Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
50 Satang - Rama VIII 'Thai Thief' Overprint on 10 Baht Series 5
| Issuer | Government of Thailand |
|---|---|
| Year | 1946 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 50 Satangs (50 สตางค์) |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | 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 | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse retains the original Series 5 10 Baht design, centered on a detailed vignette of the Grand Palace complex in Bangkok rendered in fine intaglio lines within an ornate guilloche frame, with bold 50 Satang denomination overprints applied in Thai numerals at the top-left and top-right corners. A block of Thai text appears along the lower margin, and decorative rosette motifs occupy the lower corners. |
| Reverse lettering | ๕๐ สต. ๕๐ สต. (Translation: 50 St. 50 St.) |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
Thailand's Series 5 ten-baht notes were overprinted with a 50-satang denomination in 1946 to address a specific shortage of small-denomination currency in the post-war economy — a stopgap measure while new notes were being prepared. The "Thai Thief" nickname has nothing to do with fraud. It derives from a misreading of the Thai script overprint by soldiers and foreign civilians who couldn't parse the characters, a garbling that stuck.
Rama VIII — King Ananda Mahidol — died under disputed circumstances in June 1946, just as these notes were entering circulation. His presence on the issue therefore became retrospectively charged, and the series was retired relatively quickly.