20 Sen

[gpimper]

Can anybody tell me what that is? Great coin but I'm at a loss.  I've about five more that I don't know :-)  Malaysia came up with some interesting coin designs!

[CannedMeat]

It's a 20 Sen coin from Malaysia.

The description of the obverse is:

A Tepak Sirih & Kapur Metal Container (with 6 compartments, known as Cembul and a slot for Kacip or nutcracker) to store Betel leaves & Nuts and Lime.
A Kacip is kept by the side of the container.

But that description requires several trips to a dictionary to comprehend.

20 Sen - Agong - Malaysia ? Numista

[gpimper]

I did not know that was obverse.  Learn something new everyday :-)  Here is one of my 10 Sen.  Again, I have no idea what (I now know) the obverse depicts.  It's like a whack-a-mole game on a magic carpet ;-)

[Pabitra]

10 sen   Congkak (a traditional game)


Congkak (pronounced CHONG-kak) is a game played on a wooden boat-shaped block with two rows of seven circular holes and two large holes at both ends called "home". The game begins with seven game pieces (shells, marbles, pebbles or seeds) in each hole except "homes" which remain empty. Congkak requires two players.




20 sen   Tepak Sireh (betel leaf box)

Betel leaf with nut, lime and other sweeteners is a popular mouth freshener in South east Asia.

[<k>]

See my most beauteous topic: Coinage of Malaysia.

[gpimper]

<K>, that is a great link, thank you!  And all of the other information from everybody else!  Back in the early 1990s we would fly missions out of Okinawa through the Spratly Islands (most aren't real islands but for low tide) and lay over either in Malaysia or Thailand for a day or three.  Most of my time off I spent playing dice or Connect-four and getting swindled ;-)  Great times!  betel leaf box...I didn't even know that was a thing!  I did enjoy the market in Kuala Lumpur, though.  And Thailand...well its Thailand :-)

[Figleaf]

The betel nut is actually a major health problem in Asia, especially among the poor. It is chewed like tobacco and has similar effects, including addiction and cancer. Users can be recognised easily by their red gums. While these coins are not the only ones referring to addictive drugs (some older Indian coins can be found with drug-related plants), there are few coins that will do so.

Peter

[gpimper]

I did not know.  I do recall some Afghan coins sporting the Poppy, though.