Coin nicknames

[Globetrotter]

.... and I wonder what Ms. Moneypenny used as small change ....

Ole

[constanius]

Canadian 1 dollar coin is commonly called a looney, after the loon(a bird) on it.  The tooney is the $2 coin.

Pat

[Gusev]

In Ukraine is also very interesting system of nick names.

........For the dollars it can be used word Zelen' which mean green or Bucks...........

There is one more interesting name of the dollar - "kapusta" (cabbage).
Sometimes the officials for his work taking bribes. This is called a "cutting kapusta".

More than 150 years of any paper money are called "babki" (grandmother).
This is a very old story. In 1866 was released 100 rubley banknote.
On the banknote was depicted of Ekaterina II. This banknote called "tsarskaya babka" (the royal grandmother). Then began to called all the banknotes "babki" (grandmother).

[Gagarin_Andrey]

Yeah, that's what I have forgotten ))

All it seems to be born in the crime speach, but commonly is being used among people and on TV.

''Lave'' (the accent on the last 'e') also can mean "money" because of english world "love" reffering on the love for sale and money

[Figleaf]

.... and I wonder what Ms. Moneypenny used as small change ....

She invested in Government Bonds.

Peter

[Globetrotter]

and I only thought there was one bond, the one and only.....

Ole

[gerard974]

hello
on my island the old persons call the 5 franc coin (1948/1974) gros jack but nobody know why ?
best regards  Gerard

[Figleaf]

Gros Jack/Big Jack just means "THE big coin". The large silver 5 francs was a standard coin in territories from French Indo China to Gabon. The British had to cope with this in occupied French colonies, especially during the Napoleonic wars. Islands like Madagascar were threatening the sea lanes between Britain and India, so, one by one, they were secured. Those 5 franc pieces were valued at 4 shillings and often the largest coins in circulation. In English, Jack can mean nothing in particular, similar to machin-truc-chose in French, as in "you don't know Jack" or "Jack of all trades".

Peter

[nembiak]

The Dutch have certainly left a mark in my part of the world. We still refer to "money" as "duit" in Malay.
The Northern Malay states, which have their own unique Malay dialects, have various names for different denominations that I have difficulty understanding myself.

In terms of nicknames, the older Malay speaking collectors still refer to various silver dollars by rather odd names:

Netherlands 2 1/2 Guldens
King William I - Ringgit Kepala (literally "Head" money)
King William II - Ringgit Tengkorak ("skull" money)

Spanish Pillar Dollars - Ringgit Meriam ("cannon" money due to the shape of the pillars)
Mexican Peso - Ringgit Garuda/Burung ("Garuda/bird" money)

[Figleaf]

Some amazing information nembiak...

Ringgit Kepala - the KWI rijksdaalders did not circulate much. Are you sure the name wasn't intended for KWIII? He has a full beard that would be unusual enough in South-East Asia. Yet, many big silver coins would have a portrait: Straits dollars, HK dollar, Spanish pesos, US trade dollar. Only the British trade dollar is portrait-less

Ringgit Tengkorak - this one is easy. Even when only slightly worn, the king looks bald, like a skull.

Ringgit Meriam - neat parallel to the Arabic nickname for this coin: abu midfa (father of the cannon). I could even imagine that the nickname travelled with Persian merchants, sailors and the spreaders of islam.

Ringgit Garuda - probably the pesos of independent Mexico, with an eagle on the reverse. Also evidence that the US trade dollar, which also had an eagle on the reverse, did not take hold in circulation.

Peter

[nembiak]

Hi Peter,

You might be correct about the term "Ringgit Kepala" being used for KWIII instead of KWI - it could very well be a relatively modern term used by collectors and not during the actual time period. I don't have Singh's book on hand right now but if I remember correctly, there's a section towards the end of the book about foreign coins that circulated within the peninsular and the local names given to them. You are also correct about Ringgit Garuda being used to refer to the cap and rays peso.

Thanks for the information about the Arabic nickname of the pillar dollars - the history of the "dollar" certainly is something that I'd like to look into. This brings me to another point that has been bugging me for some time, I was wondering if you know anything regarding the origins of the kijang (mousedeer) kupangs of Kelantan? The story goes that an Arab trader gifted Siti Wan Kembang, a Kelantanese princess, with a mouse deer that she took a deep liking to and ordered that her coins depict it.

As most oral traditions should be taken with a pinch of salt, I've tended to lean towards the theory that they are actually a localised depiction of Nandi. Once I'm able to free up some time after my exams, I think it would be quite interesting to work backwards and trace the history of coins depicting Nandi beginning with the Cholas. I've not seen any Chola coins but Rajendra Chola I did invade the northern part of the peninsular and if I remember correctly, they were largely a Saivite dynasty.

Jerry

[Figleaf]

You are quite right about Saran Singh. I enjoyed the nicknames he gives (ringgit nyonya* for a Victorian HK dollar made me smile, as a fan of nyonya cuisine but Victoria would not have been amused.) SS applies ringgit kepala to both KWI and KWIII coins. However, he is frankly a bit weak on Dutch coins. The 1840 rijksdaalder he shows was struck at a time when the decimal system had not been effectively introduced in the Netherlands East Indies. Today, it is quite an expensive coin (count with €500-1000 for VF). It is not impossible that some ended up in South East Asia, but highly unlikely that there were enough to merit a nickname. A similar thing goes for his picture of an 1898 rijksdaalder: a scarce coin that is quite unlikely to have circulated in East Asia in sufficient quantities to merit its obvious nickname ringgit nona§.

Singh says you are right about the Klantan deer actually being Nandi.

Peter

* mistress
§ miss

[nembiak]

That must be one special coin! Just out of curiosity, did the Dutch circulate their own equivalent of the British Trade Dollar/Straits Dollar in their south East Asian colonies?

[Figleaf]

The official competition for the Spanish peso was the leeuwendaalder (lion dollar, 1575-1713). That's largely before the British and US trade dollars. SS does not include the coin in his list of foreign coins circulating in what is now Malaysia. After the Napoleonic wars, the Dutch economy, based on free trade, was largely destroyed, so there was neither the strength nor the will to compete with the British and Americans.

However, you will find that a number of Netherlands East Indies plantation tokens are denominated in Straits dollars. That's explained here.

Peter