French Connection Reconfirmed
Find of rare proof King Rama V medal illuminates historic
tour
By Michael Brady
King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) could not have known it at the time, but
in one sitting, nearly one hundred years ago on 17 September 1897
he set the course that was to forever change one of the most ordinary
items of everyday life in Thailand: its coins.
On the previous day, the King had visited Monnaie de Paris (The Paris
Mint). He had been so impressed by the exquisite engraving of the
coins produced there that he requested that The Mint strike a medal
commemorating his eight-month royal tour of Europe. The Mint obliged,
and offered the services of its Chief Engraver of Coins, Henri Auguste
Jules Patey, an artisan just three years younger than King Rama V,
then three days short of his 44th birthday.
There's no record of the conversation between King Rama V and artisan
Patey, although the King did describe it later in a letter to his
daughter, Princess Nipha. But the King and the artisan must have found
rapid rapport in their common denominator of appreciation of the arts
in technology. Mr. Patey modelled King Rama V in a record single sitting,
and thereafter rapidly produced a proof medal 50 mm in diameter. The
King was so pleased with the work that he asked that it also be issued
in reduced 30 mm size, so it could be hung on a ribbon and worn as
a decoration. Both the 50 mm and the 30 mm medals were then struck
in gold, silver and bronze.
The design of the medals is beautiful yet simple. Around the rim,
there is an inscription in French which reads MONNAIE DE PARIS, BRONZE.
The obverse shows King Rama V facing right with his name round the
edge. The reverse bears an inscription in Thai that in translation
reads To Commemorate the Royal Tour of Europe from April 7 to December
16, Rattanakosin 30 Era 116.
Unique confirmation of the historic sitting has just come to light
in France. Two bronze medallions, 25 cm in diameter, that feature
the obverse design of the commemorative medals have been purchased
by Mr. Jan Olav Aamlid, a recognised expert on the coins and medals
of Thailand and a resident of Pattaya for part of the year.
Mr. Aamlid explains that the large medallions are not freaks, but
a result of the production process used at The Paris Mint at the time
the smaller medals were struck. "First, Patey modelled King Rama
V from life in a wax relief, 25 cm in diameter. Then a negative plaster
cast was made of the wax relief. In the third stage, the Thai lettering
was inscribed in the plaster negative. Then a plaster positive was
made and Patey's signature was added. The final stage of full-size
working comprised making a plaster negative and coating it with graphite
to make an electroformed copper negative. From there, reducing machines
cut the dies of the 50 mm diameter and 30 mm gold, silver and bronze
medals. The large medallions were cast directly in the third stage
plaster mould of the obverse. Each has a small metal loop attached
to its reverse near the uppermost edge, so obviously the medallions
were intended to hang on walls".
The find of the two medallions is nigh unique, as only ten of them
are known to exist, whilst hundreds of the 50 mm and 30 mm medals
are in public and private collections. In addition, though rare, a
41 mm diameter silver medal commemorating the royal visit and depicting
The Mint on its obverse is still more numerous than the large bronze
medallions. the Mr. Aamlid admits that the historic value and rarity
of the medallions is reflected in their value, "around a hundred
thousand dollars each".
Aside from the worth of his find, Mr. Aamlid points to the far-reaching
consequences of King Rama V's 1897 visit to the Paris Mint. In 1897,
the Thai monetary system converted to the decimal system, as used
in France, and was based on the Baht, divided into 100 Satang. In
the years that followed, Patey and the Paris Mint produced the bulk
of the new designs for Thai coins. Most notably, artisan Patey designed
the patterns of the 1908 - 1910 silver Baht, Half Baht and Quarter
Baht coins.
