Catalog
80 Baht / 80 Ticals Banque de l'Indo-Chine
| Issuer | Banque de l'Indo-Chine |
|---|---|
| Year | 1898 |
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| Value | 80 Bahts |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is framed by ornate columnar vignettes at the left and right borders, each surmounted by a seated elephant and rider rendered in fine intaglio. At the lower centre, an allegorical composition presents two reclining female figures flanking an ox and a tiger. The denomination numeral "80" appears at lower left and right, with the issuing bank's title centred at the top and bilingual French and English promise-to-pay text occupying the central field. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse is enclosed within a fine guilloche border with decorative corner cartouches. The upper portion carries the Chinese characters 行銀國法 and the Thai-script bank name บางก์ เดอ ลินโดชิน์ centred in bold lettering across the note. The central field contains the Thai-language promise-to-pay text in multiple lines, flanked by vertical Chinese inscriptions 暹銀捌拾銖 on each side, with denomination numerals ๘๐ and 八十 repeated at the corners and lower margin alongside กรุง เทพ ฯ. |
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| Comments |
The 80 Baht denomination is the anomaly here. Most Bangkok branch issues from this period followed conventional round-number denominations; 80 was chosen specifically to align with the tical-to-franc exchange rate then current, making the note function as a de facto cross-currency instrument for French commercial interests operating on the Siamese border. The Banque de l'Indo-Chine held a concession to issue in Siam — a rare privilege for a foreign bank in a nominally independent kingdom.
Bramtot was a Prix de Rome laureate; Wullschleger engraved for the Banque de France. The pairing was not unusual for Parisian prestige printing of the period, but it is a reminder that the Indo-China branch notes were produced to metropolitan standards, not colonial shortcuts.