The three chronological systems on Thai coins

This description covers 3 periods of Thai coin dating, relating only to the coins minted in the XIX–XX-th centuries.

1. Buddhist Era (BE). Coins minted from 1913 AD to the present day. The year 1913 corresponds with the year 2456 BE. Evidently all Thai coins recently minted are in this category. The rule for date conversion is as follows: Year AD = Year BE – 543. And vice versa: Year BE = Year AD + 543. As an example, 2012 AD = (2012 + 543) BE = 2555 BE.

   Typical dates on modern Thai coins look like this:

   
   
   
   
   

   In the example above we can see Buddhist year 2538, which is equivalent to 1995 AD. The first two letters to the left of the date indicate that this date belongs to the Buddhist calendar.

2. Ratanakosindsok Era (RS). Coins minted from 1888 AD until 1912 AD (Thai years of that period: from year 107 to year 131). The rule for date conversion is as follows: Year AD = Year RS + 1781, therefore, Year RS = Year AD – 1781. For example, 1905 AD = (1905 – 1781) RS = 124 RS.

3. Chula-Sakarat Era (CS). Coins minted from 1835 AD until 1887 AD (Thai years of that period: from year 1197 to year 1249). The conversion rule is: Year AD = Year CS + 638. For instance, 1238 CS = (1238 + 638) AD = 1876 AD.

   As a part of a typeface, Thai numerals are written as follows:

   0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
   ๐	๑	๒	๓	๔	๕	๖	๗	๘	๙

   
   

   Interesting facts

   The Thai numeral ‘2’ looks similar to the logo of the OS Linux Mint.

   Logo of the OS “Linux Mint”

   Thai numeral ‘2’

   This similarity could also be applied to the respective Khmer digit.

   The logo of OS Debian looks like the Thai numeral ‘1’ if you flip that logo in a vertical plane.

   Logo of OS Debian (original)

   Logo of OS Debian (flipped in a vertical plane)

   Thai numeral «1»

   Refer to the corresponding section of the Cambodian system to find other images similar to the Khmer digit «1».

   The system of monetary denominations in present day Thailand

   The currency of Thailand is the Baht. It is divided into 100 satang. Bank notes from 20 up to 1,000 baht are now in circulation, along with 1, 2, 5 and 10 baht coins and smaller coins 25 and 50 satang.

   
   

   Information about most recent updates of the converter.

   Update @February 5, 2011: digit images have been improved in direct converting. Sources of those images are scans of real Thai coins. It's been done to make those images more recognizable for a common coin collector.

   Update @March 20, 2011: added section called “Interesting facts” and its first item concerning Linux Mint logo.

   Update @March 22, 2011: added an item concerning OS Debian logo to the “Interesting facts” section.