Flag of Thailand
Map of Thailand
The first prominent Thai state was the Sukothai Kingdom which existed from the 14th to 16th century. Already in the 15th century, the Ayutthaya Kingdom emerged and conquered Sukothai and became the most powerful Thai state until its capital Ayutthaya was sacked by Burmese forces in 1767. Ayutthaya was known to Western Europeans as a marvellous city with around 1 million inhabitants. Today it's a collection of ruins with a small modern town next to it.
After the fall of Ayutthaya the Siamese founded a new capital at Thonburi, what would later become Bangkok or Krung Thep as it is known locally. It was the start of the Chakri dynasty, who still lead the monarchy today with King Rama IX or Bhumibol. Bhumibol is the longest reigning monarch in the world, having been king since 1946 after his brother Rama VIII was found dead under suspicious circumstances.
Modern Siamese/Thai history was marked by military dictatorships. A coup in 1932 ended the absolute monarchy. During WW2 Thailand sided with Japan and declared war on France with French Indochina at its borders. Thailand however did not regain any territory annexed by France around 1900, and after WW2 Thailand surrendered and became a country friendly to the USA. During the Vietnam War American troops were based in Thailand when not in combat.
From the 1970's Thailand's economy developed rapidly. It has become a relatively well-developed country that is popular with tourists. It is a great country for travelling as it is really easy to go around, the people are friendly and it is still surprisingly cheap.
The political situation is still unstable though. Since 2014 Thailand is run by the military again after a coup that ended a civilian government linked to Thaksin Shinawatra, who himself has been banned from Thailand accused of corruption by political opponents. This issue continues to divide the Thai population to this day. Luckily despite these troubles the country enjoys relative stability.
Currency
Modern coinage was not introduced before the 1850's. Before that, silver bullets were used as money, as well as cowry shells. The first modern currency was named Tical, with its weight in silver being 15 grams or 1 Baht, a Thai measure of weight. The Tical was subdivided in 4 Salung, 8 Fueang, 16 Sik, 32 Siao, 64 Att, 128 Solot or 6400 Bia. Salung and Att were the most used subdivisions, until the Tical was decimalised in 1897 to 100 Satang ans the Tical renamed to Baht. Up to now 25 Satang coins are still nicknamed Salung.
The Tical was initially worth 1/8th of a British Pound in 1850, but fluctuated as it was pegged to silver and the Pound to gold. The Tical was also worth 0.6 Mexican Dollars, which was the precursor of the Hong Kong and Straits Dollar. After WW1 the Baht was repegged to 11 Baht/£ or 2 5 Baht/$. During WW2 the Baht was pegged at par with the Japanese Yen and lost a lot of value. After the war the Baht was part of Bretton Woods at a rate of 20.8 Baht/$.
In 1970 the rate was adjusted to 25/$. During the Asian financial crisis of 1997, the Baht peg collapsed and halved in value against world currencies. As Thailand recovered quickly the Baht soon stabilised and strengthened to 33/$. It is one of the stronger currencies in the region.
Coins
Silver bullets were used as coins in Siam until the 19th century. Early modern coinage dates from the second half of the 19th century, and have beautiful designs featuring elephants, statues and contemporary monarchs.
The first Satang denominated coins appeared in 1897, but non-decimalised coins in Att or Salung were still issued until the start of WW1. Holed coins were used during the interbellum, and tin coins during and after WW2.
From 1957 a series of aluminium-bronze coins of 5, 10, 25 and 50 Satang were struck until until 1977 using the same dies, not changing thw year. New series were introduced in 1977 and the current series in 1987. King Bhumibol's portrait was updated in 2008. Current circulation coins are the 25 & 50 Satang, 1, 2, 5 and 10 Baht. The aluminium 1, 5 and 10 Satang are hardly ever found in circulation and pretty rare.
Thailand issues a large quantity of circulating commemorative coins. Every year more than a dozen new types are added. You can find them very occasionally in circulation.
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/thailande-1.html
