Thailand 1877 Proof Silver 2 Baht Depicts Rama V, Who Ruled For 42 Years

Rama V silver Proof Pattern 2 Baht (1/2 Tamlung) ND (1877) PR62 NGC, Paris mint, KM-Pn35, VG-Unl., Krisadaolarn/Mihailovs-pg. 171, Plate F38. An extremely rare unadopted pattern type which almost never occurs on the market. Le May notes that, in spite of his exceptionally long reign of 42 years--one of the longest in Thai history--Rama V did surprisingly little to change the coinage of his realm. Despite major changes occurring not long after his death, it was under his rule that Thailand saw the monarch's portrait become a regular feature for the first time. In anticipation of this change, patterns were produced in the denominations of 2 Baht, 1 Baht, 1 Salung, and 1 Fuang at mints in France, England, and, later, Thailand. Within this series, only the 2 Baht was not later restruck until 1900. Certainly the rarest piece of this set as such, only 1 other example has appeared at auction in recent years according to our research, sold in Nihon Coin Auction's Sale 50, where they stated that perhaps no more than 8 test coins exist for all four of these denominations combined.