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Perak Tin Animal Money, The Starfish And Mould
The picture shows a tin ingot in the shape of a Starfish, together with a simple clay mould used to manufacture similar items. The starfish is only 22mm across while the mould is around 60mm from top to bottom. The starfish is typical of those from Perak and recognised universally as representing Perak Animal Money. The value of the starfish would have been a tiny fraction of one tin cent as all values were based on the amount of tin by weight which could be exchanged for one Spanish Silver dollar.
Referring to the above picture, no real reason has been found for the selection of a starfish as a tin ingot. There were however other animal shapes in Perak (and to a limited extent in Selangor), the most popular being the bird, clam, crocodile, elephant (an early Hindu influence?), fish, goat, rooster and tortoise.
To read about the history of Perak Tin Animal Money, click here.