The Dehua kilns made coins initially for private use as tokens in gambling houses in Thailand during the 19th century. Their use soon spread as Thai metal coins were much higher in value and bulky to carry around. These coins were banned in 1871 although it is thought that they continued to be used into the 20th century. There were a wide range of shapes and designs usually with auspicious characters or motifs, sometimes with an indication of value or a shop name. The coins provided an alternative to the cowry shell, which had multiplied to such an extent that in 1862 it ceased to be legal tender. The porcelain coins provided a more convenient form of currency that was linked to the more valuable Thai currency, the tical.Dehua, located on the southeast coast of Fujian province, is well known for its production of white porcelain, known to Europeans as 'blanc de Chine'. The earliest Dehua porcelain was produced as early as the 14th century but the production and quality of these porcelain peaked around the 17th and 18th centuries.
