The Story of Pod Duang
The Story of Pod Duang
13/8/2561 / 50 / สร้างโดย Web Admin

By S. Wattanalumleard

Around 700 years ago, the Thais in the Sukhothai Kingdom (the first capital of Thailand dating from the 13th to 15th century A.D.) used a style of money which had a unique and very unusual shape as the main medium of exchange. This money had a shape resembling a kind of worm or in Thai, "Duang” and thus were called "Pod Duang”.

Foreigners, on the other hand likened the money’s shape to those of bullets used in the olden days and thus called the money "Bullet Money". This form of money played a very important role in the Thai monetary system for more than 500 years before it was replaced by the modern, flat coinage.

The Origin of Pod Duang

The Origin of Pod Duang

The Origin of Pod Duang

It is believed that Pod Duang originated from bracelet money widely used in the Kingdom of Nan-Chao. This kingdom was situated in the north of Sukhothai and held power until the establishment of Sukhothai. Bracelet money consisted of a bar of silver bent until the ends meet in the form of a bracelet. In most instances it was cut and stamped to identify the maker and the place where it was made.

After the fall of Nan-Chao kingdom, the Thai races moved down to the northern part of Thailand, mainly to the Sukhothai kingdom. The assumption is that the Thais had brought with them bracelet money which was later modified into Pod Duang by reducing its size and pressing its ends more closely together. This change was to make the money more convenient to use and carry.

Further evidence that tends to confirm the relation between the bracelet money of Nan-Chao and Pod Duang of Sukhothai is that the monetary system of Nan-Chao and Sukhothai were identical, with the denominations ranging from Tam-Lung, Baht, Salung and Feung.


Shape and Mark

The shapes and marks of Pod Duang are the most important characteristics of the money. This gives the money not only unique features and differentiates if from all other money in the world, but they are also used as indicators to determine the age and the certain period to which each Pod Duang belongs.

Pod Duang of Sukhothai period have longer legs and thus formed a larger and wider hole in the middle. They were mainly made of silver with a cut across the front on both legs to show the money's authenticity and to test the quality of the silver as well. The Kingdom of Sukhothai gradually declined and became a vassal state of Ayudhya which was subsequently established as the capital in 1350 A.D. Pod Duang served as the main currency in this Kingdom. It was however, further modified to be more round in shape and with shorter legs. The hole between the legs was still noticeable but gradually became smaller and towards the end of the era the hole eventually disappeared. The cuts at the legs were also smaller until they were finally replaced by a small elliptical nick called "Met Kao San" on one Side of the money.

Pod Duang of Thonburi, the third capital of Thailand from 1767 to 1782 A.D. and Rattanakosin Kingdom, the present capital from 1782 A.D. adopted the main characteristic of Pod Duang of the late Ayudhya period. They had no hole in the middle and the legs became even shorter. The difference however, was that Pod Duang of Thonburi had no elliptical nick whereas that of the Rattanakosin Kingdom reapplied the nick like those of the Ayudhya Kingdom. The marks on Pod Duang generally consisted of two stamped marks. One mark which was always placed on top was the Dynasty of Kingdom mark, the other was the king's personal mark which was usually stamped in the front part

The exceptions to these markings were obvious with Pod Duang of Sukhothai - some of which being found bearing no marks at all whilst some bore up to 11 marks. This is due to the fact that in the Sukhothai era, people and merchants were allowed to produce their own money. From the Ayudhya Kingdom onwards however, the making of Pod Duang was monopolized by the government and thus made it easier to distinguish Pod Duang of each era.

Pod Duang of Ayudhaya bore two marks. The Dynasty mark is always either one which looks like a spoked wheel representing the "Wheel of Law" of the Buddhist faith or the mark of the Chakra, the weapon of the God Vishnu which is always in a form of 8 dots surrounded by a big dot in the centre. The king's personal mark changed according to each king commemorating his own reign. The marks included a Conch shell, a Krut or Garuda bird, an Elephant and an anchor.

Pod Duang

Pod Duang

The Chakra mark was still used as the Dynasty mark in the Thonburi Kingdom. King Taksin the Great, the founder and only ruler of the Kingdom, adopted Vajira or the thunderbolt as his personal mark. It is assumed that the king's former name or title before his accession to the throne was symbolized by the thunderbolt.

The stamp marks of Pod Duang of Rattanakosin Kingdom or Bangkok era are easier identified. The Dynasty mark, Chakra came in a form of a sharp-edged discus which represented the Chakri Dynasty. The personal mark varied with each reigning monarch. King Rama I adopted a Unalom which resembled a conch shell as his personal mark. The mark symbolized the deity Siva’s third eyes or in another definition, a sacred mark of Budhism.

When King Rama II ascended to the throne, he chose the Krut or Garuda bird as his personal mark. The mark was believed to derive from his former name "Chim” which means garuda's paradise. King Rama III also adopted his former name "Tab” (meaning castle) as his personal mark. In this reign however, the King also issued commemorative gold and silver Pod Duang. These Pod Duang bear the Chakra mark as usual but the personal mark was replaced by many different marks such as garuda in profile, flower, beehive, etc.

King Rama IV's personal mark is the "Mongkut" or Crown which was also taken after his former name. Modern flat coinage however, was introduced in this reign and became popular towards the end of the reign. As a consequence, Pod Duang in the reign of King Rama V were produced for commemoration purposes only and only on two occasions. One was to commemorate the cremation of the King's youngest sister in 1877. This Pod Duang bore the Chakra mark and Coronet. The other was for the merit making of the King's mother. It came in a series of 6 sizes and 462 pieces. All carried the Chakra on top with the mark of a Coronet with tray on the front side and Cho Rumphoei at the back.

The use of Pod Duang for 6 centuries came to an end in the reign of King Rama V. The King considered that Siam should use the same standard flat coinage as other countries so that foreign trade and commerce could be developed and more internationalized. In addition, the making of Pod Duang was performed by hand using skilled craftsmen and was time consuming. It was thus, unable to facilitate the need of the expanding economy. In 1904, a proclamation was issued to withdraw Pod Duang from circulation.

References:
Nakornthon Bank; Legends in Thai Money,The Print International Ltd., 1993
Teerabutra, S. (Air Marshal); Pod Duang Money, Chuanpiln Press, 1992.

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