1/2 Fueang - Rama V Pattern

Rama V ascended the throne in 1868 at age fifteen, and the early pattern issues produced under his reign reflect the Siamese government's active experimentation with Western-style mechanized coinage — a project his father Rama IV had initiated but never fully standardized. This copper piece was among several denominations struck in pattern form as the mint worked toward a unified coinage system, most of which would not reach circulation for years.

The Fueang was a traditional fractional unit of the Tical, and pinning it to machine-struck copper required negotiating between existing monetary custom and the practical demands of a modern mint.