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!
Lan Na
½ Tael Silver Boat Ingot
蘭納王國
½兩船型銀錠
Item number: A1287
Year: AD 1290-1556
Material: Silver
Size: 48.6 x 13.3 x 6.0 mm
Weight: 15.05 g
Provenance: Teutoburger Münzauktion GmbH 2023
This is a boat-shaped silver ingot minted between AD 1290 and AD 1556 by the Lanna Kingdom, located in what is now northern Thailand. The ingot features rounded spheres at both the bow and stern, with edges designed in a serrated pattern. The interior of the boat-shaped body bears three stamped cross symbols.
The Lanna Kingdom, whose name in the Lanna language means “The Land of a Million Rice Fields,” was referred to in Yuan Dynasty Chinese records as the “Kingdom of Eight Hundred Wives.” Its centre of power was located in Chiang Mai, now a major city in northern Thailand. At its zenith, the kingdom’s territory stretched east to the Mekong River, west to the Salween River, south to Tak Province, and north to Xishuangbanna in Yunnan, China.
The kingdom was composed of numerous independent or semi-independent political entities known as “müang”. Lanna began to decline in the 16th century, falling under the domination of the Toungoo Dynasty of Burma, becoming its vassal. In AD 1774, Siam’s Thonburi Kingdom expelled the Burmese forces from Lanna, which subsequently became a Siamese vassal state. This status persisted until AD 1892, when the Bangkok-based Chakri Dynasty officially annexed Lanna into Siam.