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Boat Money - Thai Canoe Kingdom of Lan Xang
| Issuer | Kingdom of Lan Xang |
|---|---|
| Year | 1400-1900 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 29.17 g |
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| Obverse description | Cast tin ingot-currency of elongated canoe or boat form, tapering symmetrically to rounded points at each end, with a slightly convex upper surface displaying a heavily textured, irregular field characteristic of primitive casting technique. The surface exhibits a dark patina interspersed with areas of verdigris typical of aged tin alloy, with no inscriptions, devices, or legends present. The piece is entirely aniconic, its monetary value and identity conveyed solely through its distinctive standardised shape and weight. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
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| Reverse description | The underside of the boat-money piece presents a concave or flat profile, consistent with open-mould casting methods employed in mainland Southeast Asian monetary production. The reverse surface is equally plain and aniconic, bearing no inscriptions, marks, or decorative elements, and displays the same irregular, pitted texture and dark tin-oxide patina as the obverse. The asymmetric curvature visible along the lateral edge further confirms hand-casting in a simple clay or stone mould. |
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| Additional information |
Lan Xang — "Land of a Million Elephants" — controlled much of the middle Mekong basin for over three centuries, and its currency reflects a trading economy built on river commerce rather than market coinage. These cast tin pieces circulated alongside silver bullet money and commodity currencies throughout the region, serving a population where standardized coinage from any central mint was essentially nonexistent.
The five-century date range assigned to this type reflects genuine uncertainty rather than laziness — Lan Xang fragmented into three rival kingdoms after 1707, and production of traditional cast forms continued under successor states long after the original polity dissolved.