The Royal Animal Shaped Weights of the Burmese Empires are one of the most interesting and unusual numismatic collectables.

I purchased the Beast Weight pictured in this journal entry from a local coin dealer in the early 1960's. At the time I was told that it was "Burmese Lion Money". Since that time I have learned that my so called "Lion Money" was in reality a "Royal Burmese Beast Weight".

During the eleventh through eighteenth centuries the Burmese Empire was one of the superpowers of Southeast Asia. Although the size of the empire varied over the centuries at various times Burma controlled Arakan, Toungoo, Northern Siam, Laos and Yunnan.

"When establishing their rule over conquered peoples, the Burmese did so over regions noted for the diversity of their languages. There were also diversities of currencies and perhaps to a lesser extent, of weight systems. Colonial rule had to be paid for by revenues in kind obtained from the conquered peoples. To the Burmese in particular it was obviously simpler to use their own weight system in order to measure the revenues, so avoiding difficulties caused by the difference in language and weight systems." (Gear, 1992, p. 180)

In order to establish a standardized weight system for their diverse empire very Burmese King or Queen selected an individualized highly symbolic animal shape to represent their monarchy. A perfect set of master weights cast in the form of the Bird or Beast of the monarchs choosing was kept in the Hlut-taw or Supreme Council of State. The weights used in daily commerce throughout the empire had to be certified by the government as conforming to these master weights.

The Burmese unit of weight was the Tical or Kyat which was equal to @ 16 grams. A typical set of weights would include 1/8, 1/4, 1/2, 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, and 50, Tical weights.

Weights were cast in Bronze using the lost wax method. These bronze zoomorphic weights were used to weigh a variety of valuable materials including silver and gold ingots, pearls, rubies, coral, personal ornaments, spices, musk, and costly medicines.

When the British took over Burma in 1885 they began to refer to the Royal Animal-Shaped Weights as "Opium Weights". Although these weights were no doubt also used to weigh opium the term Opium Weight really does an injustice to these beautiful pieces and fails to recognize their true role in the Burmese economic system.

Burmese Animal Shaped weights fall into two representations -- the Bird and the Beast. There is deeply symbolic meaning behind these two forms. To the Buddhist the shapes conveyed the message of a powerful monarch legitimately ruling over his extensive domains. To animists the shapes conveyed the message that the monarch was the god-protector of soils and crops.

The bird was associated with Buddhism and spiritual purity and provided a link between heaven and earth and therefore was thought to accurately reflect mass and distinguish between pure and impure metals.

The beast is thought to represent the Bodhisattva - one who seeks enlightenment out of compassion to release others from suffering, and a Chakravartin or divine universal monarch. The Burmese believed the beast weight to have magical powers.

The Beast shaped weight is commonly referred to as a Lion, Chinte', Ch'i-lin, To-naya, To-aung, or Toe. This mythical creature was supposed to inhabit the Himalayan forest. It was said to have the face and mane of a lion, the horns of a deer, the feet of an elephant, and the tail of a horse.

The symbolism of the Beast Weights is discussed in detail in "Earth to Heaven: The Royal Animal-Shaped Weights of Burma" by Donald and Joan Grear (1992) which is the defining work on this subject.

Since the features of the Beast shape and the shape of the base varied with each monarch an expert can determine the dynasty and king or queen associated with a particular weight. Since I am far from an expert on this subject all I can say with any certainly is that my specimen is a two Tical Beast Weight.

Based upon my research my best guess is that my specimen is a group 2® weight which dates to the Konbaung dynasty (1752 -- 1885) and King Bodawpaya (1782 -- 1819). http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/70932/Bodawpaya

The Burmese believed that the King Bodawpaya Beast Weight had the power of healing.

My specimen is made of Bronze and has a weight of 32 grams. It is 1.5 inches in height and has a 7/8 inch diameter octagon base.

If you are interested in reading more about the early coinage of South East Asia see my earlier Collectors Journal entries listed below:

Egg Yolk and Chicken Blood: The Domed "Ngon Hoi" of the Kingdom of Lannatai (thirteenth - sixteenth centuries) http://coins.www.collectors-society.com/JournalDetail.aspx?JournalEntryID=11121

Canoe/Boat Money or Lats of the Kingdom of Lanchang (thirteenth - sixteenth centuries) http://coins.www.collectors-society.com/JournalDetail.aspx?JournalEntryID=11100

Siamese Bullet Money (1237- 1886)

http://coins.www.collectors-society.com/JournalDetail.aspx?JournalEntryID=11105

http://coins.www.collectors-society.com/JournalDetail.aspx?JournalEntryID=11106

Siamese Porcelain Money (1760 -- 1885) http://coins.www.collectors-society.com/JournalDetail.aspx?JournalEntryID=11112

REFERENCE

"Earth to Heaven: The Royal Animal-Shaped Weights of Burma" by Donald and Joan Grear, 1992.

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