A single Chinese character "li" (礼) on the right / Blank. 18mm, 0.49 grams. Krause -; Millies -; Robinson #-; cf. Zeno 198464.

The rare tin pitis with a single Chinese character known from a few specimens on Zeno are among the least understood coins attributed to the Palembang–Bangka region. Their cast tin fabric and Chinese-style cash design link them to the widespread pitis currency system used in southern Sumatra during the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, but they differ markedly from the standard published Palembang issues. Because official Chinese-style coins normally bear multiple characters, these unusual one-character pieces are often thought to be local merchant, mining-community (kongsi), or workshop issues rather than official sultanic coinage. With no formal study yet published and only a handful of known examples, their attribution and purpose remain uncertain.

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.