½ Tamlueng - Rama V Copper Pattern; Medal alignment; Reeded edge

In 1869, Rama V had only just been crowned — he was fifteen years old, still under a regent, and Thailand's first machine-struck coinage was barely a decade old. This copper pattern belongs to a period of intense experimentation with Western minting technology as the Siamese court worked to modernize its monetary system under considerable pressure from European colonial neighbors. Pattern pieces from this reign rarely made it beyond the approval stage, and medal alignment — atypical for circulating Siamese coinage — suggests this was struck for presentation rather than production consideration.