Wednesday January 13, 2010 Ancient coins and artefacts found in Terengganu’s Chinatown worksite By R.S.N. MURALI KUALA TERENGGANU: Earth-works for the new ring road and sewage system in Chinatown here have uncovered hundreds of ancient coins and other artefacts. And there is concern that workers at the site and the public may have been quietly digging up these items to sell. Site manager Omar Mahmod said many items might have been sold before he realised that his worksite contained buried treasures when he uncovered a porcelain vase that he believed was from ancient China. He questioned his workers and discovered that many items had been found at the site. Priceless relics: A foreign worker showing the coins that he extracted from the constuction site at the back of the Kuala Terengganu Chinatown. “Many of these artefacts were found when we started earth excavation in February last year, but the workers concealed their find from us at first,” he said yesterday. Realising that the items were being sold off on the quiet, he directed the workers to declare any artefacts found from the site. He also directed his colleagues to comb the area to search and hand over the relics to museum authorities. “Those who comb the area after a heavy downpour can be sure of finding such artefacts,” he said. Since discovering the porcelain vase, Omar has dug out coins with early Jawi writing, Arabic script and ancient Chinese emblems, ancient Indian ornaments and Chinese jars, plates and vases. An Indonesian worker from the site who requested anonymity said he surrendered most of the artefacts to his superior but admitted he had sold some to collectors. “Such coins are collectors’ items some of which I will take back to Surabaya,” he said. State MCA chief Toh Chin Yaw said the items were priceless and part of the state’s history. He said the contractor had been asked to declare any future discovery of artefacts. “We want to preserve valuable items extracted at the site for our future generations,” he said. Toh said he had informed the relevant authorities to visit the site and claim any artefacts found. ================================================= 19th CENTURY TRENGGANU TIN PITIS Trengganu, now part of Malaysia, was once an independent sultanate. They issued this 1 Pitis, or Keping coin during the 19th century. The crude, uniface coins is undated. Because the coin is made out of tin, a soft medal that corrodes easily, few coins have survived. THIS IS THE UNIT I HAVE WITH ME.... RARE COIN FROM THE SULTANATE OF MALACCA Malacca is located on the West Coast of Malaysia. During the 15th Century it was the preeminent commercial center in Southeast Asia. Its fine harbor helped make it the wealthiest and most powerful nation in the region, with traders coming from India, Persia, Arabia and China. Almost all of the coins of the Sultanate were struck in Tin. This undated 15th century tin Pitis is struck in the same in the name of Al Sultan Al Adil, which translates as "The Just Sultan" The coins tend to be crude. Most were either melted or deteriorated in the tropical climate making them very difficult for collectors to locate today.