Tikal (monetary unit)

The name “tikal” or “tikal” (in Russian there are both variants - more often “tikal” ^[3] ) probably comes from Sanskrit ( skansk . Tankala ), which means “branded silver coin” ^[1] and is single-rooted names of such monetary units as tenge , tanga , dangh , denga , taka , etc. ^[4] . However, it is possible that this word has Malayan roots ( Malay. Tikal ) and is the ancient local name of one of the units of mass and / or monetary units ^{[5] [6]} . In the 16th century, this concept was first used by the Portuguese first in Siam (now Thailand ), and then in Burma (now Myanmar ) to denote both the local coinage itself and the mass of silver contained in them, equal to about half a troy oz. ^[4] .

Local names of tikal ^[1] :

• in Siam and Cambodia - “ baht ” ^[7] ,
• in Burma, “ Kyat ” (or “ Keyat ”), “cha” (or “Ja”) ^{[8] [9]} .

Indochinese (Siam, Burma, Cambodia, other states of the region) the system of weight and monetary units was formed under the influence of the Indian and Chinese systems of weights and measures, taking into account local traditions. Like any traditional system, it changed over time and had significant local features, including within one state. Established by the middle of the XIX century, the basic relations, obeyed the binary principle of the account (in each larger monetary unit - two smaller ones) and looked as follows ^{[1] [4]} :

Local monetary systems had some differences, both in terms of local names, and silver content in basic monetary units. So, in the middle of the XIX century, the Siamese tikal (baht) weighed about 14 grams, and the Burmese (kyat) - about 16 grams ^[4] .

The first Siamese coins nominated in tikals were minted in 1350-1860. These were large (up to 65 mm in diameter, weighing up to 1.215 kg) bulging ingots resembling the drums of Buddhist monks, with two types of stamps - the mint (wheel or star) and the government. Since 1861, for Siam in the Mint of Birmingham began to mint coins of the European type (flat and round), which received the name " Rien ". The dignity of some of them was also indicated in tikaly. On August 21, 1898, the authorities of Siam announced the start of the transition to a decimal system of money accounts (1 tikal = 100 satangs ), which ended on November 25, 1902. In addition to coins, from 1853 banknotes denominated in tikals were issued into circulation. From April 15, 1928, the national currency of Siam became officially called the Bat . Moreover, if earlier the baht was the local name of the tikal, then since 1928 the tikal remained the second name of the national currency of Thailand ^{[1] [7] [16] [17] [18] [19]} .

Until 1887, the Siamese tikal was also the main currency of Laos , occupied by Siam ^[20] .

The first own coins in the territory of Cambodia were minted under King Ang Duong (government: 1841-1859). Sometimes they are called “tower coins”, because on their obverse was a temple with three towers. These were silver (weighing about 3.4 grams, equal to ¹ ⁄ ₄ tikal), copper (1 at or ¹ ⁄ ₆₄ tikal) and tin coins (supposedly in 3 and ^{1 1} ₄ tikal). King Norodom (1860-1904), in which Cambodia became a French colony, equated 1 tikal to 4 francs . When it was issued coins with the date "1860", whose face values ​​followed the French samples. Sometimes this group of banknotes is called the Cambodian franc . On December 24, 1878, the French authorities declared the Indochinese Piastre to be the currency of Cambodia, but the first nominated banknotes were issued only on December 22, 1886 ^{[1] [21] [22]} .

The monetary system of Burma to a large extent than in other countries of the region, focused on India , so the coins could have the denomination of the value in local currency and in Indian. Own key Burmese monetary units in different periods had the following two series of ratios:

• 1 kyat (tikal) = 4 mata = 8 mu = 16 ne = 64 drunk;
• 1 kyat = 5 mats = 10 mu = 20 ne = 80 drunk.

The first coins of Burma were minted during the reign of King Mindon (1853–1878) at the rate of 1 silver kyat = 1 rupee, 1 gold kyat = 1 muhra. In 1883, some of the provinces, and in 1885, all of Burma became a British colony , and the Indian rupee was declared its monetary unit; however, the previously issued coins were demonetized only on April 1, 1892 ^{[1] [23] [24] [25]} .

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