Catalog
1 Baht - Rama I
| Issuer | Thailand |
|---|---|
| Year | 1785-1809 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Impressed on the flattened underside of the bullet-shaped silver planchet, the Unalom symbol — a stylized sacred spiral representing the topknot of the Buddha — appears in relief within a recessed punch mark. The design is characteristic of Siamese pot duang coinage, struck by hand with a die applied to the soft surface of the folded metal. The field surrounding the symbol is irregular and uneven, consistent with the hammered bullet coin technique. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | ND (1785-1809) - Unalom - Chakra (clockwise) - ND (1785-1809) - Unalom - Chakra (counter-clockwise) - |
| Additional information |
Bullet coinage of this type — tical in the Thai monetary tradition — was produced by hand, with each piece formed by hammering a roughly spherical silver blank and then applying countermarks. No two are identical in shape. Rama I, who founded the Chakri dynasty in 1782 after the fall of Ayutthaya and the chaos of the Thonburi interregnum, inherited a monetary system that had operated on these same hammered forms for centuries and saw no reason to abandon it.
The dynasty's countermarks on this series authenticated royal silver at a moment when Siam was aggressively rebuilding trade networks with China and regional neighbors. That commercial urgency made consistent silver weight — not consistent form — the priority.