Summary History *actual year produced vs year in active use Events •
[Adoption of bimetallic standard] 1238 – The baht was adopted as the national currency in the forms of
Podduang. The currency used the
bi-metallic standard at 1:16 gold to silver ratio. •
1500 – Modern
pre-decimal denominations of the baht were fully in use, mainly:
1 att,
2 att,
4 att,
1 fuang,
2 fuang,
4 fuang, and
1 baht. •
1835 – Government moved toward the adoption of
flat coins •
1852 – The first circulating banknotes were introduced •
1862 – The first circulating flat coins were introduced •
1869 – Adoption of 0.900
fineness standard for silver coins, prior to this, the mint used the "best silver available". •
[Adoption of silver standard] 1875 – The production of all coins above the 1 baht value and all gold coins was halted •
1897 – Government started the process of decimalisation, the introduction of 2.5 satang,
5 satang,
10 satang, and 20 satang coins. These coins co-circulated with the pre-decimal coins •
1904 – Demonetisation of the
Podduang, •
[Adoption of gold standard] 1908 – Introduction of the
1 satang,
25 satang, abd
50 satang coins. The production of the 2.5-satang coins was halted. 1 baht coin is now 15g, and made of 13.7g silver at 0.900 purity. •
[Decimalisation] 1910 – Government finished the process of
decimalisation, all non-decimal currency, including banknotes and coins, were demonetised. The new series of coins; consisting of
1 satang,
5 satang,
10 satang,
25 satang,
50 satang, and
1 baht coin; was introduced. •
[Silver crisis] 1915 –
Debasement of silver standard to 0.800 fineness, worldwide silver price crisis starting a global trend towards fiat currency. •
1916 –
Debasement of silver standard to 0.650 fineness •
1918 – Removal of 1 baht from circulation, silver became too expensive to use in coins - doubling in value. •
1919 –
Debasement of silver standard to 0.500 fineness •
1920 – Re-establishment of silver standard to 0.650 fineness, coinciding with the lowering of silver price •
1945 – De facto move towards
fiat currency and the abandonment of the silver standard due to coins no longer being made from silver. •
1946 – Removal of 20 satang from circulation •
1950 – Removal of 1 satang from circulation •
1957 – Debasement of silver standard to 0.030 fineness, re-introduction of the 1 silver baht coin •
[Debasement] 1962 – Adoption of the fiat currency, and the abandonment of the silver standard. Due to this, the production of the last silver coin (1 baht) was halted. •
1972 – Introduction of
5 baht coin. •
1977 – Removal of
5 satang and
10 satang from circulation. •
1987 – Introduction of
10 baht coin •
2005 – Re-introduction of
2 baht coin Mint involved in producing Siamese and Thai coins Mint history timeline ImageSize = width:1500 height:auto barincrement:25 PlotArea = top:10 bottom:30 right:130 left:20 AlignBars = justify DateFormat = yyyy Period = from:1800 till:2026 Define $now = 2026 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal Colors = id:canvas value:rgb(1,1,1) id:rama1 value:rgb(0.529, 0.380, 0.153) id:rama2 value:rgb(0.580, 0.000, 0.000) id:rama3 value:rgb(0.024, 0.208, 0.137) id:rama4 value:rgb(0.051, 0.235, 0.380) id:rama5 value:rgb(0.137, 0.169, 0.545) id:rama6 value:rgb(0.647, 0.106, 0.282) id:rama7 value:rgb(0.310, 0.137, 0.545) id:rama8 value:rgb(0.024, 0.329, 0.396) id:rama9 value:rgb(0.188, 0.408, 0.267) id:rama10 value:rgb(0.749, 0.188, 0.000) id:grey value:rgb(0.322, 0.294, 0.302) id:grey1 value:gray(0.8) id:grey2 value:gray(0.9) id:rama1l value:rgb(0.623, 0.504, 0.322) id:rama2l value:rgb(0.664, 0.200, 0.200) id:rama3l value:rgb(0.219, 0.366, 0.310) id:rama4l value:rgb(0.241, 0.388, 0.504) id:rama5l value:rgb(0.310, 0.335, 0.636) id:rama6l value:rgb(0.718, 0.285, 0.426) id:rama7l value:rgb(0.448, 0.310, 0.636) id:rama8l value:rgb(0.219, 0.463, 0.517) id:rama9l value:rgb(0.350, 0.526, 0.414) id:rama10l value:rgb(0.799, 0.350, 0.200) ScaleMajor = gridcolor:grey1 unit:year increment:25 start:1800 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:grey2 unit:year increment:5 start:1800 Backgroundcolors = canvas:canvas BarData = bar:rulers bar:1 bar:2 bar:3 bar:4 bar:5 bar:6 bar:7 bar:8 bar:9 bar:10 bar:11 bar:12 bar:13 bar:14 bar:15 PlotData= skip width:20 align:center fontsize:10 shift:(,-6) textcolor:black bar:rulers from:1800 till:1809 color:rama1l text:"
Rama I" from:1809 till:1824 color:rama2l text:"
Rama II" from:1824 till:1851 color:rama3l text:"
Rama III" from:1851 till:1868 color:rama4l text:"
Rama IV" from:1868 till:1910 color:rama5l text:"
Rama V" from:1910 till:1925 color:rama6l text:"
Rama VI" from:1925 till:1935 color:rama7l text:"
Rama VII" from:1935 till:1946 color:rama8l text:"
Rama VIII" from:1946 till:2016 color:rama9l text:"
Rama IX" from:2016 till:$now color:rama10l text:"
Rama X" width:10 align:center fontsize:10 shift:(-6,-4) textcolor:black anchor:from align:right bar:1 from:1860 till:2026 color:rama4l text:"
Royal Thai Mint" bar:2 from:1875 till:1921 color:rama5l text:"
Heaton and Sons (The Mint Birmingham Limited)" bar:3 from:1887 till:1905 color:rama5l text:"
Mint of Hamburg" bar:4 from:1908 till:1935 color:rama5l text:"
Royal Mint of Belgium" bar:5 from:1908 till:1925 color:rama5l text:"
Mint of Paris" bar:6 from:1919 till:1920 color:rama6l text:"
United States Mint of Philadelphia" bar:7 from:1926 till:1937 color:rama7l text:"
Mint of Japan" bar:8 from:1986 till:2017 color:rama9l text:"
Mint of Finland" bar:9 from:1986 till:2007 color:rama9l text:"
Royal Canadian Mint" bar:10 from:1989 till:1990 color:rama9l text:"
RoyalState Mint and Polygraphic Institute (Italian Mint)" bar:11 from:2011 till:2016 color:rama9l text:"
Bavarian State Mint" bar:12 from:2015 till:2016 color:rama9l text:"
Mint of Poland" bar:13 from:2016 till:2026 color:rama10l text:"
South African Mint" bar:14 from:2016 till:2017 color:rama10l text:"
China Banknote Printing and Minting Corporation" bar:15 from:2017 till:2026 color:rama10l text:"
Korea Minting and Security Printing Corporation" barset:skip
Photduang coinage which was marked with the Siamese government's emblem – marking that it is legal tender
Cowrie shells from the
Mekong River had been used as currency for small amounts since the Sukhothai period. Before 1860, Thailand did not produce coins using modern methods. Instead, a so-called "bullet" coinage was used, consisting of bars of metal, thicker in the middle, bent round to form a complete circle on which identifying marks were stamped. Denominations issued included , , , , , , 1, , 2, , 4, , 8, 10, 20, 40 and 80 baht in silver and , , , , 1, , 2 and 4 baht in gold. One gold baht was generally worth 16 silver baht. Between 1858 and 1860, foreign trade coins were also stamped by the government for use in Thailand.
Sukhothai and Ayutthaya photduang Photduang, a form of currency used during the Sukhothai period, was characterised by its longer legs, which created a larger and wider hole in the middle. These coins were primarily made of silver and featured a cut across the front of each leg. This cut served a dual purpose: it authenticated the money and allowed for the quality of the silver to be tested. Over time, as the Sukhothai Kingdom declined and became a vassal state of Ayutthaya—which was established as the capital in 1350—the design of
photduang evolved. The coins became rounder with shorter legs, and the central hole, while still present, grew smaller. By the end of this era, the hole disappeared completely. The cuts on the legs also reduced in size and were eventually replaced by a small elliptical nick, known as "Met Kao San," on one side of the coin.
Thonburi and Rattanakosin photduang The Thonburi period (1767–1782) and the Rattanakosin period, beginning in 1782, adopted the
photduang design from the late Ayutthaya period. The coins from these periods had no central hole, and the legs were even shorter. A key difference was that Thonburi
photduang lacked the elliptical nick, whereas the Rattanakosin coins reintroduced this feature, similar to the Ayutthaya coins.
Photduang from these later periods typically featured two stamped marks: the dynasty mark on top and the king's personal mark on the front part. The dynasty mark often symbolised the kingdom's ruling dynasty, while the king's personal mark represented the reigning monarch.
*continues in the coin section* List Predecimal coinage Rama III (1824–1851) was the first king to consider the use of a flat coin. He did so not for the convenience of traders, but because he was disturbed that the creatures living in the cowrie shells were killed. When he learned of the use of flat copper coins in Singapore in 1835, he contacted a Scottish trader, who had two types of experimental coins struck in England. The king rejected both designs. The name of the country put on these first coins was
Muang Thai, not
Siam. In 1860, modern-style coins were introduced. These were silver
1 sik;
1 fueang; 1 and 2
salueng; 1, 2, and 4 baht; with the baht weighing 15.244 grams and the others weight-related. Tin 1
solot and 1
at followed in 1862, with gold , 4, and 8 baht introduced in 1863 and copper 2 and 4
at in 1865. Copper replaced tin in the 1
solot and 1
at in 1874, with copper 4 at introduced in 1876. The last gold coins were struck in 1895.
Coin timeline ImageSize = width:1600 height:auto barincrement:15 PlotArea = top:3 bottom:30 right:80 left:20 AlignBars = justify DateFormat = yyyy Period = from:1800 till:2026 Define $now = 2026 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal Colors = id:canvas value:rgb(1,1,1) id:rama1 value:rgb(0.529, 0.380, 0.153) id:rama2 value:rgb(0.580, 0.000, 0.000) id:rama3 value:rgb(0.024, 0.208, 0.137) id:rama4 value:rgb(0.051, 0.235, 0.380) id:rama5 value:rgb(0.137, 0.169, 0.545) id:rama6 value:rgb(0.647, 0.106, 0.282) id:rama7 value:rgb(0.310, 0.137, 0.545) id:rama8 value:rgb(0.024, 0.329, 0.396) id:rama9 value:rgb(0.188, 0.408, 0.267) id:rama10 value:rgb(0.749, 0.188, 0.000) id:grey value:rgb(0.322, 0.294, 0.302) id:grey1 value:gray(0.8) id:grey2 value:gray(0.9) id:rama1l value:rgb(0.623, 0.504, 0.322) id:rama2l value:rgb(0.664, 0.200, 0.200) id:rama3l value:rgb(0.219, 0.366, 0.310) id:rama4l value:rgb(0.241, 0.388, 0.504) id:rama5l value:rgb(0.310, 0.335, 0.636) id:rama6l value:rgb(0.718, 0.285, 0.426) id:rama7l value:rgb(0.448, 0.310, 0.636) id:rama8l value:rgb(0.219, 0.463, 0.517) id:rama9l value:rgb(0.350, 0.526, 0.414) id:rama10l value:rgb(0.799, 0.350, 0.200) ScaleMajor = gridcolor:grey1 unit:year increment:25 start:1800 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:grey2 unit:year increment:5 start:1800 Backgroundcolors = canvas:canvas BarData = bar:rulers bar:space1 bar:1 bar:2 bar:3 bar:4 bar:5 bar:6 bar:7 bar:8 bar:9 bar:10 bar:11 bar:12 bar:13 bar:14 bar:15 bar:16 bar:17 bar:18 PlotData= width:20 align:center fontsize:10 shift:(,-6) textcolor:black bar:rulers from:1800 till:1809 color:rama1l text:"
Rama I" from:1809 till:1824 color:rama2l text:"
Rama II" from:1824 till:1851 color:rama3l text:"
Rama III" from:1851 till:1868 color:rama4l text:"
Rama IV" from:1868 till:1910 color:rama5l text:"
Rama V" from:1910 till:1925 color:rama6l text:"
Rama VI" from:1925 till:1935 color:rama7l text:"
Rama VII" from:1935 till:1946 color:rama8l text:"
Rama VIII" from:1946 till:2016 color:rama9l text:"
Rama IX" from:2016 till:$now color:rama10l text:"
Rama X" width:10 align:center fontsize:10 shift:(6,-4) textcolor:black anchor:till align:left bar:1 from:1856 till:1862 color:rama4l text:"
Coin Issue 1 (transitional)" bar:2 from:1860 till:1910 color:rama4l text:"
Coin Issue 2" bar:3 from:1869 till:1910 color:rama4l text:"
Coin Issue 3" bar:4 from:1875 till:1910 color:rama5l text:"
Coin Issue 4" bar:5 from:1888 till:1910 color:rama5l text:"
Coin Issue 5" bar:6 from:1897 till:1902 color:rama5l text:"
Coin Issue 6 (transitional)" bar:7 from:1908 till:1937 color:rama5l text:"
Coin Issue 7" bar:8 from:1910 till:1937 color:rama6l text:"
Coin Issue 8" bar:9 from:1929 till:1937 color:rama7l text:"
Coin Issue 9" bar:10 from:1937 till:1946 color:rama8l text:"
Coin Issue 10" width:10 align:center fontsize:10 shift:(-6,-4) textcolor:black anchor:from align:right bar:11 from:1946 till:1950 color:rama8l text:"
Coin Issue 11" bar:12 from:1950 till:1972 color:rama9l text:"
Coin Issue 12" bar:13 from:1972 till:1977 color:rama9l text:"
Coin Issue 13" bar:14 from:1977 till:1982 color:rama9l text:"
Coin Issue 14" bar:15 from:1982 till:1987 color:rama9l text:"
Coin Issue 15" bar:16 from:1987 till:2024 color:rama9l text:"
Coin Issue 16-1" bar:17 from:2009 till:2024 color:rama9l text:"
Coin Issue 16–2" bar:18 from:2018 till:2024 color:rama10l text:"
Coin Issue 17" barset:skip
Issue 0 – 1835 - Muang Thai Series (trial series) During the reign of King Rama III (1824–1851), an initiative was made to introduce Thailand’s first flat coinage, intended to replace the widely used cowrie shells. To aid in this modernisation of the monetary system, the king employed
Robert Hunter, a Scottish merchant, to produce pattern coins. The proposed designs featured an elephant motif, which bore resemblance to the coinage of Lanka (modern-day Sri Lanka). Concerned about the symbolic inappropriateness of the elephant, which could imply foreign influence or association, King Rama III ultimately rejected all of the submitted patterns. As a result, none of the proposed coins were officially adopted or denominated. These pattern coins, though never circulated, represent an early attempt at modernisation of Siamese currency prior to the eventual adoption of machine-struck coinage in the reign of King Rama IV.
Issue 1 – 1856 (transitional) The first issue of coins were commissioned by Rama IV, though it was never brought into circulation. This was one of the first attempt to replace the bullet coins, but few were ever minted without making it into circulation.
Issue 2, 3 – 1860, 1869 – Tributary Series This series in thai is called: เหรียญบรรณาการ (Rian Bannakan) which means tributary coins or coin gifts. As this series of coins was produced using manually operated machinery that had been presented as a royal gift by Queen Victoria of England. Due to the limited production capacity of these machines, the coins could not be minted in sufficient quantities to meet the country's demand. Consequently, their use was discontinued. This coincided with the arrival of steam-powered machinery, which allowed for more efficient and larger-scale coin production. It is worth noting that coins of the half-fuang denomination were not mentioned in official announcements. Though the silver coins within issue 2 has three production date: 1857, 1860, and 1863 in which they differ slightly in design, they are nevertheless counted as a single issue. The pit means twenty, as in 1/20 of a chang, the other name is ekkang, or one thai tamlueng. The
tot means ten, as in 1/10 of a
chang. The coin was also called
thukkang, which means two
tamlueng. In the lower denominations materials such as
tin,
copper and
brass are used, since these are quite low value. In 1857, a series of trial coins were produced. But due to the broken and rusted die pieces along with the rusted minting press, the coins of this trial series were not to the satisfaction of Rama IV, hence testing continued. The flawed coins of this series is noted to have an inconsistent and rough "sand-like" texture. In 1857–1860 small amounts of trial circulation coins were produced to circulate within the palace walls, so that the noblemen could give feedback and test the new system. In 1863, following reports of an increase in gold reserves, Rama IV ordered the production of gold coins to supplement the existing silver series. Although intended for general circulation, the coins were unfamiliar to the public and consequently, many coins were converted into jewellery. Fully intact specimens without holes are considered rare today. With the crowning of King Rama 5 in 1868, his majesty decided to tackle the massive counterfeiting of base-metal coins in his era. His majesty decided to produce a new large solot (1/128 baht) coin so that the old smaller solot coin were rendered unusable and unprofitable to counterfeit. The large solot coins were only produced for a small period of time, but the coin fulfilled its duties and eliminated a huge portion of counterfeited productions. The new shield emblem was introduced in this issue. This shield was separated into three section. Drawing from western influences, symbols within these sections represented territories Siam was controlling. The
tree-headed elephant represented
Siamese territory, the bottom-left
elephant represented
Lan Xang, and the
warangka represented Siamese Malaya. Due to a malfunction in the minting machinery at the government mint, which prevented the production of circulating coinage, King Chulalongkorn ordered the design of this coin series and commissioned its production by a mint in
Birmingham. This marked the first time that coins were minted abroad for circulation in Siam. The copper coins in this issue were made in the same size as the coins of the United Kingdom, with the Solot being the same size as the
Farthing, the Att being the same size as the
Half-Penny, and the Siao being the same size as the
Penny. The silver coins differ in size to the British counterpart due to the baht being pegged to a different unit of silver. The copper coin in this case were base metal and were not pegged to any standard metal, hence their size tend to differ more throughout history. These copper coins only represent a certain amount of silver. These silver coins were minted when the Sathit Kuang machinery was put into use in 1889 at the Sathit Kuang Coin Mint, marking the beginning of a new coinage system. The year markings started to appear on the coins from R.S. 120 (1898) onwards.
Decree of October 29th 1863: Proclaiming sizes and specification of denominations Decree of June 29th 1874: Proclaiming the use of temporary paper money, in order to transition into the new series of coins In this issue, depending on where the coin was minted, the minting alignment was different. This means that in this specific series, the alignment will show at which mint the coin was minted. For example, in this series there were four mints which contributed to the minting: Royal Mint of Belgium, Bangkok Mint, Heaton and Sons (Burmingham Mint), and Hamburgische Münze. For the 1 Solot coin, the coin minted in the year R.S. 109 was medal aligned and was minted in the Birmingham Mint, but R.S. 118 coins were minted in Hamburg had coin alignement. Medal alignment is where the portrait of the king is facing up, with the back's design also facing up. Coin alignment is where the sides of the coins' designs are flipped. File:Minting alignment thai coin example.jpg File:Size inspiration of thai coins and british coins.png File:Size inspiration of thai coins and british silver coins.png File:Size inspiration of thai coins and british gold coins.png
Excerpt on the sizes of these lower denominations Decimal coinage The decimalisation of the Thai baht came about at the end of the 19th century. The Minister of Treasury,
Jayanta Mongkol, the Prince Mahisara Rajaharudaya, suggested to King Rama V that decimalisation would make counting easier and further modernise Siam. Initially, there would be one superunit,
chang, and one subunit,
at. with the baht being in the middle. In summary, 64
at = 1 baht = 1/80
chang. In reality, this was just a simplification of the old system, which was scrapped. In which, during the period of 1902–1908, Siam went back to the old system. Though in comparison,
at is used as the subunit in Laos, compared to the satang in the Thai baht. The second attempt came at the end of Rama V's reign, where it was more widely accepted and put into effective use. In 1897, the first coins denominated in satang were introduced,
cupronickel , 5, 10, and 20 satang. However, 1
solot, 1, and 2
at coins were struck until 1905 and 1
fueang coins were struck until 1910. In 1908, holed 1, 5, and 10 satang coins were introduced, with the 1 satang in bronze and the 5 and 10 satang in nickel. The 1 and 2
salueng were replaced by 25 and 50 satang coins in 1915. In 1937, holed, bronze satang were issued. In 1941, a series of silver coins was introduced in denominations of 5, 10, and 20 satang, due to a shortage of nickel caused by
World War II. The next year, tin coins were introduced for 1, 5, and 10 satang, followed by 20 satang in 1945 and 25 and 50 satang in 1946. In 1950,
aluminium bronze 5, 10, 25, and 50 satang were introduced whilst, in 1957, bronze 5 and 10 satang were issued, along with 1-baht coins struck in an unusual alloy of copper, nickel, silver and zinc. Several Thai coins were issued for many years without changing the date. These include the tin 1942 1 satang and the 1950 5 and 10 satang, struck until 1973, the tin 1946 25 satang struck until 1964, the tin 50 satang struck until 1957, and the aluminium bronze 1957 5, 10, 25, and 50 satang struck until the 1970s. Cupronickel 1-baht coins were introduced in 1962 and struck without date change until 1982. In 1972, cupronickel 5-baht coins were introduced, switching to cupronickel-clad copper in 1977. Between 1986 and 1988, a new coinage was introduced, consisting of aluminium 1, 5 and 10 satang, aluminium bronze 25 and 50 satang, cupronickel 1 baht, cupronickel-clad copper 5 baht and bimetallic 10 baht. Cupronickel-clad steel 2 baht were introduced in 2005.
Issue 6 – 1897 – Siam Anachak Series (transitional) The old monetary system of Siam was based on a binary system that proved challenging for accounting purposes. This system initially consisted of three main units of currency:
Chang,
Baht, and
Att. Under this system, there were 64 Att to 1 Baht and 80 Baht to 1 Chang. Despite its widespread use, the system’s complexity made it difficult to manage and calculate. Recognising the inefficiencies, the Minister of Treasury proposed to King Rama V that Siam’s currency system should be decimalised. The proposal aimed to modernise the monetary system and align it with the decimal systems increasingly adopted by other countries at the time. King Rama V approved the transition to a decimal-based currency, which simplified accounting processes. The transition to a decimal currency system faced numerous challenges even before the new coins were issued. Notably, the word "Anachak" (อาณาจักร) was initially misspelled as "อานาจักร," causing controversy. King Rama V intervened, insisting that the most accurate phrasing should be "Siam Ratcha-Anachak" (สยามราชอาณาจักร; Kingdom of Siam). Despite the initial enthusiasm for the decimal system, the new coins struggled to gain popularity among the public. Many people were unfamiliar with the decimal system and preferred the traditional currency. Consequently, the new coins quickly faded from circulation, forcing the government to continue producing coins under the old system. The production of coins from the old system persisted until
RS 127 / BE 2451 / AD 1907. Ultimately, both pre-decimal coins and the early decimal coins were demonetised on
May 17, RS 128 / BE 2452 / AD 1909. Citizens were given a grace period to exchange the demonetised coins for the new decimal currency, with the deadline set for
May 16, RS 128 / BE 2452 / AD 1910. This gradual shift is shown in the fact that coins after the transition often switched between three calendar systems, the CS (Chulasakarat) system, the RS (Rattanakosin Sok) system, the BE (Buddhist Era / Phutthasakarat) system. During the year 1897, it is presumed that Rama V had arranged this series to be made during his tour in europe. The designs would vary between mints such as on the 1 satang coin, the font of the texts and the date would have slightly different positioning or texture.
Mints Involved Source: The 1 Baht coins were replaced with banknotes starting in 1918 due to the high cost of silver. The 2 Salung and 1 Salung coins experienced changes in metal composition due to fluctuating silver prices during World War I, and these coins have slight design variations based on these changes. During issue, there were also various debasements of the silver content of these coins. Initially, the composition was 80% silver and 20% copper. In 1918, during World War I, silver prices surged, leading to a change in the composition to 65% silver and 35% copper. In 1919, the silver percentage dropped further to 50% silver and 50% copper. After the war, in 1919, the composition returned to 65% silver and 35% copper. In 1917, the price of silver rose and exceeded the face value of silver coins. The coins were then melted down and sold. The government solved this by changing the pure silver coin to alloy. Vajiravudh eventually forbade exports of Siamese coins. In 1918, the usage of 1-baht coins was nullified and 1-baht banknotes were introduced. Coins were recalled and kept as a national reserve.
Issue 9 – 1929 – Regalia Elephant Series Near the end of this issue of coins, the transition into decimal currency was completed. The Rama VII coin was produced in two denominations, 50 Satang and 25 Satang, and marked the transition from the old currency system of "สองสลึง" (two salung) and "หนึ่งสลึง" (one salung) to the new system using Satang as a unit of currency. Though, people today still refer to these denomination using the old terminology.
Issue 10 – 1937, 1941, 1942, 1945 – Kranok-lotus Series This series of coins is distinctive as it lacks the royal insignia and the state seal, which were commonly featured in earlier designs. This series also includes a 20 satang denomination; thus at one point the 25-satang and the 20-satang circulated at the same time. The half-satang was introduced in 1937 to address the issue of low-value currency units in Thailand. The value of 1 Satang was considered too high for certain low-priced items, causing economic hardship for the poor. Previously, 1 Baht could be exchanged for 128 Solot, but after the switch to Satang, 1 Baht was only equivalent to 100 Satang. The introduction of this coin aimed to make it easier for ordinary people to purchase items without the burden of inflated prices. The coin was produced only once and was discontinued soon afterwards. It was minted in Japan and first issued on July 12, 1937. In 1942, a group of denominations switched material due to the costs of
World War II: the 1-satang coin lost its hole in the middle and was made smaller.
Issue 11 – 1946 – Garuda Series This was the first series minted in the reign of
King Ananda Mahidol (Rama VIII), and it marked the return of
national symbols, such as the
Garuda emblem, which had been used as the
national seal since the
Ayutthaya period. This emblem, created during the reign of
King Chulalongkorn (Rama V), became the national seal to be used permanently, avoiding the need for a new one with each reign. There are two versions of this series minted in the same year, the young portrait and the teen portrait. After
World War 2, the government instructed the mint to start the production of coins depicting
Rama VIII, since prior to this coins with no royal portrait were minted. These coins were made with pure
tin. These coins were made with particularly low quality tin. During circulation, a lot of the coins from this series were damaged, lost, or rendered unusable. Even so, after the death of Rama VIII, the mint continue to produce this series of coins until the burial of Rama VIII, a tradition seen in the latest series of coins where new series were not introduced until after the coronation. Thus, this series of coins were used for 4 years after the passing of King Ananda Mahidol (Rama VIII). • Older coins, some of which are still in circulation, had only
Thai numerals, but newer designs also have
Arabic numerals. • The standard-issue 10-baht coin has, at the 12 o'clock position on the reverse, raised dots corresponding to
Braille cell dot 1 and dots 2-4-5, which correspond to the number 10. • 10-baht coins are very similar to 2-
euro coins in size, shape and weight, and are likewise
bi-metallic, although they are worth only about €0.25.
Vending machines not equipped with up-to-date
coin detectors might therefore
accept them as €2 coins or old Italian 500 lira coins as well. • Many
commemorative 1-, 2-, 5- and 10-baht coins have been made for special events. There also are 20-, 50-, 100-baht base metal commemorative coins and higher-denomination precious metal coins as well. In February 2010 the Treasury Department of Thailand stated that it has been planning a new circulation 20-baht coin.
Monarch's profile Rama IV File:1862 1 Baht O.png|1857 File:1862 8 Baht O.png|1862
Rama V File:1869 1 Baht R.png|1869 File:1876 1 Siao O.png|1875 File:1876 1 Baht O.png|1875 File:1888 1 Siao O.png|1888 File:1897 20 Satang O.png|1897 File:1908 1 Baht O.png|1908
Rama VI, VII, and VIII File:1908 1 Satang O.png|1910 File:1913 1 Baht O.png|1913 File:1929 50 Satang O.png|1929 File:1941 1 Satang O.png|1941 File:1946 50 Satang O.png|1946 File:1946 50 Satang O Posthumous.png|1946
Rama XI and X File:1957 1 Baht O.png|1957 File:1962 1 Baht O.png|1962 File:1972 5 Baht O.png|1972 File:1977 5 baht obverse.png|1977 File:1982 5 baht obverse.png|1982 File:Blank.svg|2008 File:5 baht coin (Rama X, obverse).jpg|2018
Names used on coins Thai kings traditionally had 2 names: regnal, and personal. In everyday life, personal name are used more often than regnal names. A good example of this is
King Narai, whose regnal name is King Ramathobodi III. The personal names of king also have variations in itself. An example is
Rama X's personal name:
Vajiralongkorn, in which the variation one might see is
Vajiraklao. So when the new coinage was being carried out, the question of "what name should the mint depict?" pops up. Initially it's a mix of the variations of the personal names, later after King
Rama VIII, and the switch to constitutional monarchy along with the changing of the country name to Thailand, the coin now use both regnal (alternative name) and personal names.
Calendar systems of Thai coinage Over the course of Siamese coinage history, various calendar systems were used. The first one to be applied onto the coins was the
burmese calendar system or Chula Sakarat (C.S.), which was subsequently supplanted by the
Rattanakosin Sok system (R.S.) which started at the founding of the
Rattanakosin Kingdom. The system in use right now is the Phuttha Sakarat system or the
Buddhist calendar (B.E.). == Banknotes ==