Antique 19Th Century Thailand Kingdom Of Siam Bullet Money Or Pot Duang

6 antique silver kingdom of Siam bullet money also known as Pot Duang Each piece of money is stamped. Dating back to early 19th century. Total weight of all 6 is 19.32 grams. The evolution of money in Thailand used as a medium of exchange and to make payment before the adoption of Thai Baht coins and banknotes currently in use, included designs and forms which have been found over various period of time. For Thai people, money was considered as the symbol of civilization. Money itself, reflected belief, faith in religion, culture, customs and traditions of each era and also act as a significant record in the development and history of Thailand. History The land which is now Thailand was once inhabited by various pre-historic communities. Therefore, these groups of people left a heritage of social culture and ceremonies. In the ancient days of Thai society, before money was created to serve as a medium of exchange, humans traded goods by bartering for products of similar value. However, many products differed in quality, and buyers and sellers differed in their assessments of value and in their requirements. To facilitate product sales, several mutually-agreed commodities came into use as mediums for exchange. The Indo-China Peninsula or “Suvarnabhumi” which means “Golden Peninsula” was the geographical area on which Thailand is presently situated. These ancient kingdoms were a prosperous homeland for a variety of diverse races and tribes. They were the regions that were later on known as the Funan Kingdom, Dvaravati Kingdom, Srivijaya Kingdom and Sukhothai Kingdom. They used money as a “medium of exchange” which evolved into different forms of money. Thai money has the unique characteristics of the Thai nation with the Sukhothai Kingdom, using round shaped money made from silver which was known as Pod Duang, and has been continued from that time down to the Ayudhya, Thonburi and the early Rattanakosin periods. Sukhothai Kingdom The Sukhothai Kingdom was founded after the joint efforts and armies of Poh Khun (King) Pah Muang and Poh Khun (King) Bang Klang Hao successfully dislodged the Khmer from holding on the administrative powers over the territories of Suvarnaphumi. Poh Khun Bang Klang Hao ascended the throne of the Sukhothai Kingdom under a new title and name: King Sri Intharathit. The pinnacle of political and administrative power, and the development of the Sukhothai Kingdom, was reached during the reign of King Ramkhamhaeng.This Kingdom’s territory was extended to cover the entire length of the Malaysian Peninsula. The initiation of the Thai alphabet and its inscription into stone. Besides, the people of Sukhothai made ceramics which were considered to be of high quality and known as “Sangkalok”. Sangkalok was an important component of exports. Meanwhile, the medium of exchange used in this kingdom varied but the type of money originated in Sukhothai was “Pod Duang” or “Bullet Money” , it was in circulation for 600 years. It was round-shaped, with long, sharp and pointed tips of legs, and a large hole between the legs. It had marks to show the origin, as few as one and as many as seven marks have been found stamped into Sukhothai Pod Duang. The marks most often found are lion, elephant, conch, Dharma Wheel, lotus, rabbit and ratchawat (a pyramid of dots). Additionally, it was found that Sukhothai used a hard mixture of many low value metal, such as, tin, lead and zinc,to produce a shape resembling Pod Duang, but of larger size, they were called different names, such as “Pod Duang Chin”, Ngern Kub, Ngern Khub or Ngern Kook. Cowrie shells or Bia were also used as small change in Sukhothai Kingdom