The currency was originally known as the tical; this name was used in the English language text on banknotes until 1925. However, the name baht was established as the Thai name by the 19th century. Both tical and baht were originally units of weight and coins were issued in both silver and gold denominated by their weight in baht and its fractions and multiples.
Until 1897, the baht was subdivided into 8 fuang (เฟือง), each of 8 ath (อัฐ). Other denominations in use were:
| Denomination | Thai | Value [1] | Alternate meaning |
| bia | เบี้ย | 1⁄6400 Baht | cowrie; a very small amount of money; a counter used in gambling |
| solot | โสฬส or โสฬศ | 1⁄128 Baht | |
| att or ath | อัฐ | 1⁄64 Baht | |
| sio or py | เสี้ยว เซี่ยว or ไพ | 1⁄32 Baht | a quarter (feuang) |
| sik | ซีก or สิ้ก | 1⁄16 Baht | a section; a half (feuang) |
| feuang | เฟื้อง | 1⁄8 Baht | |
| salung | สลึง | 1⁄4 Baht | a quarter (baht) |
| mayon | มายน or มะยง | 1⁄2 Baht | |
| baht | บาท | 1 Baht | 1 tical, from Portuguese, from Malay tikal [2] |
| tamleung (of silver) | ตำลึง (หน่วยเงิน) | 4 baht | a gourd; weight of silver equal to four baht, or ~60 grams |
| chang | ชั่ง | 20 tamleung or 80 baht | a catty ~1200 gram weight of silver; as a metric unit of weight, chang luang ชั่งหลวง = 600 grams |
| hap | หาบ | 80 chang or 6400 baht | ~96 kg of silver, roughly equivalent to the monetary talent; from the verb/noun (carry) a load (suspended at each end of a pole across the shoulder); as a metric unit of weight, hap luang หาบหลวง = 60 kg [3] |
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