IN MEMORY OF LATE KING
Banknotes, coins, stamps, medals, booklets and biographies are drawing a sea of speculators and sentimental collectors alike, write Oranan Paweewun and Wichit Chantanusornsiri
Since King Bhumibol’s demise on Oct 13 last year, demand for royal memorabilia, from coins to biography books, has soared.
Since King Bhumibol passed away on Oct 13 last year, demand for memorabilia spanning coins, banknotes, medals, special edition commemorative booklets, biography books and stamps has soared. Thais regularly flock to purchase limitededition items, particularly banknotes, coins and stamps, produced in honour of the late King.
“I would like to keep these commemorative coins minted to mark the King’s cremation as a memento of the time and the ceremony,” said Jiwamol Kanoksilp.
Ms Jiwamol, 46, recalled queuing up at Bank of Ayudhya’s headquarters before 8am on Aug 22 to reserve three cupronickel and three silver coins minted to mark the ceremony for the late King. She later moved to queue up at another bank where the lines were much shorter.
“Gold coin prices are too high. I would also worry about how to keep them, so I think silver coins are enough to have as memorabilia,” she said.
Ms Jiwamol said that she has also collected other items associated with the late King such as photos.
The Treasury Department has called for the minting of 99,999 gold commemorative coins priced at 50,000 baht each, 39,999 copper coins priced at 3,000 baht each; 399,999 silver coins priced at 2,000 baht each; and 39.9 million cupronickel coins priced at 100 baht each for the first round of reservations. But 99% pure gold, silver and copper coins were sold out within two days of opening reservations.
To keep up with the massive demand, the Treasury Department decided to mint an additional 50,000 gold, 400,000 silver and 40,000 copper coins and reduced the number of coins that each person can reserve to one coin per type, from three coins of each type, in the first round of reservations. The copper coin supply sold out within 15 minutes of the second reservation on Sept 18.
As of Sept 30, 139,960 gold coins and 17.7 million cupronickel coins were booked, while all 799,999 silver coins were sold out.
The commemorative coins have an etching of the late King Bhumibol in full dress uniform, the robe of the Royal House of Chakri, the Most Illustrious Order of the Royal House of Chakri and a Chulachomklao breast chain.
The late King’s name is engraved on the bottom of the coin. On the reverse side the royal crematorium is etched, along with the initials of the late King, the words “royal cremation” and the date of the ceremony, Oct 26, 2017, in Thai.
Apart from the royal cremation commemorative coins, previous iterations of royal commemorative coins minted in honour of the late King that remained in the department’s inventory saw a surge in demand — 4.56 million coins were sold from Oct 14 to Nov 30 last year.
Kanta Banchong snapped up the silver royal cremation coin by lining up at Krungthai Bank at around 7.30am on Sept 18.
“I also wanted to buy copper coins, but they were sold out shortly after the bank branch opened. I managed to book a silver coin. I would like to buy the coin to commemorate the late King, not for price speculation as these coins become highly sought-after,” she said.
She also exchanged the commemorative 100-baht banknotes released by the Bank of Thailand after the King’s passing and collected circulated banknotes and coins portraying the late King as they will eventually be phased out.
Demand for the late king’s memorabilia has reached a fever pitch as the royal cremation ceremony approaches — 40,000 pins produced to mark the ceremony were sold out within the first day of launching on Oct 22, even though individuals were only allowed to buy two pins at 300 baht a piece.
Moreover, local media have reported that the resale price of the pins available online is surging at breakneck speeds to as much as 1,500 baht each.
I would like to buy the coin to commemorate the late King, not for price speculation. KANTA BANCHONG Mourner and collector