Posted by slang on May 26, 2010
A hexagonal shaped token.On the green side are four embossed Chinese characters, hoh - yüan and kung - ssü, in pink with a white border which is the name of the issuer. In cobalt blue underglaze on the back is the character qian (coin), denoting it is worth one Thai salung coin (equal to one quarter baht). Source:British Museum
The above are gambling token popularized during the Bangkok Dynasty (1782-1809). Most of these tokens were made from porcelain or ceramic. They were originally used by Chinese gambling houses in Bangkok. Due to the shortage of silver coins and diminishing use of the cowrie shell( also used as coin), these gambling tokens were found to be very useful and used in the daily life of the people until the 1870s. These porcelain token bore Chinese inscriptions naming the issuing house or wishing the users good fortune and pictorial designs mostly of Chinese origin. Very often, these gambling tokens were glazed with bright colors.
Posted by slang on July 27, 2009
In the past, bullet money is used in villages in Thailand. As these coins are small, they would be worn on strings in different amounts (e.g. strings of 5) around the wrist by village people so that they would make it easier to count as money for purpose of commerce.
A bullet coin is shaped something like a signet ring. It was made from a short bar of silver, widest at the middle, with its ends bent around to form a complete circle. It was then stamped with various circular decorations which could indicate certain reigns or places of manufacture. The coins were solid silver, but since their weight varied, their value had to be assessed by weighing before a transaction could take place.
It was believed that during the Kingdom of Ayudthaya (1569-1767) many high-quality bullet coins were produced, but the records were destroyed during the Burmese attack in 1767 hence making it difficult to attribute the marks on the bullet coins to the correct reign. The coins purportedly made in Ayudthaya are well made and, aside from their markings, can be distinguished by their shape. Ayudthaya bullets have one hammer mark.
Posted by slang on
This is a “HOI” or Tiger tongue silver money without marks from the Kingdom of Lanchng(Northeastern Thailand). This is dated 14th-19th Century, the material is Silver (approx. 60-75%) with copper/bronze. The size of a tiger tongue silver money is 25×115 mm and the weight is 117 grams
History:
The Kingdom of Lan Chang (Million Elephants) existed during 14th to 19th century and situated in today Lao and the northeastern part of Thailand. The kingdom produced and used own monetary sytem by casted silver “Hoi” and lower demonination “Lat” copper bronze ingot. The hand-stamping marks varies in several animalic symbol, presumably to indicate the town where it was produced. The number of marking varies from none up to ten or more. The size and weight also varies, as well as silver content can vary from 30% upto 80%. The marking sometimes exist in Thai alphabetic and numerical symbol. Below is another leech monies with marks
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