Digital museum showcasing the collection of worldwide legends over the years! 千古不朽博物館展示多年來收藏的世界傳奇故事!
Thailand Lat Silver Ingot
泰國(暹羅)拉特銀錠
Item number: A64
Year: AD 1500s -1800s
Material: Silver
Size: Upper 88.66 x 11.91 / Lower 16.68 x 60.57 mm
Weight: Upper 24.17 / Lower 36.69 g
Provenance: Stack’s Bowers Galleries 2023
This lot consists of two Lat silver money from Thailand (Siam), circulating in specific regions of Laos and Thailand during the 16th to 19th centuries.
The Lat money shares a distinctive shuttle-shaped form, featuring two to four marks on the coin. The most common version bears three marks, with the elephant symbol positioned in the centre, considered a royal certification. Buddhist symbols such as the “chakra” wheel are often present on the coin. The third mark typically represents an animal or floral motif, possibly indicating the minting location of the coin.
The marks on the depicted Lat money, from left to right, include a turtle, possibly signifying a mint; the royal symbol of an elephant; and the “chakra” wheel.
The Lat money was originally issued in the 16th centuries in the Lan Chang Kingdom. In AD 1707, the Lan Xang Kingdom split into the Luang Prabang and Vientiane Kingdoms. Both adopted the Lat currency, continuing to issue such lot until the end of the 19th centuries.