Could anyone help i.d. thai clay coin

[chilli]

Hi All,
I have been meaning to find out about these 2 coins for the last 22 years.
I cannot find an exact match anywhere but Thai clay coins seem the nearest I could come up with.
I bought them in an old shabby/smelly antique shop in Changmai 22 years ago. I actually bought a quite a few items (cheap as chips) from the shop including fake opium pipes and some real ( they were stopped in customs when shipped). Also head dresses , elephants jaw bones and lots of niknaks for my job as a food photographer.

There was a bowl that contained about 30 of these "coins" and I added them to the rest of my purchase.
When the old lady got to the bowl she shook her head and indicated that they were going to be more than all the rest of my purchases put together.
Now I know the old ruse of pretending that something is worth a lot to sell it but the old lady seemed more than happy with me buying just 2.

They were about £2 each.
Any ideas on what they are.

Many thanks
Chilli

[Spradling]

A wild guess: the compressed ashes of a holy man's funeral pyre? I once had a small bronze (7") Buddha figure from Thailand which was filled with compressed funeral ashes. Ah, Berkeley in the '60's. Cheers, George Spradling

[chilli]

Hi,

thanks for the reply.
Interesting idea, they are very hard though.
I remember seeing something like in the Museum at the Grand Palace.
I have seen some of the clay coins on the net and they are the nearest thing to them, pre-Sukothai era. About 1300
Doubt if I am lucky enough to have 2 of those!

cheers
Chilli