PAI: COIN OF SIAM
1/2 pai (1 att), 1882: Kingdom of Siam
Surprisingly, most serious numismatic sources refer to this coin as "1/2 pai", while the term PAI is not written in any way on the coin itself. Instead, it says ATT in the biggest font (it's true that att was half a pai...but actually, pai is not mentioned).
A number of coins of this series were produced in an absolutely identical design: 1/2 pai, 1 solot and 1 sik.
Ruler: Chulalongkorn (Rama V) — king of Siam during 1868-1910.
Date on coin: ๑๒๔๔ (1244: Chula Sakarat) = 1882 (Gregorian calendar).
The Chula Sakarat calendar was used in Siam during 1835-1887.
A wreath made from the Cassia javanica plant — one of Thailand's Nine Auspicious Trees (bring good luck, ensure continued high rank and afford victory).
อัฐ: att.
๘ - อันเฟื้อง: 8 pieces are equal to 1 fueang (1 fueang = 8 att).
๑๒๔๔: 1244.
กรุงสยาม รัชกาลที่ ๕: Siam, Rama V.
Royal monogram of King Rama V: crowned stylized จปร — abbreviation of his title (จุฬาลงกรณ์ ปรมินท ร์ — Chulalongkorn Paramin /Supreme/ R).
Heaton mint (mint of Birmingham, Great Britain).
Mintage: 15.300.000.
- Copper: 25 mm - 5.9 g
- Reference price: 16$
COIN PAI — WHERE & WHEN (coins catalog: by names & emitents)
- KINGDOM OF SIAM (1874-1882): pai = 2 att = 1/4 fueang = 1/32 baht (according to Standard Catalog of World Coins /Krause catalog/, the pai began to be minted on the territory of Siam /the former name of Thailand/ at the end of the 18th century; probably, a coin of this type appeared earlier, but it was not possible to find confirmation of this; initially, it was a miniature /less than 0.5 g/ silver bullet coinage — a "drop" of metal with an indistinct stamp)
- INDIA, Princely States (Baroda, Hyderabad — 19th-20th centuries): pai = 1/12 anna = 1/192 rupee
About the name of the coin pai: with the name of this coin everything is too confusing...
Firstly, except for the Siam coin, the coins of India have the same name (whether the etymology in these two cases will be common is unknown). Secondly, there are Indian and Pakistani similar coins called pie (in some cases, some sources also refer to this coin as pai). Thirdly, there are related names of coins: pie, pice, paisa... According to Wikipedia, all these terms (in particular, paisa) come from the Sanskrit term पदांश, meaning "quarter part".
However, with regard to the pai coin, questions remain: the fourth (quarter) part of what?... and whether the Siamese pai is associated with similar Indian numismatic terms.
