My brother, a coin collector for years, identified this as a
coin made by the British East India Company for the Island of
Samatra in 1788 and 1804. The one described is probably 1788.
They're very thin brass. On one side is Arabic type lettering, a
numeral "1" and something under it. On the other side is the
British East India Company Coat of Arms, two lions, each holding
small flags and supporting a shield with a cross on it and it
says, "British East India Company" at the top. They are in 1, 2,
and 4 keping denominations.
Marge Green
basedowm wrote:
>
> To identify: a very worn thin bronze disk - too thin, I think to be a coin (?)
> but both sides with rilled border.  Condition is poor - apologies for the
> vagueness of the descriptions.
>
> size 21mm
> weight about 1/4 oz.
>
> Obverse. British royal arms, early (?) version. text around edge, inside
> rilling: "Island of S(?)um (?)      "
>
> Reverse. Three arabic or hindi letters. First one unreadable. Second one
> arabic Th!aa or Taa'. Third one --- looks like an English 'L' with squiggly
> horizontal bar (in other words, can't find this letter in my arabic
> dictionary). Center base near edge inside rilling, the numbers 7 (?) and 9,
> looking very arabic (or hindi).
>
> The disk comes from the yard midden of a southeastern North Carolina
> plantation house. Earliest building on the site may date to mid- to late 18th
> century.
>
> Thanks for any help!
>
> Maureen Basedow
> Visiting Asst. Professor of Archaeology
> Anthropology Program
> University of North Carolina, Wilmington