Indonesian numismatic charm
Indonesian cash coin-like exonumia
Indonesian numismatic charms (Indonesian: Uang Gobog, Uang Gobog Wayang, Koin Gobog, Gobog Wayang, or simply Gobog; Dutch: Indonesische tempelmunten), also known as Indonesian magic coins, are a family of coin-like objects based on a similar Chinese family of coin charms, amulets, and talismans but evolved independently from them. Indonesian numismatic charms tend to have been influenced a lot by Hinduism, Islam, and the native culture and often depict religious imagery from Hinduism for this reason. The "magic coins" and temple coins from Indonesia are largely based on the Chinese cash coins introduced to the region during the Tang dynasty era in China, and during the local Majapahit era they began circulating in the region. Unlike with Chinese numismatic charms, the coin charms of Indonesia have not been as well documented both historically and in the modern era. A major modern day work about Indonesian numismatic charms in English is Joe Cribb's Magic coins of Java, Bali, and the Malay Peninsula which is a catalogue based on the collection of coin-shaped charms from the island Java acquired by Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles during his lifetime held in the British Museum, the book is further supplemented with data and information available from various other sources.
These amulets are most commonly found in the islands of Java and Bali, on the latter they are still commonly used today in both Hindu rituals, as tokens of faith, and supposed bringers of good fortune.
Study of Indonesian numismatic charms
Under the rule of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) there was a lack of interest of the Dutch for both Javanese history and culture during this era as the activity of the company was solely devoted to the pursuits of profits and commercial interests. The first recorded Dutch publication mentioning Javanese temple coins (or gobogs) was in the year 1847.
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. Later brought 106 Gobog Wayang cash coins with him from Java to Great Britain.
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This entry incorporates text from “Indonesian numismatic charm” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.