
Rare octagonal tin pitis dated 1619 AH (date retrograde), S.Mahmud Badar-ud-Din II (1803-1814, 1818-1821, 1825), Palembang mint, Palembang Sultanate
Arabic inscriptions "Masruf fi bilad Palembang 1619" (date 1619 AH = (error for 1219) 1804 AD) / Blank. 17mm, 0.55 grams. Robinson #10.34 (R8); Krause 123; Millies #195-197.
The Palembang Sultanate, founded in 1659 in southern Sumatra, controlled trade along the Musi River and became a key center for pepper and tin commerce with Chinese, Arab, and European merchants. Its rulers balanced local authority with Dutch pressure, but after conflict with the VOC, the Dutch abolished the sultanate in 1823. Though short-lived, it preserved Malay-Islamic court culture and linked Sumatra’s maritime past with the colonial era.