The One Find NYINC - Lan Xang

I was not looking for this coin but it certainly presented itself at a bargain price.

It took sometime to figure out if this coin could even be posted here for fear it might be too modern for this clientele.

The kingdom of Lan Xang, or land of a million elephants was a medieval kingdom in that is now Thailand and Laos.

The origin of this money seems to be great debate. These coins called Tiger Tongue were produced up until the early 20th century. The coins were originally produced in the the early period AD 1354-1530, and production of this type was at its zenith sometime around AD 1707.

This coin is made of silver allegedly from 0.750-0.900 fine. They were also produced in a variety of debased alloys. Scott Seman's site has this very same type described as 725b. So my attribution is based on his catalog.

Thailand and Laos
Kingdom of Lan Xang
AR Lat (AD 1354-1530)
102 mm x 88.24 grams

 

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Hey man, that sure is different. 102 mm long? Where in the heck did they carry the thing? Heavy too.

 

In a Vlasic pickle barrel!

Chris

 

wow, another thing i've never seen before!

so that's quite a production run...that beats the tang china tai yuan coin. when did the stop making them?

 

Very cool, noob... I always loved seeing what you bring to the table.

 

These are really cool. I remember them from the 80's when one could get them for $1-2. Be wary though, the internet has caused many fakes. Ironic though, as they were hard to sell back then, still few collecting them now.

 

When I used to live in Oregon, we had slugs that big...looked like that coin too!

@Ancientnoob - that's a cool coin, Dude!

 

Cool coin ! The shape always reminds me more of the back of a crocodile than as a tigers tongue. But then,i have held neither in my hand.

 

Master Noob again nice score! Show it in yer' hand.

 

That's what my son said. "Daddy, that is a Crocodile coin!"

 

I will take a pic just for you.

 

Wow, that looks really good in hand! Thanks!

 

True. These remain largely unappreciated.

 

I also remember seeing these in the dollar days but never got one because I had no idea how to tell a 1380 from a 1980. When something is made for 600 years, how do you tell a legitimate spender from the late period from an early fake made for tourists?

 

Thats a legit concern. I bought this from a reputable dealer at the NYINC, for whatever that is worth. I had the opportunity to look at about a dozen of different sizes and designs. I was looking for something that had a patina, or some other other indicator of age. This has what looks like horn silver, I probed the end of the specimen with a dremel and indeed it is silver. I wish I was around in the dollar days.

 

Back in those days I did buy a number of them (maybe 10-20). I too had no idea how to tell the difference as there is a lot of variation. However, there are two people I can point you to who can give some input. Bob Reis of Anything Anywhere and Scott Semans in Seattle. Pretty sure I bought mine from Scott back then. Scott's website is coincoin.com and Bob's is anythinganywhere.com.

 

Awesome, I have had several dealings with Scott and Bob and I are friends on Facebook. Maybe they can shine some light on these. Scott's website I used to determine the type. Good call.

 

A little levity here. I live in Northern California and we have banana slugs too. Kids love them but they excrete a LOT of uber sticky slime, not unlike certain eels, and about 4-6 inches long:

 

Wow, what a beast!

I have only seen small ones here in Connecticut. When I was kid we used to pour salt on them and watch them fizzle.