Tin ingots () were a trading currency unique to

Malacca Malacca ( ms, Melaka) is a state in Malaysia located in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula, next to the Strait of Malacca. Its capital is Malacca City, dubbed the Historic City, which has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site s ...

. Cast in the shape of a peck, or ''dou'' in Chinese, each

ingot An ingot is a piece of relatively pure material, usually metal, that is cast into a shape suitable for further processing. In steelmaking, it is the first step among semi-finished casting products. Ingots usually require a second procedure of s ...

weighs just over . Ten blocks made up one unit called a ''small bundle'', and 40 blocks made up one ''large bundle''. Details of tin production in early Malacca were recorded in the 1436 book '' Description of the Starry Raft'' by

Fei Xin Fei Xin (; - after 1436) was a member of the military personnel of the fleet of the Ming dynasty admiral Zheng He, known as the author of a book about the countries visited by Chinese ships. Biography Little is known about Fei Xin's life. His ...

, a translator of Admiral

Zheng He Zheng He (; 1371–1433 or 1435) was a Chinese mariner, explorer, diplomat, fleet admiral, and court eunuch during China's early Ming dynasty. He was originally born as Ma He in a Muslim family and later adopted the surname Zheng conferre ...

References

Description of the Starry Raft (1436) ''Xin Cha Shen Lan'' 星槎勝覽
History of Malacca Obsolete currencies in Malaysian history {{Money-unit-stub

See also

References