Catalog
1 Kyat - Mindon Min
| Issuer | Konbaung Dynasty |
|---|---|
| Year | 1853 |
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| Currency | First kyat (1852-1889) |
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| Obverse description | Central device depicting a magnificently detailed peacock displayed in full plumage, shown in profile facing right and standing upon a decorative foliate ground. The tail feathers are spread in a large fan formation, each feather rendered with intricate ocelli detail in high relief. Four Burmese script characters are placed in the four quadrants of the field surrounding the bird, reading 'Tazeik taw' (Royal stamp). The design is enclosed by a fine toothed border running along the coin's rim. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse script | Burmese |
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| Additional information |
Mindon Min introduced a standardized coinage for Burma in 1853 — the first machine-struck coins produced for the Konbaung Dynasty — following his establishment of a royal mint at Mandalay. The timing was not coincidental: British forces had just seized Lower Burma in the Second Anglo-Burmese War that same year, and the new coinage was in part a political assertion of sovereignty over what remained of the kingdom. Mindon Min never signed a formal peace treaty with Britain, a deliberate refusal he maintained until his death in 1878.