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1/2 Fuang - Rama IV Thick copper
| Issuer | Royal Siamese Mint |
|---|---|
| Year | 1865 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | 29 mm |
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| Obverse description | Central design featuring the Phra Thinang Chakri royal palace rendered in low relief, depicted with characteristic tiered roofline and flanking architectural elements. The palace is surrounded by an ornate floral and foliate border pattern composed of stylized petals and leaves. Radiating lines or rays emanate from above the palace structure, evoking a crown or celestial motif. The overall composition is dense and decorative, consistent with Thai artistic convention of the mid-nineteenth century reign of King Rama IV. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Thai |
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| Additional information |
Rama IV — Mongkut — established the Royal Siamese Mint in the early 1860s partly to satisfy treaty obligations with Britain following the Bowring Treaty of 1855, which had forced Siam to open its economy to foreign trade. Western merchants demanded predictable, machine-struck coinage rather than the bullet-money pods that had circulated for centuries. This thick copper issue was among the earliest products of that modernization effort, struck on imported presses before Siam's minting infrastructure had fully stabilized — accounting for the considerable variation in planchet thickness collectors encounter across surviving examples.