Indonesian numismatic charm

[3] After Sir Stamford Raffles ended his term as the Governor of the Dutch East Indies he authored the book The History of Java (1817) where he was noted to be the person who first wrote about the Gobog Wayang.

[4] Because of this high level of fragmentation in the literature Dr. T. D. Yih from the Netherlands believes that Cribb's Magic coins of Java, Bali, and the Malay Peninsula is a modern milestone and would be sure this book would revive the study of Indonesian numismatic charms which he termed to be "long neglected items".

[3] Dr. Yih claimed that Cribb's Magic coins of Java, Bali, and the Malay Peninsula will most certainly remain the standard catalogue for Indonesian numismatic charms for long time.

The book contains a wealth of documentation not only of the numismatic charms themselves and how they came about, but also of their non-currency purposes and the background of the ceremonies conducted with them, what their symbolism represents, and mythological figures shown on them.

[4] According to Panji, a numismatic from Yogyakarta, the function of Gobog amulets is as a complement to the requirements or ritual offerings in Java and the images on them depict the culture and religion of the Javanese community at that time.

Even though Gobog amulets symbolise money and are based on Chinese cash coins they don't have a nominal value and only feature religious symbols and Wayang stories on them.

Dutch numismatists Netscher and van der Chijs said that the Gobog Wayang coins were made in accordance to the pre-Islamic Hindu-Buddhist tradition in Java.

According to local superstitions which are believed by some cash coins can be used to perform magic and witchcraft which adherents of Hinduism are human ways to influence nature in an effort to achieve their goals.

Commonly found Hindu deities, Pandavas, and Balinese mythological figures on these special amulet Pis Bolong coins are Arjuna, Bhima, Hanuman, Krishna, Sangut, and Twalen.

As well as the fact that Magic coins of Java, Bali, and the Malay Peninsula ignores the Gobog-finds referred to in an article written about them by Robert Wicks published in 1986.

Colonial Dutch numismatist Jacobus Anne van der Chys suspected that there was a fabrication unit in East Java in the year 1903, as he noted the frequent offers of brand-new Gobog charms from this region during this era.