The dollar was the currency of Penang between 1786 and 1826. It was subdivided into 100 '' cents'', also called ''pice'', and was equal to the

Spanish dollar The Spanish dollar, also known as the piece of eight ( es, Real de a ocho, , , or ), is a silver coin of approximately diameter worth eight Spanish reales. It was minted in the Spanish Empire following a monetary reform in 1497 with content ...

. The dollar was introduced after the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and South ...

acquired the island in 1786. In 1826, the

Indian rupee The Indian rupee ( symbol: ₹; code: INR) is the official currency in the republic of India. The rupee is subdivided into 100 ''paise'' (singular: ''paisa''), though as of 2022, coins of denomination of 1 rupee are the lowest value in use w ...

was declared legal tender in Penang at a value of 48 pice. The dollar again became the currency of Penang with the introduction of the Straits dollar. Between 1786 and 1788, coins were issued in denominations of , and 1 cent (copper), , and dollar (silver). Large, tin 1 cent coins were issued between 1800 and 1809, followed by copper and 1 cent in 1810. In 1826, copper , 1 and 2 cents coins were issued which were also minted in 1828, after the dollar had been replaced by the rupee.

References

* History of Penang Modern obsolete currencies Obsolete currencies in Malaysian history British Malaya 1786 establishments in Asia 1826 disestablishments in Asia British East India Company {{money-unit-stub