Coins from Java in London's mud

Coins from Java in London's mud

LONDON: A bundle of 17th century coins from Java, Indonesia, has
been found buried in mud on the banks of London's River Thames.

The 90 copper alloy coins are pierced with hexagonal holes and
inscribed in Arabic with the words Pangeran Ratou ing Bantan
(Lord King at Bantam)," according to experts at the London museum
where they will be displayed.

Bantam, also spelled Bantan, was an important trading post in
the East Indies in an age when the British and Dutch were
competing for a monopoly of the valuable spice trade.

These are the first Javanese coins ever found in Britain, the
museum said in a statement.

"How they got to London remains a mystery," it added. "Even in
the 17th century they would have had no value in London.

"One possibility is that a merchant dropped them overboard
from an East Indiaman (ship) moored in the Thames when he found
they were worthless.

"Another is that they were being imported as curios for one of
the many collectors keen to acquire interesting objects from the
farthest corners of the earth." -- Reuters