Burma (Myanmar) Pe, Mu, Mat, 5 Mu and Kyat with Peacock 1852

The coin in our main picture is very special. It is a one mat coin in amazing condition sold by Ponterio and Associates (Stack's Bowers) for $1550 US dollars during a 2011 auction. Just about all of these coins you see today are worn, but they are still quite valuable. The circulated example in our secondary picture (lower right, with shadow) is a kyat which sold for $48 in an eBay auction. Not too shabby.

There are five denominations, all in silver, which use this peacock pattern:

PE: 12 mm approximate diameter
MU: 15 mm
MAT: 18 mm
5 MU (1/2 rupee): 23 mm
Kyat (1 rupee): 30 mm

All these coins come from 1852, or CS1214 on the Burmese calendar. There are other coins from Burma which use a peacock design, but they look different than this one. This page applies only to coins which look like our pictures. As always, CoinQuest is indebted to Rick Ponterio for use of his coin photo. It's a superb specimen!

PE:
worn: $15 US dollars approximate catalog value
average circulated: $35
well preserved: $75
fully uncirculated: $150

MU:
worn: $6 US dollars approximate catalog value
average circulated: $15
well preserved: $55
fully uncirculated: $100

MAT:
worn: $10 US dollars approximate catalog value
average circulated: $20
well preserved: $70
fully uncirculated: $150

5 MU:
worn: $15 US dollars approximate catalog value
average circulated: $30
well preserved: $85
fully uncirculated: $200

KYAT:
worn: $15 US dollars approximate catalog value
average circulated: $35
well preserved: $100
fully uncirculated: $300

If you have one of these coins in decent condition, it would be wise to seek out a knowledgable collector or professional coin dealer. The coin catalogs list minor variations of these coins, including gold and copper versions, which can be more valuable than what appears on this page. For instance, a small dot on a mu can double or triple value. Such variations are beyond the scope of the CoinQuest web site.

Read our Important Terminology page to understand how catalog values work.
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