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Description: Round coin with a loop, smooth edge.
   The front  features a half-length portrait of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej, facing left. The coin's rim reads  'Bhumibol Adulyadej, Rama IX'.
   The back  features a map of Thailand. The top edge reads ' Commemorative Coin for Hill Tribe People'.  In the center is the province abbreviation   (both stamped and unstamped)  followed by a code number.
Material: Alpaca. Size: 3 cm.
         More than 40 years ago, Thailand faced problems with drug addiction and slash-and-burn farming among the hill tribes in the north. This was also a time of war on "communism" that spread throughout the ASEAN region.
       With His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej's vast wisdom, he wanted the hill tribes to be able to "stand on their own feet" and stop immigration. To reduce these problems, he visited various hill tribes in various provinces many times. Each time, he introduced the cultivation of cold-weather vegetables to the hill tribes, thus ending the war on drugs. And the practice of slash-and-burn farming in Thai cities has ended.
         Meanwhile, in 2006, the solution to the problem of the hill tribes being overlooked, a number of Thais who do not have a legal identity, has moved forward into the digital age. Therefore, the number of hill tribes facing various problems and those who are eligible for Thai citizenship has been collected and compiled in a database for management and further processing of Thai citizenship for those who are still stateless.
       At that time, His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej created "Commemorative Coins for Hill Tribes" with a portrait of King Rama IX on the front and a map of Thailand on the back. Each coin was stamped with the abbreviation of the province and an identification number for each hill tribe person.
      His Majesty distributed these coins to hill tribe people in approximately 20 provinces, totaling more than 200,000 coins. Each coin had the initials of each province stamped on the back. Along with the coin numbers stamped as follows:
 1. Kamphaeng Phet (Feb.) 2. Prachuap (PK.) 3. Phetchaburi (Phet.) 4. Loei (Lo.) 5. Lamphun (Lop.) 6. Uthai Thani (On.) 7. Phetchabun (Phet.) 8. Phitsanulok (Phol.) 9. Ratchaburi (Rop.) 10. Lampang (Lop.) 11. Nan (Non.) 12. Tak (Tok.) 13. Chiang Rai (Chor.) 14. Mae Hong Son (Mae.) 15. Chiang Mai (Chiang Mai.) 16. Not stamped Sukhothai (Sat.) Very rare.
      The other 4 provinces with hill tribes but no coin information are 1. Kanchanaburi 2. Phrae 3. Suphan Buri 4. Phayao (included in Chiang Rai Province, at that time it was not separated into provinces).
        The commemorative coins for hill tribes are therefore considered as an identity card. For hill tribes, carrying them around to various places indicates that they have registered their Thai nationality.
         Later, as the country progressed, a comprehensive census of the hill tribe population was conducted, enabling the various hill tribes to legally receive Thai nationality. The need for "hill tribe commemorative coins" disappeared.
       However, these days, "hill tribe commemorative coins" have become a collector's item for local and general amulet circles. Not only are they antiques, but they are also royal gifts from His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej, making them highly valuable in every respect.