5 Satang - Rama IX 4th portrait

The 4th portrait series of Rama IX coinage was introduced in the early 2000s as part of a broader rationalization of Thai circulating coinage, coinciding with the king's sixth decade on the throne. Bhumibol Adulyadej remains the longest-reigning monarch in Thai history, and the sheer volume of coinage produced across his multiple portrait series dwarfs that of any comparable monarchy. The 5 satang, by this period, had become almost notional — worth a fraction of a US cent and rarely tendered in everyday transactions, yet kept in production largely for accounting and pricing convention.