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1 Baht - Rama IV
| Issuer | Thailand |
|---|---|
| Year | 1860 |
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| Currency | Baht / Tical (1869-1897) |
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| Obverse description | Central field dominated by three tiered temple spires (prasat) of graduated height arranged in a symmetrical composition, surrounded by elaborate scrolling foliage and flame-like ornamental motifs. The central spire, the tallest, is surmounted by a radiating sunburst emanating from a small star at its apex. Two smaller flanking spires terminate in finials, each accompanied by additional decorative elements including crescent and star motifs. The entire design rests on a tiered platform base rendered in fine detail, and the whole is enclosed within a dentilated inner border and a milled outer rim bearing Thai script inscription. |
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| Mintage | 1860: ND (1860) |
| Additional information |
Rama IV — better known in the West as King Mongkut — issued this coinage as part of a deliberate modernization of Siamese currency, moving away from the bullet-shaped "pot duang" coins that had served as the kingdom's primary money for centuries. The shift to flat, struck coinage was partly diplomatic: Mongkut understood that Western trading partners and treaty negotiators viewed the old currency as primitive, and the optics of monetary reform mattered during a period when Siam was navigating aggressive British and French colonial expansion on its borders.
Mongkut had spent 27 years as a Buddhist monk before ascending the throne in 1851, during which time he taught himself Latin and English and corresponded directly with foreign heads of state. The 1860 issue predates his famous correspondence with Anna Leonowens by only a few years.