Thai baht

History

The Thai baht, like the pound, originated from a traditional unit of mass. Its currency value was originally expressed as that of silver of corresponding weight (now defined as 15 grams), and was in use probably as early as the Sukhothai period in the form of bullet coins known in Thai as phot duang (Thai: พดด้วง). These were pieces of solid silver cast to various weights corresponding to a traditional system of units related by simple fractions and multiples, one of which is the baht. These are listed in the following table:

That system was in use up until 1897, when the decimal system devised by Jayanta Mongkol, in which one baht = 100 satang, was introduced by king Chulalongkorn. However, coins denominated in the old units were issued until 1910, and the amount of 25 satang is still commonly referred to as a salueng, as is the 25-satang coin.

Until 27 November 1902, the baht was fixed on a purely silver basis, with 15 grams of silver to the baht. This caused the value of the currency to vary relative to currencies on a gold standard. In 1857, the values of certain foreign silver coins were fixed in law, with the one baht = 0.6 Straits dollar and five baht = seven Indian rupees. Before 1880 the exchange rate was fixed at eight baht per pound sterling, falling to 10 to the pound during the 1880s.

In 1902, the government began to increase the value of the baht by following all increases in the value of silver against gold but not reducing it when the silver price fell. Beginning at 21.75 baht = one pound sterling, the currency rose in value until, in 1908, a fixed peg to the British pound sterling was established of 13 baht = one pound. This was revised to 12 baht in 1919 and then, after a period of instability, to 11 baht in 1923. During World War II, the baht was fixed at a value of one Japanese yen.

From 1956 until 1973, the baht was pegged to the U.S. dollar at an exchange rate of 20.8 baht = one dollar and at 20 baht = 1 dollar until 1978. A strengthening US economy caused Thailand to re-peg its currency at 25 to the dollar from 1984 until 2 July 1997, when the country was affected by the 1997 Asian financial crisis. The baht was floated and halved in value, reaching its lowest rate of 56 to the dollar in January 1998. It has since risen to about 30 per dollar.

The baht was originally known to foreigners by the term tical, which was used in English language text on banknotes until 1925.

Coins

Rama III (1824-1851) was the first king to consider the use of a flat coin. He did so not for the convenience of traders, but because he was disturbed that the creatures living in the cowrie shells were killed. When he learned of the use of flat copper coins in Singapore in 1835, he contacted a Scottish trader, who had two types of experimental coins struck in England. The king rejected both designs. The name of the country put on these first coins was Muang Thai, not Siam. Cowrie shells from the Mekong River had been used as currency for small amounts since the Sukhothai period. 1860, Thailand did not produce coins using modern methods. Instead, a so-called "bullet" coinage was used, consisting of bars of metal, thicker in the middle, bent round to form a complete circle on which identifying marks were stamped. Denominations issued included  ¹⁄₁₂₈,  ¹⁄₆₄,  ¹⁄₃₂,  ¹⁄₁₆,  ¹⁄₈,  ¹⁄₂, 1,  1 ¹⁄₂, 2,  2 ¹⁄₂, 4,  4 ¹⁄₂, 8, 10, 20, 40, and 80 baht in silver and  ¹⁄₃₂,  ¹⁄₁₆,  ¹⁄₈,  ¹⁄₂, 1,  1 ¹⁄₂, 2, and 4 baht in gold. 1 gold baht was generally worth 16 silver baht. Between 1858 and 1860, foreign trade coins were also stamped by the government for use in Thailand.

In 1860, modern style coins were introduced. These were silver 1 sik, 1 fuang, 1 and 2 salung, 1, 2, and 4 baht, with the baht weighing 15.244 grams and the others weight related. Tin 1 solot and 1 att followed in 1862, with gold  2 ¹⁄₂, 4, and 8 baht introduced in 1863 and copper 2 and 4 att in 1865. Copper replaced tin in the 1 solot and 1 att in 1874, with copper 4 att introduced in 1876. The last gold coins were struck in 1895.

In 1897, the first coins denominated in satang were introduced, cupronickel  2 ¹⁄₂, 5, 10, and 20 satang. However, 1 solot, 1 and 2 att coins were struck until 1905 and 1 fuang coins were struck until 1910. In 1908, holed 1, 5, and 10 satang coins were introduced, with the 1 satang in bronze and the 5 and 10 satang in nickel. The 1 and 2 salung were replaced by 25 and 50 satang coins in 1915. In 1937, holed, bronze  ¹⁄₂ satang were issued.

In 1941, a series of silver coins was introduced in denominations of 5, 10, and 20 satang, due to a shortage of nickel caused by World War II. The next year, tin coins were introduced for 1, 5, and 10 satang, followed by 20 satang in 1945 and 25 and 50 satang in 1946. In 1950, aluminium-bronze 5, 10, 25, and 50 satang were introduced whilst, in 1957, bronze 5 and 10 satang were issued, along with 1 baht coins struck in an unusual alloy of copper, nickel, silver, and zinc. Several Thai coins were issued for many years without changing the date. These include the tin 1942 1 satang and the 1950 5 and 10 satang, struck until 1973, the tin 1946 25 satang struck until 1964, the tin 50 satang struck until 1957, and the aluminium bronze 1957 5, 10, 25, and 50 satang struck until the 1970s. Cupronickel 1 baht coins were introduced in 1962 and struck without date change until 1982.

In 1972, cupronickel 5 baht coins were introduced, switching to cupronickel-clad copper in 1977. Between 1986 and 1988, a new coinage was introduced, consisting of aluminium 1, 5, and 10 satang, aluminium-bronze 25 and 50 satang, cupronickel 1 baht, cupronickel-clad-copper 5 baht and bimetallic 10 baht. Cupronickel-clad-steel 2 baht were introduced in 2005.

In 2008, the Ministry of Finance and the Royal Thai Mint announced the 2009 coin series, which included changes in materials to reduce production costs as well as an update of the image on the obverse to a more recent portrait of the king. The two-baht coin, confusingly similar in color and size to the one-baht coin, was changed from nickel-clad low-carbon steel to aluminium bronze. New two-baht coin was the first of the new series released on February 3, 2009, followed by a satang coin in April, a five-baht coin in May, a ten-baht coin in June, and a one-baht coin in July 2009.

Remarks

1. The 1, 5, and 10 satang are very rarely seen in circulation. Even though the satang-denominated coins are legal tender, small shops usually don't accept them anymore.
2. Older coins, some of which are still in circulation, had only Thai numerals, but newer designs also have Arabic numerals.
3. The standard-issue 10-baht coin has, at the 12 o'clock position on the reverse, raised dots corresponding to Braille cell dot 1 and dots 2-4-5, which correspond to the number 10.
4. 10-baht coins are very similar to 2–euro coins in size, shape and weight, and are likewise bi-metallic, although they are worth only 25 eurocents. Vending machines not equipped with up-to-date coin detectors might therefore accept them as €2 coins.
5. Many commemorative 1, 2, 5, and 10 baht coins have been made for special events. There also are 20, 50, 100 baht base metal commemorative coins and higher denomination precious metal coins as well.

In February 2010 the Treasury Department of Thailand stated that it has been planning a new circulation 20 baht coin.

Money and unit of mass

Ngoen (เงิน) is Thai for silver as well as the general term for money, reflecting the fact that the baht (or tical) is foremost a unit of weight for precious metals and gemstones. One baht = 15.244 grams. Since the standard purity of Thai gold is 96.5%, the actual gold content of one baht by weight is 15.244 × 0.965 = 14.71046 grams; equivalent to about 0.473 troy ounces. 15.244 grams is used for bullion; in the case of jewellery, 1 baht should be more than 15.16 grams.

Exchange rates

The Bank of Thailand adopted a series of exchange controls on December 19, 2006, which resulted in a significant divergence between offshore and onshore exchange rates, with spreads of up to 10% between the two markets. Controls were broadly lifted on March 3, 2008 and there is now no significant difference between offshore and onshore exchange rates.

(Source: usd.fx-exchange.com)