Recent Auction of Tanintharyi Coinage Sheds Historical Light on Myanmar Region

Philip Hauret

doi:doi:10.11648/j.history.20210901.11

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Recent Auction of Tanintharyi Coinage Sheds Historical Light on Myanmar Region

Philip Hauret

Published in History Research (Volume 9, Issue 1)

Received: 18 December 2020 Accepted: 4 January 2021 Published: 12 January 2021

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Abstract

Since January 2019, Stephen Album Rare Coins of Santa Rosa, California (USA), a numismatic dealer specializing in Islamic and Asian coinage, has auctioned a major collection of the large tin-lead coins and weights of the Tanintharyi region of Myanmar (formerly known as Tenasserim). This unprecedented assemblage of 125 specimens has offered students of Myanmar numismatics a unique opportunity to study these coins, as today’s on-line auctions provide quality digital photography unavailable in the past. This article introduces the reader to these coins by first reviewing the existing literature, beginning with European accounts from the seventeenth century and ending with the latest archaeological research papers addressing these coins. It will then examine seven select specimens from the Stephen Album auctions, several of which are previously unreported, that provide insights into Tanintharyi culture and communities from the seventeenth to early nineteenth centuries. This analysis will identify the only Tanintharyi coin discovered so far with a certain date and will examine a possibly mischaracterized date in another. It will also propose a translation of a previously misrepresented Tanintharyi coin and close with conclusions regarding the time period during which these coins were made, their economic function and the cultural contexts they may illuminate. The article reaches three major conclusions: 1) the manufacture and use of these coins began in the early seventeenth century and continued into the nineteenth century; 2) they functioned in local Tanintharyi economies and marketplaces and not in higher value trade between entrepots; and 3) they were issued by both official and private parties, with both entities utilizing cultural icons and traditions, rather than official titles or references, to generate acceptance of this medium of exchange.

Published in	History Research (Volume 9, Issue 1)
DOI	10.11648/j.history.20210901.11
Page(s)	1-11
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Burma, Myanmar, Tanintharyi, Tenasserim, Numismatics, Coins, Myeik, Dawei

References

[1]	Stacks Bowers. https://archive.stacksbowers.com/?q=04e3beda-3d46-43e9-804b-0858ef70dfcb, accessed June 18, 2020.
[2]	Heritage Auctions. 2020. https://www.ha.com/c/search-results.zx?No=120&Nty=1&Ntk=SI_Titles-Desc&N=790+231&Ntt=burma’ accessed June 18, 2020.
[3]	Stephen Album Rare Coins email with the author, July 10, 2020.
[4]	Nightingale, Benjamin, W. B. Dickinson and Henry Christmas. “Tin-money of the trading ports of the burman empire,” The Numismatic Chronicle and Journal of the Numismatic Society, vol. 7, pp. 27-34, 1844-1845.
[5]	Temple, R. C. “The obsolete tin currency and money of the federated Malay states," The Indian Antiquary, vol. 42, pp. 85-132, 153-58, 181-85, 209-16, 237-39, 253-54, 273-76, Plate III, 1913.
[6]	Low, James. “History of Tennasserim,” The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 287-336, 1836.
[7]	Sangermano, Father. A description of the Burmese empire. London: Susil Gupta, (1833) 1966, p. 214.
[8]	Harvey, G. E. History of Burma: from the earliest times to 10 March 1824, the beginning of the English conquest. London: Frank Cass and Company Limited, 1925, pp. v, 122, 132-33, 202-03.
[9]	Temple, R. C. The thirty-seven nats: a phase of spirit-worship prevailing in Burma. London: Paul Strachan Kiscadale Publications, [1906] 1991, p. II.
[10]	Phayre, Arthur P. “Coins of Arakan, of Pegu, and of Burma,” The International Numismata Orientalia, vol. III, no. 1, pp. 1-44, Plates III and V, 1882.
[11]	Yule, Henry. A narrative of the mission to the court of Ava in 1855: together with the journal of Arthur Phayre envoy to the court of Ava. London: Oxford University Press, [1856] 1968, pp. vii-ix.
[12]	Myanmar Language Commission. Myanmar-English dictionary. Kensington: Dunwoody Press, 1996, pp. xv, 8, 58, 220, 336, 369, 472, 496-97, 499, 507, 610, 623.
[13]	Mitchiner, Michael. Oriental coins and their values: non-Islamic states & western colonies AD 600-1979. London: Hawkins Publications, 1979, pp. 367-68.
[14]	Ponder, Richard D. “Early fakes,” The Numismatist, vol. 133, no. 9, pp. 49-50, 2020.
[15]	Robinson, M. and L. A. Shaw. The coins and banknotes of Burma. Manchester: M. Robinson and L. A. Shaw. 1980, pp. vii, 37-42, 54-62, 155.
[16]	Robinson, M. The lead and tin coins of Pegu and Tenasserim. Cheshire, England: M. Robinson, 1986, pp. iv, 38-40, 45, 50, 55-57, 68.
[17]	Office of the Superintendent. Correspondence for the years 1824-26 to 1842-48, in the office of the commissioner, Tenasserim division. Rangoon: Government Printing, 1929, pp. 7, 44.
[18]	Aung-Thwin, Michael and Maitrii Aung-Thwin. A history of Myanmar since ancient times: traditions and transformations. London: Reaktion Books Ltd., 2012, pp. 145-46, 154, 182-83.
[19]	Taylor, Robert H. The state in Myanmar. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2009, pp. 103-04.
[20]	Maung Htin Aung. A history of Burma. New York: Columbia University Press, 1967, pp. 145-46, 219.
[21]	Moore, Elizabeth. “Dawei Buddhist culture: a hybrid borderland,” Myanmar Historical Research Journal, vol. 21, pp. 1-62, 2011.
[22]	Moore, Elizabeth and Soe Thainkha. “The ancient city of Mokti in the tenth to thirteenth century CE Bagan period,” Sojourn: Journal of Social Issues in Southeast Asia, vol. 34, no. (1), pp. 149-184, 2019.
[23]	“Asian Koel,” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asian_koel, accessed December 22, 2020.
[24]	Ma Aye Sandi. The Social Organization of the Dawei National, Dawei Township, Taninthayi Division, Union of Myanmar. Yangon, MA dissertation, Department of Anthropology, University of Yangon, 1999, p. 7.
[25]	Mills, J. A. “The swinging pendulum: centrality to marginality — a study of southern Tenasserim in the history of Southeast Asia,” Journal of the Siam Society, vol. 85, nos. 1 and 2, pp. 35–58, 1997.
[26]	Lieberman, Victor B. Burmese administrative cycles: anarchy and conquest, c. 1580-1760. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1984, pp. 27-28, 121-24, 156-59.
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[28]	Subrahmanyam, Sanjay. The Portuguese empire in Asia, 1500-1700: a political and economic history. London: Longman Group UK Limited, 1993, pp. 71-72, 103-05, 169.
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[30]	Robinson, Frank S. “Palembang coins,” www.fsrcoin.com/palembang, no date.
[31]	Stephen Album Rare Coins. https://db.stevealbum.com/php/auctions.php?site=0&lang=1&cust=0, Auctions 31 to 37 inclusive, accessed June 2020.
[32]	D’Hubert, Thibaut. “The lord of the elephant: interpreting the Islamicate, numismatic, and literary material from the Mrauk U period of Arakan (ca. 1430-1784),” The Journal of Burma Studies, vol. 19, no. 2, pp. 341-369, 2015.

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Philip Hauret. (2021). Recent Auction of Tanintharyi Coinage Sheds Historical Light on Myanmar Region. History Research, 9(1), 1-11. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.history.20210901.11

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Philip Hauret. Recent Auction of Tanintharyi Coinage Sheds Historical Light on Myanmar Region. Hist. Res. 2021, 9(1), 1-11. doi: 10.11648/j.history.20210901.11

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Philip Hauret. Recent Auction of Tanintharyi Coinage Sheds Historical Light on Myanmar Region. Hist Res. 2021;9(1):1-11. doi: 10.11648/j.history.20210901.11

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@article{10.11648/j.history.20210901.11,
  author = {Philip Hauret},
  title = {Recent Auction of Tanintharyi Coinage Sheds Historical Light on Myanmar Region},
  journal = {History Research},
  volume = {9},
  number = {1},
  pages = {1-11},
  doi = {10.11648/j.history.20210901.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.history.20210901.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.history.20210901.11},
  abstract = {Since January 2019, Stephen Album Rare Coins of Santa Rosa, California (USA), a numismatic dealer specializing in Islamic and Asian coinage, has auctioned a major collection of the large tin-lead coins and weights of the Tanintharyi region of Myanmar (formerly known as Tenasserim). This unprecedented assemblage of 125 specimens has offered students of Myanmar numismatics a unique opportunity to study these coins, as today’s on-line auctions provide quality digital photography unavailable in the past. This article introduces the reader to these coins by first reviewing the existing literature, beginning with European accounts from the seventeenth century and ending with the latest archaeological research papers addressing these coins. It will then examine seven select specimens from the Stephen Album auctions, several of which are previously unreported, that provide insights into Tanintharyi culture and communities from the seventeenth to early nineteenth centuries. This analysis will identify the only Tanintharyi coin discovered so far with a certain date and will examine a possibly mischaracterized date in another. It will also propose a translation of a previously misrepresented Tanintharyi coin and close with conclusions regarding the time period during which these coins were made, their economic function and the cultural contexts they may illuminate. The article reaches three major conclusions: 1) the manufacture and use of these coins began in the early seventeenth century and continued into the nineteenth century; 2) they functioned in local Tanintharyi economies and marketplaces and not in higher value trade between entrepots; and 3) they were issued by both official and private parties, with both entities utilizing cultural icons and traditions, rather than official titles or references, to generate acceptance of this medium of exchange.},
 year = {2021}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Recent Auction of Tanintharyi Coinage Sheds Historical Light on Myanmar Region
AU  - Philip Hauret
Y1  - 2021/01/12
PY  - 2021
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.history.20210901.11
DO  - 10.11648/j.history.20210901.11
T2  - History Research
JF  - History Research
JO  - History Research
SP  - 1
EP  - 11
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2376-6719
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.history.20210901.11
AB  - Since January 2019, Stephen Album Rare Coins of Santa Rosa, California (USA), a numismatic dealer specializing in Islamic and Asian coinage, has auctioned a major collection of the large tin-lead coins and weights of the Tanintharyi region of Myanmar (formerly known as Tenasserim). This unprecedented assemblage of 125 specimens has offered students of Myanmar numismatics a unique opportunity to study these coins, as today’s on-line auctions provide quality digital photography unavailable in the past. This article introduces the reader to these coins by first reviewing the existing literature, beginning with European accounts from the seventeenth century and ending with the latest archaeological research papers addressing these coins. It will then examine seven select specimens from the Stephen Album auctions, several of which are previously unreported, that provide insights into Tanintharyi culture and communities from the seventeenth to early nineteenth centuries. This analysis will identify the only Tanintharyi coin discovered so far with a certain date and will examine a possibly mischaracterized date in another. It will also propose a translation of a previously misrepresented Tanintharyi coin and close with conclusions regarding the time period during which these coins were made, their economic function and the cultural contexts they may illuminate. The article reaches three major conclusions: 1) the manufacture and use of these coins began in the early seventeenth century and continued into the nineteenth century; 2) they functioned in local Tanintharyi economies and marketplaces and not in higher value trade between entrepots; and 3) they were issued by both official and private parties, with both entities utilizing cultural icons and traditions, rather than official titles or references, to generate acceptance of this medium of exchange.
VL  - 9
IS  - 1
ER  -

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Author Information

Philip Hauret

Independent Scholar, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA

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Plain Text BibTeX RIS

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Philip Hauret. (2021). Recent Auction of Tanintharyi Coinage Sheds Historical Light on Myanmar Region. History Research, 9(1), 1-11. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.history.20210901.11

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Philip Hauret. Recent Auction of Tanintharyi Coinage Sheds Historical Light on Myanmar Region. Hist. Res. 2021, 9(1), 1-11. doi: 10.11648/j.history.20210901.11

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AMA Style

Philip Hauret. Recent Auction of Tanintharyi Coinage Sheds Historical Light on Myanmar Region. Hist Res. 2021;9(1):1-11. doi: 10.11648/j.history.20210901.11

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@article{10.11648/j.history.20210901.11,
  author = {Philip Hauret},
  title = {Recent Auction of Tanintharyi Coinage Sheds Historical Light on Myanmar Region},
  journal = {History Research},
  volume = {9},
  number = {1},
  pages = {1-11},
  doi = {10.11648/j.history.20210901.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.history.20210901.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.history.20210901.11},
  abstract = {Since January 2019, Stephen Album Rare Coins of Santa Rosa, California (USA), a numismatic dealer specializing in Islamic and Asian coinage, has auctioned a major collection of the large tin-lead coins and weights of the Tanintharyi region of Myanmar (formerly known as Tenasserim). This unprecedented assemblage of 125 specimens has offered students of Myanmar numismatics a unique opportunity to study these coins, as today’s on-line auctions provide quality digital photography unavailable in the past. This article introduces the reader to these coins by first reviewing the existing literature, beginning with European accounts from the seventeenth century and ending with the latest archaeological research papers addressing these coins. It will then examine seven select specimens from the Stephen Album auctions, several of which are previously unreported, that provide insights into Tanintharyi culture and communities from the seventeenth to early nineteenth centuries. This analysis will identify the only Tanintharyi coin discovered so far with a certain date and will examine a possibly mischaracterized date in another. It will also propose a translation of a previously misrepresented Tanintharyi coin and close with conclusions regarding the time period during which these coins were made, their economic function and the cultural contexts they may illuminate. The article reaches three major conclusions: 1) the manufacture and use of these coins began in the early seventeenth century and continued into the nineteenth century; 2) they functioned in local Tanintharyi economies and marketplaces and not in higher value trade between entrepots; and 3) they were issued by both official and private parties, with both entities utilizing cultural icons and traditions, rather than official titles or references, to generate acceptance of this medium of exchange.},
 year = {2021}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Recent Auction of Tanintharyi Coinage Sheds Historical Light on Myanmar Region
AU  - Philip Hauret
Y1  - 2021/01/12
PY  - 2021
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.history.20210901.11
DO  - 10.11648/j.history.20210901.11
T2  - History Research
JF  - History Research
JO  - History Research
SP  - 1
EP  - 11
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2376-6719
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.history.20210901.11
AB  - Since January 2019, Stephen Album Rare Coins of Santa Rosa, California (USA), a numismatic dealer specializing in Islamic and Asian coinage, has auctioned a major collection of the large tin-lead coins and weights of the Tanintharyi region of Myanmar (formerly known as Tenasserim). This unprecedented assemblage of 125 specimens has offered students of Myanmar numismatics a unique opportunity to study these coins, as today’s on-line auctions provide quality digital photography unavailable in the past. This article introduces the reader to these coins by first reviewing the existing literature, beginning with European accounts from the seventeenth century and ending with the latest archaeological research papers addressing these coins. It will then examine seven select specimens from the Stephen Album auctions, several of which are previously unreported, that provide insights into Tanintharyi culture and communities from the seventeenth to early nineteenth centuries. This analysis will identify the only Tanintharyi coin discovered so far with a certain date and will examine a possibly mischaracterized date in another. It will also propose a translation of a previously misrepresented Tanintharyi coin and close with conclusions regarding the time period during which these coins were made, their economic function and the cultural contexts they may illuminate. The article reaches three major conclusions: 1) the manufacture and use of these coins began in the early seventeenth century and continued into the nineteenth century; 2) they functioned in local Tanintharyi economies and marketplaces and not in higher value trade between entrepots; and 3) they were issued by both official and private parties, with both entities utilizing cultural icons and traditions, rather than official titles or references, to generate acceptance of this medium of exchange.
VL  - 9
IS  - 1
ER  -

Copy | Download