5 Baht - Rama IX heavy type

Thailand's 5 Baht coinage went through a quiet but deliberate transition in the late 1980s when the Royal Thai Mint shifted to this heavier specification, partly in response to counterfeiting pressures on the earlier lighter type. The added weight made mechanical discrimination easier for the vending and transit infrastructure expanding rapidly across Bangkok during that period.

Rama IX — Bhumibol Adulyadej — reigned for 70 years until his death in 2016, making this one of the longest-running portrait series in modern coinage. Production ran across two decades with minimal design alteration.