Page:Journal of the Straits Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society (IA journalofstrait391903roya).pdf/203

 On a Collection of Coins from Malacca.

About three years ago, during some excavations near the mouth of the Malacca river, a considerable number of coins. was found scattered in the mud. These were collected together and handed over to the Hon'ble W. Egerton, Resident-Councillor of Malacca at the time, and presented by him to the Raffles Museum. The collection has proved to be of the greatest in- terest. It contains coins of both Asiatic and European origin, the European coins, Portuguese, Dutch and English, embracing practically the whole history of the various European occupa- tions of Malacca, covering thus a period of about four hundred years. The most interesting of the coins are those of Portu- guese origin, all of tin. They are probably quite unique: the British Museum does not possess any, and numerous enquiries I have made about them in various places, including Lisbon, have remained without result. With regard to their discovery Mr. Egerton writes:—

"The Malacca Coins were found in digging a channel from the mouth of the river seawards. Outside the mouth there is a deep pool, and beyond that a bank submerged at high water, extending some half mile or more seawards. It was in this bank the coins were found scattered here and there, not in large pockets. The bank contained quantities of household detritus, broken crockery and old ironware, bricks, earthenware, etc. I think it is quite possible buildings on piles, like those now seen on the foreshore, may have been built on this bank, or possibly all this rubbish was thrown out of ships at anchor, or washed down out of the river. Most of the coins were found in the first hundred yards outside the big pool referred to above. There must be many still there."

That tin coins, struck by the inhabitants of the place, ex- isted in Malacca before the arrival there of the Portuguese is