Asia

Thais buy commemorative currency note honoring late king

Associated Press
Published | Updated

A mourner inserts a commemorative banknote of Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej in Bangkok, Thailand, Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2016. For Thailand's royalists - and there are millions of them - King Bhumibol Adulyadej will probably long remain embedded as a potent, father-like figure who guided them through turbulent decades and espoused ideals of national harmony, labor on behalf of the poor and the virtues of an agrarian society vanishing in the wake of headlong modernization. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit) (The Associated Press)

Mourners of the late Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej line up to buy commemorative banknotes in Bangkok, Thailand, Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2016. For Thailand's royalists - and there are millions of them - King Bhumibol Adulyadej will probably long remain embedded as a potent, father-like figure who guided them through turbulent decades and espoused ideals of national harmony, labor on behalf of the poor and the virtues of an agrarian society vanishing in the wake of headlong modernization. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit) (The Associated Press)

A mourner holds a special commemorative 100 baht banknote in honor of the late Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej before inserting into a plastic case in Bangkok Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2016. The note was released five years ago by the Bank of Thailand, but interest in it was renewed after the king's death on Oct. 13. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit) (The Associated Press)

Thais have waited patiently in long queues to secure special commemorative 100 baht currency notes in honor of the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

The note was released five years ago by the Bank of Thailand, but there is renewed interest in it after the king's death on Oct. 13.

People began lining up early Tuesday morning at banks around the country to purchase the note, which was available for twice its face value at 200 baht ($5.71).

The banknote features images of the king visiting Thai people, planting grass and playing the saxophone. It is printed with metallic gold ink, instead of the red in the regular 100 baht bill.