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Coin Museum
Bangkok museum under the auspices of the Grand National Treasure Bureau, a department of the Treasury Department and a branch of the Ministry of Finance, whose logo, Vayuphak (fig.), i.e. a mythological bird believed to guard treasure, is displayed at the main entrance gate. The museum aims to be a centre for coin collectors and those with an interest in meeting and exchanging knowledge, information and activities on coins. Its permanent exhibition portrays the history of currency, as far back as to a time prior to the use of coins. The information starts with the initial barter system used in the pre-historic era and gradually shifts to our modern age, showing the evolution of the different monetary systems over time. Following a global overview, the exhibition narrows down to the origin of currency from each area and continent, before focusing on
Thailand's currency, which includes some raher atypical money, such as: bia, i.e. money cowry (fig.); pih, i.e. porcelain
chips (fig.); ngun chieng, i.e. ‘bracelet money’ (fig.);
ngun keuak mah, i.e. ‘horseshoe money’ (fig.); ngun lahd (fig.) or
ngun reua (fig.), i.e. ‘tilted money’ or ‘boat money’ (fig.);
ngun hoi (fig.); photduang, i.e. ‘bullet money’ (fig.); and satang roo, i.e. coins with a round hole in the center in order to string them together to create a higher value or to easily carry them around in bulk (fig.). The exhibition includes 4D animation on a 360º cave-like screen. In the foyer is a display cabinet that contains a golden replica of Phra Klang, the god of treasury, a kind of guardian angel that guards precious assets (fig.). The Coin Museum includes items from the collection of the Pavilion of Regalia, Royal Decorations and Coins (fig.), which was formerly located within the compound of the
Grand Palace. One corner in the Coin Museum has a wall depicting pictures of copper coins with the coat of arms of each of Thailand's 77 provinces, as well as their reverse side, which shows an important legacy of the relevant province (fig.). It opened in 2015 and is known in Thai as Phiphithaphan Riyan Kasāpanānurak (พิพิธภัณฑ์เหรียญกษาปณานุรักษ์). See also
Bank of Thailand
Museum,
ngun pahk phi, China Silver Panda Coin and China Gold Panda Coins, as well as MAP,
TRAVEL PICTURE, and POSTAGE STAMPS (1) and (2).
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