Article

Some coins and tokens of Malaya

From Munshipedia, the MBRAS digital historical encyclopedia

Some coins and tokens of Malaya

E. Wodak’s 1951 article “Medals connected with Siam,” published in the Journal of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society (Vol. XXIV, Pt. I), surveys a small group of commemorative medals struck to mark French–Siamese diplomatic encounters spanning 1686 to 1898, drawing on specimens in his own collection to fill gaps left by the absence of surviving Siamese mint records.

Summary

The article opens with the oldest piece, a copper medal of 73 mm diameter and 172 gr weight struck to commemorate the audience granted to the Siamese embassy of Nai Pahn at the court of Louis XIV in 1686, during the reign of King Narai (1657–1688) and under the instigation of the Greek-born Prime Minister Constantine Phaulkon (pp. 175–176). Wodak reproduces J. Haas’s 1880 wood-engraving and transcription, noting that two examples reside in the Musée du Louvre and that the original from which the impression was taken is preserved in Bangkok. A smaller companion medal of 41 mm radius (28.7 gr) is described with slightly different lettering and a simplified reverse (p. 177).

The narrative then jumps 180 years to 1861, when King Mongkut sent another legation to Napoleon III, producing a silver medal of 72 mm (204.4 gr) depicting the reception at Fontainebleau on 27 June 1861; an identical bronze example in the Bangkok Museum was presented by Prince Wan Waithayakon, Thailand’s Ambassador to the U.S.A. (pp. 177–178). Finally, two medals from King Chulalongkorn’s European tour are catalogued: a 41 mm silver piece (39.8 gr) commemorating his visit to the Paris mint on 16 September 1897, and a set of medals for his return to Siam in 1898 (year 116 Bangkok Era) in silver and bronze at 50 mm and 33 mm, plus smaller 37.5 mm bronzes probably struck in Bangkok (pp. 178–179).

Key Findings

  • The 1686 Louis XIV medal (73 mm, 172 gr copper) was issued in very limited number; two are in the Louvre and the Bangkok original supplied the impression reproduced here (pp. 175–176).
  • A smaller variant of the same medal (radius 41 mm, 28.7 gr) carries unabbreviated “CHRISTIANISSIMUS” and a simplified reverse (p. 177).
  • The 1861 Mongkut–Napoleon III medal (72 mm silver, 204.4 gr) records the Fontainebleau audience of 27 June 1861; a bronze counterpart is in the Bangkok Museum (pp. 177–178).
  • The 1897 Paris-mint medal (41 mm silver, 39.8 gr) bears the inscription “SA MAJESTE LE ROI DE SIAM A VISITE LA MONNAIE DE PARIS LE 16 SEPTEMBRE 1897” (p. 178).
  • The 1898 return-to-Siam medals exist in silver and bronze at 50 mm (69.6 gr and 66.3 gr) and silver at 33 mm (15.25 gr), with smaller 37.5 mm bronzes (23 gr) likely of Bangkok manufacture (pp. 178–179).
  • Wodak notes that King Narai is of particular interest to coin collectors because bullet-coin marks cannot be assigned to any reign before the Bangkok Dynasty (1782), making Narai-era examples exceptional (p. 177).

Conclusion

Wodak’s definitive contribution is a compact, specimen-based catalogue of five distinct medal types (with variants) that document three centuries of Franco-Siamese diplomatic contact, providing precise dimensions, weights, and provenance for each piece at a time when no systematic reference existed for this category of Siamese numismatic material.

Context

  • All measurements and descriptions beyond the Haas quotation are based on specimens in Wodak’s personal collection (p. 179).
  • The article appears alongside unrelated contributions (a Jakun linguistic note by P. D. R. Williams-Hunt and a Perak River tale) in the same journal part, typical of the Society’s mixed-format issues of this period.

References