"Bronze-Gold" Vajirayana Medal, Reign of King Rama V

History

His Majesty ordered the Vajirayana Medal to be created as a reward for authors of good books, and issued a royal act with the following text:

"On 25 September 1889 (B.E. 2432), it was ordered that the Vajirayana Medal be made as a bronze-gold medal, bearing on one side the portraits of both King Mongkut and King Chulalongkorn, and on the other side a garland, within which is a space for engraving the name of the recipient. The medal is to be bestowed as an award in the name of the Vajirayana Library upon those who have diligently written or translated books useful to knowledge.

It should also serve as a standard for the future, a testimony honoring the merit, knowledge and diligence of such an author, showing that he has rendered service in the field of letters and deserves the praise of the learned. A royal act for the medal was also deposited in the Library, stating that any member of the Vajirayana Library who considers that a particular book deserves the Vajirayana Medal shall notify the committee secretaries (kammasampathik) by letter; the committee shall meet once a year in April to examine and decide the award of the Vajirayana Medal. When the committee considers that a certain book deserves the Vajirayana Medal,

they shall submit the matter to the King, humbly requesting His Majesty's decision on whom to award. When the committee meets with the members at the Vajirayana Library in the middle of the sixth month, which coincides with the Coronation Day of King Mongkut, those who are to receive the Vajirayana Medal shall be invited to receive it at the members' meeting; if this is not possible, it shall be sent to them. The Vajirayana Medal is to be accompanied by a certificate, but each person may receive the medal only once. Once he has received it, if in the future he writes another good book deserving the award, he shall receive only the certificate each time as a token. Furthermore, if the committee considers that a recipient of the Vajirayana Medal deserves financial support, funds may be granted in addition, at a rate of up to 80 baht and at least 20 baht each time. Such is the content of the royal act concerning the medal."

The beauty of this medal must have made it sought after by people in general who had the opportunity to see it in that period. In the Daily Royal Activities Record (Chotmaihet Phra Ratchakit Raiwan), written by King Chulalongkorn, Part 15, page 78, it is recorded: "Thursday, the 11th day of the waning moon of the 10th month, Year of the Goat, fifth year of the decade, Chula Sakarat 1245, Prince Kromamun Prachak¹⁶ submitted a document concerning Nai Wang, a royal page of the hot-water service, who stole 20 Vajirayana Library medals from the office. The charge was proven true; the stolen goods were partly recovered and partly not. His Majesty signed an order for 50 lashes and five years' imprisonment." Considering the punishment Nai Wang received, it can be understood that the Vajirayana Medal must have been of considerable value in those days. And it is certain that no one can deny that any of the stolen medals that remained may have passed down into the hands of present-day collectors of commemorative medals. Even so, this medal remains a rare museum piece; even in the Pavilion of Royal Regalia, Decorations and Thai Coins of the Treasury Department, Ministry of Finance, no set of these medals has been displayed for Thai and foreign visitors to see.

It was created to be bestowed as an award in the name of the Vajirayana Library upon those who have shown diligence in writing or translating books of literary value.

It is noteworthy that since the Vajirayana Medal was ordered to be created as an award for authors of good books, no one received the award under the royal act throughout the reign of King Chulalongkorn. It was not until December 1916 (B.E. 2459), before the ceremony of moving the Vajirayana Library to the "Thawon Watthu Building" on the road in front of Phra That, that the Library's committee agreed in consultation that the Vajirayana Medal should be presented to King Vajiravudh (Rama VI), as an honor to the book "Phra Nala Kham Luang," which His Majesty had composed that year, as the first award. After that, there is no record of anyone else being awarded it.