The first Thai banknotes were announced on the 7th of September 1902. A 10 Baht (Tical) dated 1st April 1902 is being offered for sale in the Eur-Seree Collecting Company’s next auction. The note was produced by Thomas de la Rue & Company Limited of London, who was selected by the Ministry of Finance to produce Thai banknotes from 1902.
In 1968 the Bank of Thailand set up their Note Printing Works, and from this time Thai banknotes are produced in Thailand with a few exceptions. During 2nd World War banknotes were produced by different other suppliers.
The 10 Baht 1902, First Series of Thai Banknotes, offered in the sale is a very rare note that many collectors look for, but this is the very first 10 Baht ever printed with the prefix B1 and the number 00001.
As of today, the Thai Banknote that sold for the highest price was the unique artwork for a 10 Baht dated 1st July 1926. This was the artwork for the Third Series and for the first time showed an image of a Thai King on a banknote. The portrait shows an image of King Prajadhipok (Rama VII) and the note was never issued. This note sold in Singapore in 2009 for around 2,000,000 baht.
The 10 Baht from 1902 is to be sold on 2nd of December and described by the auctioneer as a master piece and priceless item. The 10 Baht is actually not priceless as the minimum price is set at 500,000 baht.
This museum piece will probably be the most expensive Thai Banknote ever sold. The world’s most expensive banknote is the USA 1890 Grand Watermelon $1,000 Treasure Note that sold for more than 100,000,000 baht.
