5 Baht - Rama IX Bangkok

The 1982 5 Baht belongs to a transitional moment in Thai coinage — the Royal Thai Mint was consolidating the Rama IX series following decades of incremental design and compositional changes driven partly by fluctuating metal costs in the late 1970s. Copper-nickel clad copper was adopted in part as a cost-control measure after rising nickel prices made solid cupro-nickel economically impractical for high-denomination circulation coinage.

Y#149 saw substantial mintage and circulated heavily through the Bangkok economy during a period of rapid industrialization. Most survivors show considerable wear on the highest relief areas for that reason.