Cash is simultaneously a word meaning money and a specific type of coin from China.

A “wedding doll” from Indonesia, a highlight of Stephen Album Rare Coins’ Auction No. 47, offered Sept. 16, challenges the concept of what cash, or money, actually is.

The doll has an estimate of $300 to $400. The firm classifies the vintage coin doll from Bali as Extremely Fine.

This piece presents a standing figure composed of Chinese cash coins of the Qing dynasty tied together with string; the figure has a stylized hand-carved face, hands and feet. It is “a wonderful intact example,”
the firm reports.

The Indonesian creation is termed a “prosperity doll” or sometimes a “wedding doll,” as it was a custom to give the doll as a marriage gift or more generally to wish prosperity upon the recipient.

Chinese cash coins continued to circulate in the Dutch East Indies after they were demonetized in China, and they were later used in Bali until 1970, according to the auction firm. They are still used for most Hindu rituals today.

The example in this auction measures about 12.5 inches tall and 4.25 inches wide at its widest point.

To learn more about the auction, visit the firm’s website, www.stevealbum.com.

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