1 Cash - Heshun 1776-1854

Weight

5.3 g

Diameter

31 mm

Thickness

1.6 mm

Material

Tin (Lead, Tin, Pewter)

Shape

Round with a square hole

Edge Type

Plain

Technique

NA

Front design

Four Chinese ideograms read top to bottom, right to left.

Back design

Corrupted Manchu script similar to contemporary Qing dynasty coins, Two Manchu words (read vertically) separated by the hole. Possibly modeled on Boo-Gui

Year of Minting

1776-1854

Ruler

NA

Mint location

NA

Mint mark

NA

Orientation

Medal alignment ↑↑

Inscriptions

Obverse: 和 司 公 順 Reverse: ᠪᠣᠣ ᡤᡠᡳ

Context

The Chinese characters on the coins display a considerable degree of variation and many subtypes exist. The Catalogue of Coins in the Ethnographical Museum lists 33 gongsi coins, and other varieties continue to turn up. The Fosjoen (Heshun) Federation was formed in 1776 when fourteen smaller gongsis from around Monterado in southwestern Borneo united into a single federation. The federation's leading members were the Samtiaokioe Gongsi, which controlled mining sites to the north of Monterado, and the Thaikong Gongsi, which controlled sites to the west and southwest of Monterado. The absence of any other inscriptions might indicate that these coins were issued before the confederation was dominated by the Dagang Gongsi in 1837. The Heshun Gongsi Federation ended with the surrender of the Da Gang Gongsi to the Dutch in July, 1854. After the surrender the majority of the gongsi cash were melted down. A paper which covers the Gongsi of southwestern Borneo has been published in the Numismatic Chronicle, London 1993, pp.171-196, and a hitherto unknown piece has been described in the Newsletter no. 143, p. 15-16, 1995 of the Oriental Numismatic Society by Dr.T.D.Yih. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kongsi_republic

Rarity

Ultra rare

Coin type

Standard circulation

In circulation

No

Demonetized

Yes

Marketplace listings

0