Rare type with uncurled loops - large tin "canoe money" or "boat money", Sumatra, Indonesia, ca.800-1200 AD

Tin "canoe money" or "boat money" from Sumatra, Indonesia. Cast tin coin, made in a shape of a canoe or a boat, without decorations but of a rare type - the loops on this piece were never curled and remain open - the only such piece I've ever seen. A large piece, 53mm long and 13.08 grams.

This piece has three intact loops and would make excellent and unusual pendants. Rare piece, not often seen. For centuries, the tin mines in Malaysia and Indonesia produced large amounts of tin. This tin was made into religious sculptures that were exported as far as India, into imitations of Chinese cash coins and into these curious "canoe-money" or "boat-money" that widely circulate as money in Indonesia and Malaysia. This type was manufactured in Sumatra.