n

3 March

860.

equest

oMr

Bleeker,

esident

t

Banka

for

nformationn

Banka in ash.

BG 0

1861),

.

22.

13

Minutesf

BSAS

meeting

n

August

862.

onation

f

Banka

pecimensy

MrJ.

G.

Albrecht

Muntok),

BG1

1864),

.

160.



10/31

178

T. D. YIH AND

J.DE

KREEK

Gong Si on theobverse nd ShunXing,meaning avourable rosperity,n

the reverse.

Amongst

the

earliest

references

o Borneo

gongsi

coins are the

two

specimens

f the

Da-gang

and Shi-wu-fen

ongsis

mentioned

y

Netscher14

in

1854,

the

year

of

the

finaldefeatof the

Da-gang gongsi.

Visitors o the

gongsi

areas in an earlier

period

such as

the missionaries

Doty

and

Pohlman15

n

1838 do

not mention

he

circulation

f tin

coins.

As with he

traditional hinese ash

coins,

the

gongsi

ash do not bear dates.

Hence,

no

exact dates can be attributed o them.Their

probable

timeof issue can be

extrapolated nly

from

he historical ourceson

the activities f the

gongsisnamed on the

coinage.

As mentioned

bove,

the two coins in the EM

collectionwith

on the obverse

only

the

legend

He-shun

gongsi

nos 20-1)

were

probably

ssued

before

838,

he

year

n

which he

Da-gang gongsi

ook

the

supremacy

n

the He-shun

federation.

n

the

catalogue

below it is

suggested

hatcertain

ieces

nos

22-4, 27,

33)

were

probably

made

during

thefirst

uarter

f the

nineteenth

entury,

r

possibly

ven at theend of

the

eighteenthentury.

There

are a number of related

pieces

not discussed

by

Millies or

by

Netscher nd van der

Chijs.

Lockhart16

n

his

description

f the Glover

collectionmentions nder theheading doubtful oins' (nos 1238-41)four

pieces

with

on the reverse he Manchu

legend

boo

i

in

mirror

£$)

and on

the obverses

he names

of the

Da-gang, San-tiao-gou,

in-tian nd Shi-wu-

fen

gongsis.

He considers

hem o be tokens ssued

by private

ompanies

nd

translates hi-wu-fen

ongsiwrongly

s '50

shares

company'. Apparently

these

pecimens

werecollected

n

China. Their

source and date of ssue

are

unknown.

Theoretically,

or some unknownreason

they

might

have been

issued

by

Chinesewho had returned o China

after

having

arned a

capital

in

the Borneo

gold

fields. t is

remarkable

hat

Singh17

lso illustrates

wo

specimens

with heobverse

egendsDa-gang

and

Lin-tian

ongsi

nd on the

reverse ide theManchu legendboo i, but now writtenn the correctway

($£).

He attributes hem

to

the

Malayan

state of

Trengganu

and

men-

tions 1877-95 as the

period

of issue. These two

pieces

are

clearly

different

from heirBorneo

analogues having

heavier

weights,

bout

23

g.

However,

these

upposed

Trengganu

pieces

are not mentioned

y

Shaw

and

Ali18 n

their

escription

f

okohs present

n theMuzium

Negare

at Kuala

Lumpur.

They may

have reached

Malaysia

by

trade,

for t is well

known

that the

14

E.

Netscher,

Munten

er hinezennSambas' BG

1854), p.

xxiv-xxv.

15

E.Doty ndW.J. ohlman,Tour nBorneo,rom ambashroughontradooPontianak,nd he

djacent

ettlementsfChinesend

Dayaks,

uring

he utumnf1838',

Chinese

epository1839), p.

83-310.

16

J.

H.

Lockhart,

he

urrencyf

he artherast

Hong ong, 895),

os. 238-41.

17

S.

Singh,

he

oins

f

MalaysiaSingapore

nd runei

Kuala

umpur,986).

W.Shaw nd

M. K.

Ali,

oins

f

North

alaya

Muzium

egara,

uala

umpur,

971).



11/31

GONGSI CASH PIECES

179

Borneogongsismported rovisions rom ingapore ndMalaysiaon a large

scale. One of the first

ctions

of

the Dutch

during

he

gongsi

wars was to

block

the coast and

the Sambas river.

A

variety

f

coinages

circulated

n

the

gongsi

areas,

including

Dutch

guilders

and

duiten,

and several

types

of dollars

(pillar

dollars,

Maria

Theresa

dollars,

etc.)

which

could be cut into

|

or even

^

dollars

for

smaller

hange.19

he commonManchu

copper

cash

pieces

also circulated.20

The local

tin/pewter

ash called

xi-touoccurred

n

various

sizes,

and

were

initially

alued at five

uiten,

ut ater heir alue fell

o twoduiten.

chaank,

a formerontroller t Montrado,reported hat from1819 to 1854 tin or

pewter

ash of

Da-gang,

Lin-tian, hi-wu-fen,

nd

San-tiao-gou

irculated

n

two denominations

alued at one and two

duiten.

According

to Chinese

accounts he

maller

ieces

were

ounterfeits,

llegedly

ast from he

packing

material or ea.21 lso

according

o Schaank22

he

gongsis

ast their ash

ust

before

heNew Year. Kielstra23

efers o the irculation ftin

ash

equivalent

to

12,000

Dutch

florins nd

mentions hat fter he

1850

war

a

large

number

of false

Da-gang pieces

with

high

ead contentwere

put

ntocirculation. e

estimates hat

ogether

fficialnd

unofficial

ieces

mounted o some

40,000

Dutch

florins,

hich t

the

exchange

ate citedabove would

point

to about

800,000pieces.

The

X-ray

fluorescence

nalyses

describedbelow show

that there s a

considerable

ariation

n

the

metallic

omposition

f

the

gongsi

ash.

Those

from

Borneo are

essentially

ewter

r

lead,

while those few from he tin-

mining

sland of

Banka,

as

one

might xpect,

re richer

n tin.

f

the

ighter

Da-gang pieces

are to be considered

ounterfeits,

t

is

curious

that their

metallic

omposition

s more consistent

broadly qual proportions

f lead

and

tin)

thantheheavier nes.

In

general

he

quality

f

casting

f the

gongsi

cash was

poor,

with the metal often

failing

o fill the moulds

properly.

Netscher

nd

van der

Chijs

llustrated

rather

rimitive

ouldmade

of ead

in a wooden frame or asting hree oins.24 fter hefinal ubmission f the

gongsis

by

theDutch thecash were

pparently

melted own on a

large

cale

and used forthe fabrication f tea and arak

pots.25

Hence,

today

the coins

are

very

are and are

hardly

ver offered

y

dealers.

A

summary

f

the

number

nd

types

f

gongsi

ash

thathave been traced

is

given

n Table

3.

It will

be seen thatthe collection f

the

Ethnographical

19

Minutesf

BSAS

meeting

n4

November

873. onation

f ut

panishiasterieces

by

MrP.

D. Vreede

Pontianak)

BG

1874),

.

140.

Op.

cit.

n.14).

1

S.H.Schaank,inutesf BSASmeetingn1October889 BG 7 1889), p.126-9.22Ibid.

23

E. B.

Kielstra,

Bijdragen

ot e

geschiedenis

anBorneo's

ester-afdeling'

e Indische

Gids 1

1889),

p.

42-3.

24

Op.

cit.

n.

2),

pl.

32.

25

Op.

cit.

n.

2),

p.

217.



12/31

180

T. D. YIH AND

J.DE KREEK

Table 3

Summary

f

known

pecimens f gongsi

ash

Legends

Netscher/

Obv./Rev.

Millies

v.d.Chijs

EM

//f

Total

BORNEO

Da

Gang

Gong

i/He

hun

5

M259JJ

1

N247)

19

6

31abc§

He Shun

ong

i/Manchu||

-

-

1

-

1

He Shun

ong

i/blank

- -

1

-

1

Lin

Tian

Gong i/Zheng

i 3

M260)

1

N249)

2

-

6d

LinTian

Gong i/Manchu

-

-

1

-

1

ShiWuFenGong i/Li ong 1 M262) 1 N248) 2 1 5

San

TiaoGou

Gong

i/Zheng

i

1

M261)

1

N250)

- -

2e

Gong

ing

iao

i/Hu||

-

-

2

-

2

Yi

BenWan

i/Manchu

-

-

2

-

2

YongXing

e

Li/Manchu||

-

-

1-1

Total

10

4 31

7 52

BANKA

Jing

hao/Tong

ong

1

M215)

-

1

-

2

Qing

engMing

i/Gu

in

1

M222)

1

N235)

1

-

3a

Gong

i/Shun

ing

1

M219)

1

N234)

-

1 1

*

EM,

Ethnographical

useum,

otterdam,

t H,Hermitageuseum,

t

Petersburg.JNumbersetweenracketsMandN)referoMilliesndNetscher/v.d.hijs,espectively;

for hese

ourceshe umber

meanshat

nly

ne

iece

s

llustratedithout

urther

ndication

of

ctual umber

vailable,

hich

ight

emorehan

ne.

§

Abbreviations:

,

not ncluded:ne

specimen

lso

n

private

utch

ollection;

,

not

included:

bout 00

pieces

n Bronbeek

useumnd

bout 0

specimens

f

uthor'swn

collection;

,

not ncluded:wo

pecimens

n collection

f the

Royal

Historical

ociety,

Amsterdam

d,

not ncluded

one

pecimen

nthe ollection

f

MrBarrett

Canada)

e,

not

included

one

pecimen

f uthor's

wn ollection.

II

The

Museum

asional,

akarta

cknowledges

he

resence

fHe

Shun/Boo

ui,

Gong

Ping/

iao

i and

YongXing

e Li.

Museum,

Rotterdam s

unusually arge

and diverse.

t

includesthe

small

collection

f seven oins

belonging

o the

Royal

Coin

Cabinet,

Leiden,

which

was

deposited

n loan at the

EM in 1970.

The State

Hermitage

Museum

n

St

Petersburg

as a small collection f

eight

oins,

even

of Borneo

and one

of Banka.26

As with the

EM

Da-gang pieces,

the

six

Hermitage

Da-gang

specimens

an be divided

nto

ight

nd

heavy

coins

weights

anging

rom

6-4 o 13-9

).

There re

no

specimens

n the

British

Museum

London)

or

the

Bibliothèque

Nationale

(Paris).

The

Royal

Historical

Society,

Amsterdam

has two

pieces,

the Museum

Nasional

(Jakarta)

houses

the former

SAS

collection no numbers re known),and most recently largecollection

consisting

f about

100

pieces,

xclusively

f

the

Da-gang

gongsi,

has

been

26

Photographsindlyrovidedy

Mrs

N.

votchkina,

tate

ermitage

useum.



13/31

GONGSI

CASH

PIECES 181

discoveredntheBronbeekMuseum of the former utch East IndiesArmy

(Arnhem),

o be

published

lsewhere. n

addition,

here re a few

private

collections

n

The

Netherlandswith ome

gongsi

ash.

The 33

gongsi

ash

coins of Borneo and Banka in

the EM

collection re

described

n

detail

below,

and 30 of them

re illustrated

y

line

drawings

(about

1 1

scale),

with

omealso

illustrated n Plates25 and

26. The

majority

of the oins

were

placed

on

perpetual

oan' at theMuseum n

1955 from he

collection formed

by

Mr

W. van

Rede

(1880-1953),

a numismatist

who

bought

he

gongsi

ash from . Schulman

Amsterdam)

uctions

n

the 1920s

and

1930s. No further

rovenances

orthese re

known.

CATALOGUE OF

COINS

IN

THE

ETHNOGRAPHICAL

MUSEUM

The

following

bbreviationsreused

n

this

atalogue:

t

=

weight;

ia.

=

diameter;

th.

=

thickness.

WEST

BORNEO SSUES

Da-gang ongsi

nos

1-19)

Obv.Da

GangGong

Si

(

^

^

SJ

Rev He

Shun

io )j|g¡1. Wt15-66 ; dia. 320mm; h.50mm.Two coins tuck ogetherseealso 19).

Inv.no.

3336

Rede

coll.).

2. Wt

14*28

;

dia. 31-2

mm;

h.2-7mm.

nv.

no. 3340

Rede

coll.).

3. Wt

14-60

;

dia. 32-9

mm;

th. 2-9mm. nv.

no.

13963

Royal

Coin

Cabinet,

Leiden

oan-KPK Inv.

11669,

t

1892).

4. Wt

15-50 dia.

32-9

mm;

th.

2-3

mm.

nv.

no.

13966

Royal

Coin

Cabinet,

Leiden oan KPK Inv.

11667,

onated

897

162).

5. Wt

15-01

;

dia.

29-6

mm;

th.

3-2

mm.

nv.

no. 13967

Royal

Coin

Cabinet,

Leiden oan KPK

Inv.

11670,

cq.

from

kad.

Cabinet,

eiden

efore

881).

6. Wt

8-08

;

dia. 29-6

mm;

h.2-2mm. nv.

no.

3328

Rede

coll.).

7. Wt10-71 ; dia. 30-7mm; h.3-0mm. nv.no.3330 Redecoll.).

8. Wt

15-06

;

dia.

29-7

mm;

h.3-0

mm. nv.no.

3331

Rede

coll.).

9. Wt

11-68 dia. 30-9

mm;

h.

2-3mm. nv.

no. 3333

Rede

coll.).

10. Wt

7-95

;

dia.

27-5

mm;

h.

2-0

mm.

nv.no.

3332

Rede

coll.);

PL

25,

1.

11. Wt

12-38

;

dia.

31-8

mm;

h.2-6mm. nv.

no.

3334

Redecoll.).

12.

Wt

6-82

;

dia.

25-6

mm;

th.

2-3mm. nv.

no.

13968

Royal

Coin

Cabinet,

Leiden

oan KPK Inv. 1

1671).

13. Wt 6-84

;

dia.

30-7

mm;

h.

2-0mm. nv.

no. 3324

Rede

coll.).

14.

Wt 6-00

;

dia.

29-7

mm;

h.

1-8mm. nv.

no. 3329

Rede

coll.).

15.

Wt

7-62

;

dia.

32-0

mm;

h.2-1

mm. nv.

no. 3326

Rede

coll.).

16. Wt

6-33

;

dia.

30-7

mm;

h.

1-6mm. nv.

no.

3325

Rede

coll.).

17. Wt14-08 ; dia. 330mm; h.21 mm. nv.no. 3323Not llustr.Redecoll.).

18. Wt 7-00

;

dia.

32-0

mm;

h. 1-1

mm. nv.

no. 3327

Not llustr.

Rede coll.).

19.

See

no.

1

this

no.

accorded o the

econd

fthe wo oins tuck

ogether).

The

pieces

with

he

egend

Da-gang gongsi

n

the

obverse nd He-shun

n



14/31

182 T. D. YIH

AND

J.DE

KREEK

thereverse orm hemajorityf theEM collection.A totalof 19pieces three

not

llustrated)

ere

vailable,

heir

weights

nd diameters

anging

rom -00

to

15*66

and 25-6 o 32-9

mm,

espectively.

ossibly

hisdifferencen

weight

represents

wo

denominations,

alue 5 and

10 cash

pieces.

The

specimen

with

the

mallest iameter

no. 12)

has

a

very queezed appearance.

The

presence

of two

small holes

suggests

hat

t

has been used as a

pendant.

The

rather

heavy

piece

(no. 1)

is

very

exceptional

n

view of its

thickness,

0

mm,

whereas

for

the other

Da-gang pieces

the thickness

anges

from

1-6 to

3-2mm. Based

on

the

appearance

of ts side t

s

most

ikely

hat

wo

pieces

have been put together.The badly cast specimen no. 16) shows thecarelessnesswithwhich hesecash were

put

into circulation.

On the basis of the

shape

of the character

Gang

all the

EM

coins

belong

to Millies

type

259. One mustconclude from he

striking

esemblance hat

no. 10

s

probably

he ctual

specimen

llustrated

y

Millies.Millies

type

58

is not

represented

n

the collection.

The characters n

the coins

display

a

considerable

egree

of variation

nd

corruption

s can be seen n

the

shape

of the characters a on no. 3 and

Gong

on no. 6.

According

o

Millies the obverse

egend

Da

Gang

refers o

theriver

Raya

nearMontrado.The reverse

egend

He-shun efers o theHe-shun ederation.

The occurrence f bothnames,Da-gang and He-shun,might ndicate hat

these

ieces

were ssued fter

837when

Da-gang

became

the

uperior ower

in

the Montrado

goldfields

see

also nos 20 and

21).

One

piece

no. 14)

has

the reverse

egends

rotated45

degrees

to the

right

s

compared

with the

obverse.Most

interestingly,

ne

piece

from he

Hermitage

H3594)

had the

reverse

egend

he-shun ritten rom

ight

o left

PL

25,

2);

this

s

not

simply

a matter f

rotating

t

through

80

degrees.

The

weight

nd

dimensions f

this

pecimen

re:

wt

6-56

g;

dia. 26-0

mm,

nd

th. 2*6mm. The

majority

f

the

pieces

n

the EM have the

egend

He-shunwritten

n the normal

cript.

However,

wo

nos

5 and

14), unfortunately

n a corroded

ondition,

ave a

differenttyleof writing or the radical ye ( g ) in shunas ( ?? ). This

approaches

the

running

and

style.

A

study

of the

arge

collection f Da-

gang gongsipieces

n

the

BronbeekMuseum

to

be

published

lsewhere)

as

revealed

hat

alligraphically

t leastfour orms f

writing

heword

Shun an

be

distinguished.

Besides the

Da-gang pieces

with the Manchu

reverse

egend

boo

ji9

mentioned

bove,

otherreverse

ariantshave

also been

reported.

Van der

Chijs27

escribes nder

no. 177 a

Da-gang piece

withmirrorManchu

legend

boo

guang

and

Schaank28

ven mentions he

existence f a

Da-gang piece

withon the reverse Manchulegend ogether ith heHe-shun ndication.

27

J.

A. van

der

Chijs,

Catalogus

er

Numismatische

erzameling

an

hetBataviaasch

Genootschap

an ünstenn

Wetenschappen

Batavia,

896).

8

H.

S.

Schaank,

inutes

f BSAS

meeting

n

4

February

896,

BG 4

1896),

.

13.



15/31

GONGSI CASH PIECES

183

He-shunongsinos20-1)

Obv.

He Shun

Gong

Si

(^0

)||fl)

20. With

corrupt

anchu

everse.

t

617

g;

dia. 29-8

mm;

h.

115

mm. nv.

no.

3338

Rede

coll.);

PL

25,

3.

21. With

blankreverse.Wt 51*20

;

dia. 42-4

mm;

th.

4-3

mm.

nv. no. 13965

(Royal

Coin

Cabinet,

eiden

oan-KPK

Inv.

11672,

cq.

1897);

PL

25,

5.

Pieces with his

obverse

egend

re

not mentioned

y

Millies or Netscher

and van der

Chijs.

The Manchu reverse

egend

resembles

he well-known

reverse f the

Qing dynasty

ash fromChina

proper.

t

might

e a

corrupt

version f theManchu reverse oogui $ f' , themint-markor hecity f

Gui-lin

in

Guangxi province,

with the initial

letterb

(

a'

)

missing.

n

addition,

his

specimen

bears on its

obverse a

counter-mark,

ossibly

the

Chinese character

i

(£)

meaning auspicious.

Tin

pieces

with

a Manchu

reverse

egend

were

pparently

nown

by

rumour s

can be concludedfrom

the minutes f a

BSAS

meeting

n 5

November 1895.29 he

piece

withthe

blank reverse

no.

21)

is

exceptionally eavy

and

large,

nd it too has not

been

publishedpreviously.

As

mentioned

bove,

He-shun refers o the

gongsi-federation

round

Montrado.The absence

of

any

further

ongsi

name

might

ndicate hat hese

pieceswere ssuedbefore hedomination f theDa-ganggongsi n 1837. A

possible parallel

for this

heavy specimen

s

noted

by

Schaank,30

who

mentions he existence

f a

large

tin

piece

called

pi-pit weight

3

g)

which

bears on the

obverse the

name of He-shun

surrounded

by

a numberof

Chinese

haracters.

ccording

o Schaank

they

efer o the 14

gongsis

f the

federation.

ive of themwere the first

haracter

f the

Da-gang,

Jie-lian,

Man-he,

San-tiao-gou

and

Keng-wei

gongsis.

The reverse

bears Manchu

characters. his

piece

should

thenhave been

made between

1780 and 1808

and have

circulateduntil

1819.

In

1889

this

piece

was

donated

to the

numismatic ollection

f the Batavian

Society

f Arts

nd

Sciences,

nd it s

presumably ow in theMuseumNasional (Jakarta).

Lin-tian

ongsinos

22-4

Obv.Lin

Tian

Gong-Si Sc

ffl

4V

ij)

Rev.

Zheng

i

(

iE

A)

22. Wt

12-71

;

dia. 34-1

mm;

h.

3-0mm. nv.

no. 3337

Rede

coll.).

23. Wt

11-48 dia.

34-2

mm;

th. 2-2mm.

nv.

no. 13964

Royal

Coin

Cabinet,

Leiden oan KPK Inv. 1

1668,

onated

897

163).

24. With

Manchu everse. t

6-99

mm;

dia. 29-1

mm;

h.

1-80

mm.

nv.no.

3335

(Rede

coll.);

PL

25,

4.

Thisgongsiwas establishedround1780byChinesefromMontrado. The

name

derives rom

he ocationof the

temple

f

Wang

Ye

in

the

Chinese

ity

29

Minutesf

BSAS

meeting

n

5

November

895,

BG 3

1895), .

117.

30

Op.

cit.

n.

21),

p.

127-8.



16/31

184

T. D.

YIH AND J.DE

KREEK

ofHe Po, theplace oforigin f themajority f theLin-tianChinese.31his

gongsi

was situated between the

Sebangkau

and

Selakau riverswith ts

headquarters

t

Boedoek. The coin

type

f nos 22-3 is illustrated

y

Millies

underno. 260. He knew f

three

pecimens,

hichhad

weights,

1-60-1 -95

g,

and

diameter,

3-34

mm,

falling

n

the same

range

as those of the

EM

specimens.

ccording

o Schaank32 hese oins were

n

use until1854.No. 24

is

an unlisted ariantwith

Manchu reverse. his reverse

in

mirror)

might

be a

corruption

f the Manchu reverse oo ciowan

),

the

mark of

the

Board of

Revenuemint t

Beijing.

ingh33

howsunderno. 47 of

Trengganu

a tin

piece

inscribed in-tianwitha

Manchu

reverse

oo

i ( S$).

In

1825

Lin-tianwas forced o

join

theHe-shun

federation,

o

change

ts name in

Xin-le

nd

to

support

Da-gang

against

an-tiao-gou.34

ence,

pieces

bearing

the

name of Lin-tian

hould be dated

before1825.

Shi-wu-fenongsinos

25-6)

Obv.

hi Wu Fen

Gong

Si

(-f*

3L

#

£ ãJ)

Rev.Li

Yong(*li fl?)

25. Wt

15-70

;

dia.

300

mm;

h.3-5mm. nv.

no. 3339

Rede

coll.);

Pl.

25,

6.

26. Wt

1501

g;

dia.

300

mm;

th. 31 mm. nv.

no. 13969

Royal

Coin

Cabinet,

Leiden

oan-KPK

Inv.

1936/423,cq.

1936).

This is Milliestype262. The obverse egendreferso the

gongsi

that eft

the

He-shun ederationn

the

Montrado

goldfields

round

1819.Hence

these

pieces

were

probably

ssued fter hatdate.

The reverse

egend i-yong

means

'profitable

se'.

The

following

hree

ypes

iffer

rom hose bove

by

acking

he

referenceo

a

gongsi

n the

obverse

egend,

and

by

their

ighter

weights

nd

smaller

diameters.

Furthermore,

hey

have a smaller outer rim.

They

were not

mentioned

by

Millies.

Faber,

a

translator t

Montrado,

mentions

the

existence f smaller inpiecesnearMontrado,whichwerenot usedas money

but

for

gambling

urposes.35

Gong ing

JiaoJi nos

27-8)

Obv.

GongPing

Jiao

Ji

^ $)

27. Wt

7-08

;

dia.

25-5

mm;

h.

1-8

mm.

nv.no.

3315

Rede coll.);

Pl.

26,

8.

28. Wt 6-23

;

dia.

25-3

mm;

h.

1-5

mm. nv.

no.

3318

Rede

coll.).

The obverse

egend

means fair

trade'. One of the two

pieces

bears on

its

reverse character

eside hehole.

According

o a noteat the

EM,

this

might

31

Op.cit.n.6),p.556.Op.cit.n.6),p.557.

33

Op.

cit.

n.17),

.

168.

34

P. M. van

Meeteren

rouwer,

De

geschiedenis

er

Chineescheistrictener

Wester-

Afdeeling

anBorneo

an

1740-1926',

e Indischeids

1927),

p.

1057-1100.

35

Op.

it.

n. ),

p.

216.



17/31

GONGSI CASH PIECES

185

be the characterhu (rfi) meaningtiger. t mightbe of relevancethat

members f the Jie-lien

ongsi

were often alled

tiger'.36

f

this s

indeed a

reference o that

gongsi,

t

would mean that

these

coins

should be dated

before

807,

he

year

of the

defeat f theJie-lien

ongsi.

The other

pecimen

has

on

its

reverse n

unreadable haracter hat

urely

s

not hu. This

type

f

cash has been mentioned

oo

in

therevised

atalogue

of theBSAS collection

in

1896 without llustration.37

he reverse

haracterhas been read as

Hang

(

%

)

meaningbright.

Yi Ben

Wan

Li

(i

os

9-30)

Obv.Yi BenWan Li (- *$ f»J)

Rev.Uncertain anchu

egend,

ossibly

oo

yun

J

')

29. Wt

4-56

;

dia.

24*

mm;

h.

1-6

mm.

nv.no.

3317

Rede

coll.).

30.

Wt

4-83

;

dia. 23-9

mm;

h.

1-5mm. nv.

no. 3316

Redecoll.);

PL

26,

9.

The

obverse

egend meaning

capital

one,

profit

en thousand' is

often

used on

charms,38

he

characterwan for

en thousand

often

ccurring

n

its

abbreviated

form

H

).

Netscher nd van

der

Chijs

illustrated n

plate

XXXIII

a mould

of a coin that

might

bear this

obverse

egend,

with

the

reverse lank.

An

unclearnote on

page

218, however,

uggests

he

presence

of a Manchu legendon the reverse.The reverse egendon the two EM

specimens

s

in

Manchu,

possibly

corrupt

ersion f boo Yun

referring

o

Yunnan

province.

his s

strange,

owever,

ince heBorneo

Chinese

mostly

originated

rom he southern

hinese

provinces

f

Guangdong

and

Fujian.

YongXing

He Li

(no.31)

Obv.

Yong

Xing

He

Li

(&

£

&%l)

31. Wt

5*93

;

dia.

25-6

mm;

h. 1-8mm.

nv.no. 3314

Rede

coll.);

PL

26,

10.

The

obverse

egend

means

perpetual

prosperity

nd

mutual

advantage'.

The

reverse

might

e a

corrupt

ersion f the

Manchu mintmarkboo

ciowan

to the left nd right f the hole. Above the hole there s an unreadable

character,

ossibly

the

number

qi

( )

meaning

seven.

The threecircles

below

might

be

then the

character

in

(

^

)

meaninggrade,

or

merely

decoration.

BANKA SSUES

Qing eng

Ming

Ri

no.32)

Obv.

QingFeng

Ming

Ri

(ff

Ä

9

H)?

Rev.Gu Jin

"¿J

)

32. Wt 6

00

g;

dia.

3

1 4

mm;

h.

1-7mm. nv.

no. 3166

Rede

coll.).

According o Millies theobverse egend, n translationQing wind and

36

Op.

cit.

n.6),

p.

525.

37

Op.

cit.

n.

21),

.

75,

no.158.

A. A.

Remmelts,

hinese

harmsndAmulets

Amsterdam,968).

7

NUM 53



18/31

186

T. D. YIH AND J.DE

KREEK

Ming sun', compares the Qing (dynasty)with the wind and the Ming

(dynasty)

with

the sun and

expresses

dislike

towards

the

foreign

Manchu

Qing

dynasty

n

favourof

the

previous Ming dynasty.

However,

Wicks39

reads

the left

haracter

s

yue

and

translates he

legends

s 'clear

breeze,

bright

moon'. The reverse

egend

means ancient and modern'.

Jing

hao

no.

33)

Obv.

Jing

hao

(Jft (S)

Rev.

TongYong

ifi )

33. Wt418

g

dia.

28-5

mm;

h.2*1mm. nv.no.

3167

Rede

coll.).

According o Milliestheobverse egend f thisvery orrodedpiecemeans

'metropole'

and refers o a mine n the

Marawang

district

n

the south-east

point

of the

Northern ivision.Chinese

miners eachedthat

region

round

1770,

and Chinese

mining

declined

rapidly

fter1812.40

Hence,

this

piece

probably

dates fromthe

period

betweenthese dates.

The reverse

egend

means current.

X-RAY

FLUORESCENCE

(XRF)

ANALYSIS

The

composition

f

24 coins from he

EM

collection,

nd

a number f

specimens

from elsewherewere

analysed

by X-ray

Fluorescence

Spec-

troscopy.

his

s a non-destructive

nalysis echnique

or

norganic

lements.

A

sample

s irradiatedwith

X-raysby

means

of an

X-ray

tube. The

sample

then

produces

X-ray

photons,

whereby

the

energy depends

on the

composition

f the

ample.

Each

element

and

thus ach

sample)

has itsown

specific

-ray

fluorescence

pectrum.41

easuring

he

energy

f the

photons

gives

the

qualitative composition

of

the

sample.

The

intensity

f a

fluorescenceine

depends

on both the concentration

f the

specific

lement

and on theconcentration f the other lements

n the

sample

inter-element

effects). y comparing ine intensities f standardsamples with known

concentrations,

uantitative nalysis

s

possible.

The

analysis

was done witha

Philips

X-ray

Fluorescence

pectrometer,

type

PW1400 and the

X41

semi-quantitative

SQS) analysis

software

package.

The source used

was a Chromium node

with filament urrent

60

kV,

50

mA.

For each

sample

so-called

ualitative

can

was

recorded

nd

automatically nalysed.

After

emoving

nterfering

ine-names

he cleaned

spectrum

was

compared

with

spectra

of

standard

samples

and element

concentrations

ere calculated.The

accuracy

nd

exactness f the

analysis

strongly epend

on the

roughness

f

the

ample

urface. ince

thecoins

had

39

R.

Wicks,

surveyf

native

.E.- sian

oinages

Ph.D.

hesis,

ornell

niversity,

983).

40

Op.

it.

n.1),

p.

36.

41

R. Jenkinsnd

J. . de

Vries,

ractical

-raypectroscopy

Springer-Verlag,

ew

ork,

1975).



19/31

GONGSI

CASH

PIECES

187

Table 4

Metallic

composition

y

X-Ray

Fluorescence

XRF)

analysis

No.

Legends

Weight Percentage

Pb/Sn

ig)

Pb

Sn Fe ratio

BORNEO

EMI Da

Gang/He

hun 15-66 27 56

2-8 0-48

EM2 Da

Gang/He

hun

14-28 72

26 0-2 2-77

EM7 Da

Gang/He

hun

10-71 10 82 0-4 0-12

EM8 Da

Gang/He

hun 15-06 66 29

0-5 2-28

EM10 Da

Gang/He

hun 7-95 57 42

0-1 1-36

EM12 Da Gang/Hehun 6-82 55 39 0-1 1-41

EM13 Da

Gang/He

hun 6-84 46 47

1-8 0-98

EM14

Da

Gang/He

hun 6 00 40 54 1-1

0-74

EM

5 Da

Gang/He

hun 7-62 50 46 0-1

1-09

EM16 Da

Gang/He

hun 6-33 49 47

0-6 1-04

B103 Da

Gang/He

hun 13-19 95 2

0-3 47-5

B104 Da

Gang/He

hun

13-05

94 2

0-6

47-0

B105 Da

Gang/He

hun 11-30 89

7

0-6 12-7

B106

Da

Gang/He

hun 12-28 77

20 0-6

3-85

EM20 He

Shun/Boo

ui

6-17

22

63 4-6

0-35

EM21

He

Shun

large)

51-20

99

0-7

-

141

EM22 LinTian/Zhengi 12-71 16 74 2-4 0-21

EM23 Lin

Tian/Zheng

i 11-48 8-8

84 2-6

0-11

EM24 Lin

Tian/Boo

un 6-99

10 83 0-2 0-12

EM25 ShiWu

Fen

15-70 64 34

0-3 1-88

EM26 ShiWuFen

15-01 50 46

0-1 1-09

-

SanTiaoGouGS 13-17 26 71

0-2 0-37

EM27

Gong ing

iao

i

7-08

98

1-2 0-1 81

EM28

Gong ing

iao i

6-23 93 6-4

0-1 14-5

EM29 I

BenWan i

4-56 97

0-9 0-1

108

EM30 I Ben

Wan i

4-83 95 4-1

0-1 23-2

EM31 YongXingHeLi 5-93 96 3-3 0-1 29-1

BANKA

EM32

Qing

engMing

i

6-00

12

78

0-1 0-15

EM33

JingZhao

4-18 4-5 88

0-1

0-05

-

Qing engMing

i 6-21

17 74

0-1

0-23

'B'

numbers

elong

o he ronbeek

useum

ollection;

hose ithout

umbersre n

private

collections.

to be

measuredwithout

nysurface reatmentuch as slicing nd polishing,the

given

oncentrationshouldbeconsidered s

only

emi-quantitative.

he

circular area

analysed

had

a diameter

of about 25 mm.

The

depth

of

penetration

as

about 01

to

2 mm

depending

n the element

omposition.

The

results f a

number f

analyses

re

presented

n

Table 4.

7-2



20/31

188

T. D. YIH AND J.

DE

KREEK

BORNEO

The first

mportant eneral

emarks

hatcan be

made are thatthe

pieces

consist of a lead-tin

alloy (i.e.

pewter),

nd that about half of

the

pieces

studied ontain

ead

(Pb)

rather han

tin

Sn)

as the

predominant

metallic

element.

This

contradicts he literature n these coins

in

which

they

have

always

been

regarded

s made of

tin;

although

Netscher nd van

der

Chijs

in

their

ppendices

efer o the coins as made of

ead,

they

escribe hem s

tin

n

themain text.

n

viewof theoccurrence f ead as a

major component

it should be noted that ead

is

not found

on

the western oast of Borneo

n

largequantities,nd it must herefore ave been mported. he same s true

of tin.

Apparently

herewas no lack of ead sincefor

asting

he

pieces

ead

moulds

with

wooden framewereused.42

ooking

at the

metallic ontents

of the several

groups

some

interestingoints

can be noted.

Da-Gang gongsi

The

ten

Da-gang pieces

from the

EM,

that form the

largest group

analysed,

how considerable ariation

n their

ead/tin

atios.

Whereas

the

ratio

of

the

ight ieces

nos 10-16)

ranges

from -74to

1-41,

hefour

heavy

pieces

nos

1, 2,

7 and

8)

show a

greater

ariation

0-12-2*28).

wo of them

have ead as a major component nd theother wo tin.No. 7 has thehighest

tin content f all

Da-gang pieces

studied o

far.

nterestingly,

ome

pieces

from heBronbeek ollection

nalysed

how

a similar

attern:

rather mall

range

of

lead/tin

ratio for

the

lightpieces

(0*77-2-59)

nd a wider

range

(0-75-47-5)

or he

heavy

pieces

full

results o be

published

lsewhere).

he

heavier

weight

s

apparently

ot related

o the

higher

ead content.

He-

Shun

gongsi

Also remarkable

s

the

finding

hatof the two He-shun

pieces

one

has tin

as themajorelement nd theother ead.Moreover, hesmaller iecediffers

from

the other one

in

having

rather

high percentages

f iron

(Fe)

and

aluminium

Al),

4-6 nd 7-0

respectively.

he latter

s

particularly

nusual. n

general,

highpercentage

f

aluminium ccurs

concomitantly

ith

high

percentage

f

silicon

Si)

as a result f

contamination,

he

Si/

Al

ratio

ranging

from

1

to

2.

Since the

percentage

f silicon

n this

piece

was

1-6,

t seems

unlikely

hat healuminium

s theresult f contamination.

his

might oint

to a

modern

fabrication,

ut

against

that conclusion

is the absence

of

antimonySb)

whichoccurs

n modernfake ead

pieces.

Lin-Tiangongsi

The three

ieces

of the

Lin-tian

ongsi

re

characterized

y

their

high

in

content nd

show reasonable

uniformity

n

their

ead/tin

atios.

n this

hey

42

Op.

cit.

n. ),

p.

217.



21/31

GONGSI

CASH PIECES

189

clearlydiffer rom heDa-gang gongsipieces,withtheexception f no. 7.

One

might

wonderwhether

he atter

iece

was cast on theLin-tian

erritory

after

he

forced nion of

the Lin-tian

gongsi

with he He-shunfederation

n

1825.

Shi-

Wu-Fen

ongsi

The two Shi-wu-fen

ongsipieces

are more similar o the Da

Gang

pieces

with

respect

o their

ead/

in ratios.

San-Tiao-Gou

gongsi

The

San-tiao-gou ongsi

piece

from

private

ollection

PL

26,

7)

had tin

as

its main

element,

with

lead/tin

atio of 0-37.

Wt

13-21

dia. 311

mm;

th. 3-6

mm.)

Coins

acking ongsi

names

These

ight ieces

nos 27-31)

are characterized

y veryhigh

ead contents

ranging

rom

3 to 98

%.

As discussed

bove,

t s

tempting

o

identify

hem

as the

tin'

pieces

used for

gambling urposes

whichwere

noted

by

Faber.

BANKA

As was to be

expected

he two Banka

pieces

consist

predominantly

f

tin.

AnotherBanka

piece

from

private

ollection

Pl.

26,

11)

showed a

very

similar

ead/tin

ontent

wt

6*21 dia. 310

mm;

th. 1-7

mm).

CONCLUSION

As far as the limitednumberof

pieces

analysed

allows,

the

following

conclusion an be drawn.The Chineseminers n thewestern oast of Borneo

not

only

formed

ongsis

ccupying

ifferenterritoriesnd

issuing

different

cash pieces,butapparently herewere also differencesn the ead-tinalloy

used for he

coinages.

One

group,

he

Lin-tian

ongsi,

nd

possibly

he San-

tiao-gou

gongsi,

used fortheir

pieces

a lead-tin

alloy

in

which

tin was the

predominant omponent.

Another

group,

not attributed o a

particular

gongsi

and

perhaps produced

as

gaming

counters,

had lead as the

major

component.

The

largest gongsi Da-gang

had an intermediate

osition,

possibly

ue to the

argeterritory

t

occupied

afterwars and

conquests.

The

metallic

ompositions

would

perhaps

fall nto

more

clearly

efined

roups

f

it were

possible

to

distinguish

fficial rom

nofficial

ssues,

which t

present

cannot be done.



22/31

190

T. D. YIH AND

J.

DE KREEK

Key to plates

Plate25

1.

Da-gang

ongsi/He-shun

EM

10,

nv.

no.

3332)

2.

Da-gang

ongsi/He-shun

H3594,

Hermitage)

3.

He-shun

ongsi/Boo-gui

EM

20,

nv.no.

3338)

4.

Lin-tian

ongsi/Boo

iowan

EM

24,

nv.no.

3335)

5. He-shun

ongsi/blank

EM

21,

nv.

no.

13965)

6. Shi-wu-fen

ongsi/Li-yong

EM

25,

nv.no.

3339)

Plate26

7.

San-tiao-gou

ongsi/Zheng-li

private

ollection)

8.

Gong-ping-jiao-jiEM

27,

nv.no.

3315)

9. Yi-ben-wan-li

EM

30,

nv.

no.

3316)

10.

Yong-xing-he-li

EM

31,

nv.

no.

3314)

11

Qing-feng-ming-riprivate

ollection)

The

uthors

grateful

oDrF.

Ross,

onservatorf

he

thnographical

useum,

or

iving

im

the

pportunity

o

study

nd o

photograph

numberfcoins. e

also

cknowledges

he

followingersons

or

providing

nformationn

gongsi

ash n their

ollections: rs

N.

votchkina,

onservatorf the

Chineseollectionf

the tate

Hermitage

useum

St

Petersburg)Dr D.Abdulkarim,onservatorf heMuseum asionalJakarta),rW.L.S.

Barrett

Canada),

Mr

O. Remmelts

The Netherlands)

nd Mr J. an

Oostveen

The

Netherlands).

he uthors

ndebted

oMrP. E. T.

vanKeulenndMrJ.

G.

W.

Bressersor

technicalssistancen

preparing

he

lates.



23/31

GONGSI CASH PIECES

191

Fig.

1.

Gongsi

ash

ieces

n

he

thnographical

useum

nos -6).



24/31

192 T. D. YIH

AND J.DE

KREEK

Fig.

2.

Gongsi

ash

ieces

n he

thnographical

useum

nos -12).



25/31

GONGSI

CASH

PIECES 193

Fig.

3.

Gongsi

ash

ieces

n

he

thnographical

useum

nos

3-16,

0-1).



26/31

194

T.

D. YIH

AND

J.DE KREEK

Fig.

4.

Gongsi

ash

ieces

n

he

thnographical

useum

nos

2-27).



27/31

GONGSI

CASH

PIECES 195

Fig.

5.

Gongsi

ash

ieces

n

he

thnographical

useum

nos

8-33).



28/31


29/31

YIH

AND

DE

KREEK,

GONGSI CASH

(1)

PLATE 25



30/31


31/31

YIH AND DE

KREEK,

GONGSI CASH

(2)

PLATE

26

The Gongsi cash pieces of western Borneo and Banka in the Ethnographical Museum at Rotterdam / T.D....

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Transcript of The Gongsi cash pieces of western Borneo and Banka in the Ethnographical Museum at Rotterdam / T.D....