20 Baht 2015, Thailand
| in Krause book | Number: 118 |
| Years of issue: | 2015 |
| Edition: | |
| Signatures: | Finance Minister of Thailand: Sommai Phasee (in office August 2014 - August 2015), Governor of the Bank of Thailand: Prasarn Trairatvorakul (in office 1 October 2010 - 30 September 2015) |
| Serie: | 2010 - 2017 Issue |
| Specimen of: | 2013 |
| Material: | Cotton fiber |
| Size (mm): | 138 х 72 |
| Printer: | Note printing Works, Banknote management group, Bank of Thailand |
* All pictures marked 
are increased partially by magnifying glass, the remaining open in full size by clicking on the image.
** The word "Specimen" is present only on some of electronic pictures, in accordance with banknote images publication rules of appropriate banks.
Description
Watermark:
HM The King Rama IX. Denomination.
Avers:
King Rama IX in the Royal House of Chakri gown.
Bhumibol Adulyadej (Thai: ภูมิพลอดุลยเดช; (Sanskrit: bhūmi·bala atulya·teja - "might of the land, unparalleled brilliance"); 5 December 1927 – 13 October 2016), conferred with the title King Bhumibol the Great in 1987 (officially conferred by King Vajiralongkorn in 2019), was the ninth monarch of Thailand from the Chakri dynasty, titled Rama IX. Reigning since 9 June 1946, he was the world's longest-reigning current head of state from the death of Emperor Hirohito of Japan in 1989 until his own death in 2016, and is the third-longest verified reigning sovereign monarch in world history after King Louis XIV and Queen Elizabeth II, reigning for 70 years and 126 days. During his reign, he was served by a total of 30 prime ministers beginning with Pridi Banomyong and ending with Prayut Chan-o-cha.
Forbes estimated Bhumibol's fortune – including property and investments managed by the Crown Property Bureau, a body that is neither private nor government-owned (assets managed by the Bureau were owned by the crown as an institution, not by the monarch as an individual) – to be US$30 billion in 2010, and he headed the magazine's list of the "world's richest royals" from 2008 to 2013. In May 2014, Bhumibol's wealth was again listed as US$30 billion.
After a period of deteriorating health which left him hospitalized on several occasions, Bhumibol died on 13 October 2016 in Siriraj Hospital. He was highly revered by the people in Thailand – some saw him as close to divine. Notable political activists and Thai citizens who criticized the king or the institution of monarchy were often forced into exile or to suffer frequent imprisonments, yet many cases were dropped before being proceeded or were eventually given royal pardon. His cremation was held on 26 October 2017 at the royal crematorium at Sanam Luang. His son, Maha Vajiralongkorn, succeeded him as King. 
In top is the national emblem of Thailand - Garuda.
At the bottom is stylized Jasmine flower. On background is a pattern from flowers.
Revers:
Centered is The King Ramkhamhaeng the Great Monument in The Sukhothai Historical Park.
The monument was built in 1975 and situated on Charotwithithong Road,north of Wat Mahathat. The bronze statue of King Ramkhamhaeng the Great (The statue is approximately twice the size of the king, standing at 3 meters high) sits on a throne called Phra Thaen Manangkhasila. The right hand holds a scripture while the left hand is in a teaching gesture to the people. On the left side of the throne, a sword is placed upon a tray. The facial expression of the statue is like that of Buddha images of the early Sukhothai period and clearly conveys King Ramkhamhaeng the Great's benevolence, love of justice, and decisiveness. The base relief records the activities of King Ramkhamhaeng the Great as stated in the Sukhothai inscriptions.
One of the major achievements during the reign of Ramkhamhaeng the Great was the compilation of a writing system and the adoption of a new Thai alphabet, which was adapted from the various forms of the Khmer alphabet previously used. The new alphabet was adopted in 1283 and is still used in Thailand today. Therefore, today King Ramkhamhaeng is sometimes rightly called the “father of the Thai language”.
Ram Khamhaeng (Thai: รามคำแหง) or Pho Khun Ram Khamhaeng Maharat (Thai: พ่อขุนรามคำแหงมหาราช), also spelled Ramkhamhaeng, was the third king of the Phra Ruang Dynasty, ruling the Sukhothai Kingdom (a historical kingdom of Thailand) from 1279 to 1298, during its most prosperous era.
He is credited for the creation of the Thai alphabet and the firm establishment of Theravada Buddhism as the state religion of the kingdom.
On left side is The Ram Khamhaeng stele.
King Ramkhamhaeng's famous stone inscription, for the first time written in Thai, survived intact through the centuries, and was discovered in Sukhothai by King Mongkut during his monkhood, depiction of King Ramkhamhaeng, supervising the inscriptions of the famous stelas in the ostensible by him invented Thai script, following the official Thai historiography.
However, there is another opinion...
Much of the traditional biographical information comes from the inscription on the Ram Khamhaeng stele, composed in 1292, and now in the Bangkok National Museum. The formal name of the stele is the "King Ram Khamhaeng Inscription". It was added to the Memory of the World Register in 2003 by UNESCO.
The stone allegedly was discovered in 1833 by Mongkut, at the time a bhikkhu (Buddhist monk), in Wat Mahathat, Sukhothai. The authenticity of the stone - or at least portions of it - has been called into question. Piriya Krairiksh, an academic at the Thai Khadi Research Institute, noted that the stele's treatment of vowels suggests that its creators had been influenced by European alphabet systems. He concluded that the stele was fabricated by someone during the reign of King Mongkut or shortly before. The subject is controversial, since if the stone is a fake, the entire history of the period will have to be re-written.
Scholars are sharply divided on the stele's authenticity. It remains an anomaly amongst contemporary writings, and no other source refers to King Ram Khamhaeng by name. Some scholars claim the inscription was completely a XIX-century fabrication; others claim the first 17 lines are genuine; while a third view is that the inscription was fabricated by King Lithai (a later Sukhothai king). Most Thai scholars hold to the inscription's authenticity. The inscription and its image of a Sukhothai utopia remain central to Thai nationalism, and the suggestion it may have been faked caused Michael Wright, an expatriate British scholar, to be threatened with deportation under Thailand's lèse majesté laws.
The Ram Khamhaeng stele has also been brought into the discussions of the Wat Traimit Golden Buddha, a famous Bangkok tourist attraction. In lines 23-27 of the first stone slab of the stele, "a gold Buddha image" is mentioned as being "in the middle of Sukhothai City". This has been interpreted by some as referring to the Wat Traimit Golden Buddha. (alchetron.com)
Between a stele and the monument to the King is a Fresco, which is located at the monument to the King. It shows The King Ramkhamhaeng, supervising the inscriptions of the famous stelas in the ostensible by him invented Thai script, following the official Thai historiography.
Right of the monument is another fresco, which shows The King Ram Khamhaeng. (www.asienreisender.de)
Right of the monument to the King (of the throne) is an item of ceramic ware from the time of the Kingdom of Sukhothai.
King Ram Khamhaeng is credited with bringing the skills of ceramic making from China and laying the foundation of a strong ceramic ware industry in the Sukhothai Kingdom. Sukhothai for centuries was the major exporter of the ceramics known as "Sawankalok ware (เครื่องสังคโลก)" to countries such as Japan, the Philippines, Indonesia, and even to China. The industry was one of the main revenue generators during his reign and long afterwards.
In the top right corner is Garuda - national emblem of Thailand.
Comments:
If you find my work useful I will be grateful for any help in supporting the site.
-
PayPal
-
For users of European Union banking system