Cash coins in Indonesia

[3] The ceremonial usage of cash coins is most prevalent on the island of Bali where they can often be found sewn onto clothing as well as made into forms of jewelry and statuary objects.

While the Chinese picis money has a hole in the middle so they could be strung together with rope with 200 pieces per string and be practically carried around everywhere with ease making them harder to lose.

[2] During the colonial period the Chinese population were important for the local economy and used picis for their daily transactions in the smaller villages of the countryside which were both imported from China and locally produced, during the period of VOC rule these copper, tin, and lead picis circulated in small villages in lieu of the copper VOC duit pieces.

[10] In Bali it is believed that dolls made from cash coins (or Pis Bolong in Balinese) strung together by cotton threads would guarantee that all the organs and body parts of the deceased will be in the right place during their reincarnation.

[9] Cash coins were used by the Balinese people in their day-to-day lives up until the year 1970, where they were used to buy things like household essentials at marketplaces as well food at schools for children.

According to Sukma Swacita (the manager of UD Kamasan Bali in 2008) these cash coins are additionally made from recycled household materials such as broken water taps, second-hand irons.

Another feature which sets these cash coins apart from the originals is the fact that instead of having Traditional Chinese characters around the square centre hole these cash coins feature the Balinese characters representing the strength in the four corner points of the compass ("Sa", "Ba", "Ta", and "A"), over these a Hindu lotus symbol is shown.

Some people believe that cash coins Rejuna (the local name for Arjuna) symbolic markings will supposedly bestow its carrier with the charm and agility of this legendary figure.