Banknotes of the Thai baht

The banknotes of the Thai baht are part of the physical form of the Thai baht, Thailand's currency. The issuance of the baht banknotes is managed by the Bank of Thailand. Throughout its history, the denominations have ranged from 1 baht to 1,000 baht. The circulating banknotes today in Thailand, however, are ranged from 20 baht, 50 baht, 100 baht, 500 baht and 1000 baht. The currently circulating series are 17th, 16th and 15th series. Thai baht banknotes commonly include the portrait or the picture of the sculpture of its kings. The obverses have been designed with the current king's portrait. Whilst, in the reverses, mostly the picture of notable kings and kings with the title "the great". Some reverses feature the King Bhumibol's sayings.
In 1851, the government issued notes for 1⁄8, 1⁄4, 3⁄8, 1⁄2, and 1 tical, followed by 3, 4, 6, and 10 tamlueng in 1853. After 1857, notes for 20 and 40 ticals were issued, also bearing their values in Straits dollars and Indian rupees. Undated notes were also issued before 1868 for 5, 7, 8, 12, and 15 tamlueng, and 1 chang. One att notes were issued in 1874.
In 1892, the treasury contracted with Giesecke & Devrient in Germany to print notes for 1, 5, 10, 40, 80, 100, 400, and 800 ticals, called "baht" in the Thai text. They were delivered to the Siamese Treasury, but never issued. Eventually the notes held in reserve were destroyed, with only a few remainders saved.
The year 1902 marked the introduction of reforms by prince Jayanta Mongkol after his observations of banking practices in Europe, which became an important landmark in the inauguration of paper money in Thailand. On September 19, 1902, the government introduced notes which were printed by Thomas De La Rue & Company Limited, England, during the reigns of Kings Rama V and Rama VI, denominated 5, 10, 20, 100, and 1000 ticals, still called baht in the Thai text — each denomination having many types, with 1 and 50 tical notes following in 1918. In 1925, notes were issued in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 20, 100, and 1,000 baht with the denomination in both Arabic and Thai numerals without English text; English speakers continued to refer to these as "ticals".
In 1942, the Bank of Thailand was founded and took over responsibility for the issuance of paper money. 50 baht notes were briefly reintroduced in 1945, with 50 satang notes issued in 1946. The one baht note was replaced by a coin in 1957 and the five baht was replaced in 1972. 50 baht notes were again reintroduced in 1985, with the 10 baht note replaced by a coin in 1988. The EURion constellation has been used on the reverse of 100 and 1000 baht notes since 2003. Older notes are occasionally still found in circulation, for example, 10 baht notes, and these can usually be spent without problem. In any case, they can be exchanged for free in banks.
The 15th series are the oldest circulating banknotes in Thailand. They were issued throughout the year 2003 – 2005. The banknotes can still be seen and used in common manners.
In 2016, after the passing of King Bhumibol, the Bank of Thailand issued the special series "The tribute to the great King Bhumibol". The reverses are replaced with the portrait of King Bhumibol through his life. The banknotes were rare at the first time being issued. As of 2018, however, the bills are commonly found and circulated in Thailand. Some Thais even mistakenly thought these were the new permanent series of banknotes.
The 17th series banknotes are the current ones issued for circulation in Thailand from 2018 on. Since the Thai ritual of printing the current king's portrait on the obverse, the King Bhumibol's passing leading the Bank of Thailand to reissue the new version featuring the new king, Vajiralongkorn's portrait. The banknotes's reverses are designed on the idea of the ten kings in the Chakri dynasty's contributions and works on improving the country. Each note's reverse contains two kings and their works, sorting from the Rama I to Rama X, from the 20 baht to 1,000 baht, accordingly.
On 24 March 2022, the 20 baht banknote was reissued as a polymer banknote. The 20 baht was selected to be changed from paper to polymer to improve the quality as it is the most widely used banknote and hence quickly gets soiled and damaged. The new banknote has the same design as before with some additional polymer-note security features.
The pictures displayed within the kings' portrait are the moment of each's works which could be described as follows:
In addition to the banknotes currently in circulation, numerous commemorative notes have been issued: