[1639.—"It (caxa, cash) hath a four-square hole through it, at which they string them on a Straw; a String of two hundred Caxaes, called Sata, is worth about three farthings sterling, and five Satas tyed together make a Sapocon. The Javians, when this money first came amongst them, were so cheated with the Novelty, that they would give six bags of Pepper for ten Sapocons, thirteen whereof amount to but a Crown."--Mandelslo, Voyages, E.T. p. 117.
[1703.—"This is the reason why the Caxas are valued so little: they are punched in the middle, and string'd with little twists of Straw, two hundred in one Twist, which is called Santa, and is worth nine Deniers. Five Santas tied together make a thousand Caxas, or a Sapoon (? Sapocon)."—Collection of Dutch Voyages, 199.
[1830.—"The money current in Bali consists solely of Chinese pice with a hole in the centre.... They however put them up in hundreds and thousands; two hundred are called satah, and are equal to one rupee copper, and a thousand called Sapaku, are valued at five rupees."—Singapore Chronicle, June 1830, in Moor, Indian Archip. p. 94.
[1892.—"This is a brief history of the Sapec (more commonly known to us as the [cash]), the only native coin of China, and which is found everywhere from Malaysia to Japan."—Ridgeway, Origin of Currency, 157.]
SAPPAN-WOOD, s. The wood of Caesalpina sappan; the baḳḳam of the Arabs, and the Brazil-wood of medieval commerce. Bishop Caldwell at one time thought the Tamil name, from which this was taken, to have been given because the wood was supposed to come from Japan. Rumphius says that Siam and Champa are the original countries of the Sappan, and quotes from Rheede that in Malabar it was called Tsajampangan, suggestive apparently of a possible derivation from Champa. The mere fact that it does not come from Japan would not disprove this derivation any more than the fact that turkeys and maize did not originally come from Turkey would disprove the fact of the birds and the grain (gran turco) having got names from such a belief. But the tree appears to be indigenous in Malabar, the Deccan, and the Malay Peninsula; whilst the Malayāl. shappaṅṅam, and the Tamil shappu, both signifying 'red (wood),' are apparently derivatives from shawa, 'to be red,' and suggest another origin as most probable. [The Mad. Gloss. gives Mal. chappannam, from chappu, 'leaf,' Skt. anga, 'body'; Tam. shappangaṃ.] The Malay word is also sapang, which Crawfurd supposes to have originated the trade-name. If, however, the etymology just suggested be correct, the word must have passed from Continental India to the Archipelago. For curious particulars as to the names of this dye-wood, and its vicissitudes, see [BRAZIL]; [and Burnell's note on Linschoten, Hak. Soc. i. 121].
c. 1570.—
"O rico Sião ja dado ao Bremem,
O Cochim de Calemba que deu mana
De sapão, chumbo, salitre e vitualhas
Lhe apercebem celleiros e muralhas."