With Just a Hoe, a Primary School Teacher Unearths a Billion-Rupiah Treasure in the Schoolyard

A hoe changed the life of a primary school teacher in Madura. While digging in the schoolyard, he accidentally uncovered a clay pot containing ancient coins from the VOC era, which were later declared a historical treasure worth billions of rupiah. The treasure was found by Nuryasin, a teacher and headmaster of SDN Pejagan IV, Madura. At the time, he only intended to improve the condition of the schoolyard, which had become muddy after rain. ‘I was digging up soil in the yard to fill in other parts that were waterlogged after the rain,’ Nuryasin said. The digging went smoothly, and he managed to cover one by one the spots that caused the field to flood. Only a few points remained unfinished. When he was about to dig deeper into the dry soil, around 25 to 30 centimetres down, Nuryasin was suddenly startled to see an ancient clay pot in the hole. The pot was then removed and unexpectedly contained an unforeseen treasure: ancient coins from the VOC period. ‘The money found was inscribed with VOC and the emblem of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, with usage years between 1746 and 1760, and a diameter of 2.1 cm. Then, a second type with a diameter of 2.9 cm had the inscription Indiae Batav 1819 to 1828 on its surface,’ wrote a Suara Karya reporter on 1 February 1991. News of Nuryasin’s treasure find immediately caused a sensation across Indonesia. The relevant authorities quickly arrived. In short, Nuryasin’s find was confirmed as a historical relic in the form of silver coins from the VOC and Dutch colonial periods. The entire hoard weighed about 13 kilogrammes, with an estimated value reaching billions of rupiah. After the discovery, many people assumed Nuryasin would become a billionaire, as he had found a historical treasure of immense economic value. However, Nuryasin refused to turn the archaeological find into a source of wealth, even though many suggested he sell all the coins rather than hand them over to the government. ‘But that is impossible for me to do. We will hand this money over to the museum, based on instructions from the Ministry of Education and Culture,’ Nuryasin said. In the end, Nuryasin did not become a billionaire. However, his name is recorded in history as the discoverer of one of Indonesia’s historical treasures. The find in the schoolyard also opened a new chapter in historical research, particularly regarding the transaction systems of society during the VOC era hundreds of years ago. Since the Hindu-Buddhist kingdoms, the people of the Nusantara archipelago have been familiar with transaction systems using currency, not just barter. Erwin Kusuma, in the book Uang Indonesia: Sejarah dan Perkembangannya (2021), notes that ancient Javanese society used gold coins for large-value trade transactions, such as buying and selling land, while daily transactions still used smaller-value exchange tools. When the VOC arrived in the Nusantara, the currency system was standardised. The trade conglomerate sought to replace the various foreign currencies circulating in the archipelago with its own issued money to support trade activities. Some of the coin types used included the rijksdaalder, dukat, stuiver, gulden, and doit. These coins were made from gold, silver, copper, and nickel. Of all these currency types, the doit became one of the most enduring. The coin’s name gradually evolved into the term ‘duit’, which is still commonly used by Indonesian society today. The use of coins became more widespread after the VOC began producing them in the Nusantara. The currency was then used by the public in various trade activities until the VOC was dissolved in 1799. After the VOC collapsed, the Dutch East Indies government introduced new currency. Meanwhile, coins from the VOC era slowly disappeared from circulation and became part of history. Some remained buried in the ground for hundreds of years and were only recently rediscovered as historical treasures, like the one Nuryasin accidentally found in his schoolyard.