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The first milled coins produced for Thailand were struck at the Paris mint in C.S. 1197 (1835) on the request of King Rama III of Siam. These were designed by Robert Hunter, an English merchant famous for the discovery of the first Siamese twins, and came in two varieties, an elephant type and a lotus type (this coin).
The Lotus type bears Muang Thai in Thai letters on the obverse between two stars and a lotus flower above the date of 1197 in Thai numerals on the reverse. The lotus was chosen for its significance in Thai culture and Theravada Buddhism where the Buddha is compared with a lotus flower as being born beneath the water, but rising up above it being free from dirt. (Harvey, P, 2012)
The design of this coin and the elephant type were requested by King Rama III after sending three Noblemen to Singapore and the Malay States who later reported the use of small copper coins in Singapore. These sparked the interest of King Rama III as the bia (cowrie shells), formerly used as small change within the Kingdom of Siam, were being devalued by their profitable importation from Surat and Calcutta (Moore, A, 1915) so King Rama III sought to find an alternative to their use.
500 samples of each design were produced and sent to King Rama III for approval. His majesty however, was not pleased
with the designs and rejected them thereby never becoming a circulation issue.
(Moore, A, 1915)
The trial coins had a toothed rim, were struck to
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