Piloncitos

These are pieces that formed part of various degrees of Southeast Asian gold weight such as amás (emas in Malay) or táhil.

Such monetary gold pieces have been found throughout the Philippines, from places such as: Mandaluyong, Bataan, the banks of the Pasig River, Batangas, and Marinduque in Luzon; Samar and Leyte in the Visayas; and in some areas in Mindanao.

[3] The term "piloncitos" is commonly used by antique collectors[1] who thought that the cone-shaped pieces looked like sugarloaves (pilón in Castilian).

[2] Piloncitos are the earliest form of precious metal based currency of Tondo, Namayan and Rajahnate of Butuan in present-day Philippines.

The first thing they teach their children is the knowledge of gold and the weights with which they weigh it, for there is no other money among them.”[1]Piloncitos are not exclusively found in the Philippines as most collectors and local historians state.

[3] In an era before coined money was widely used, Indo-Pacific beads were made first at a site called Arikamedu in South India ca.

These roughly dome-shaped silver of irregular weight bore stamps of a flowing vase, and the sandalwood flower (quatefoil).