Before the introduction of coins to Brunei, Cowrie shells were used as bartering currency in purchasing small items.
[4] Brunei is also famous for its bronze teapots, which were used as currency in barter trade along the coast of North Borneo.
[1] When Antonio Pigafetta who was Ferdinand Magellan's chronicler visited Brunei in 1521, he wrote "The money is made out of bronze pierced in the middle in order that it may be strung.
[2] Iron ingots were also used as money, with 100 flat, inch square pieces worth 1 dollar.
[6] Despite the introduction of the Straits dollar, the previous local monies were still used with peculiar exchange rates in the earlier days.
The title is generic though it has been speculated that the coins belonged to that of Sultan Muhammad Hasan who ruled between 1605 and 1620.
The coin also has an inscription translated as "By order of the State Financial Administration of Brunei, in the year of the Prophet 1285".
[1] The year of the Prophet 1285, or 1285 Hijrah (AH 1285), is the date according to the Islamic calendar and it corresponds to AD 1868.