Revered Abbot Luang Pho Heed Remembered Through Sacred Coins
Luang Pho Heed, a revered abbot at Wat Phleung in Ratchaburi who founded a school in 1934, is now remembered through sacred coins minted after his death in 1947. The distinguished monk devoted his life to spiritual practice and community de
Phra Kru Srutsdi Sikhhathorn, or Luang Pho Heed Chanthasaro, was a distinguished Buddhist monk at Wat Phleung in Ratchaburi province. Born in 1865 to parents Chim and Kim Sukontham in Wat Phleung subdistrict, he was the eldest of seven siblings in a gardening family. He took monastic vows in 1902 and devoted himself to studying Vipassana meditation and Buddhist doctrine under his teacher Luang Pho Phlang. When his teacher passed away, the villagers requested that he become the abbot, a position he accepted in 1917 and held throughout his life.
During his tenure, Luang Pho Heed worked to develop the temple and uplift the spiritual conduct of the community. Recognizing that local children had nowhere to study except under the temple eaves, he began construction of a public school in 1925 by selling his own land. When funds proved scarce, he obtained royal permission from King Rama VI to fundraise, ultimately collecting 10,932.30 baht—largely from donors in Suphan Buri province—and completing the school, named Wat Phleung School (Heed Sradtha Prachanukul), on January 1, 1934.
After his death, local residents sought the original royal petition he had used for fundraising, intending to have it made into an amulet. One petition was discovered in an old bell chest, bearing the royal inscription granting permission for Phra Atcharn Heed to raise funds for the school. The document featured three corner yantras and three Khmer characters.
In 1934, in recognition of his virtues and abilities, Luang Pho Heed was appointed head of the Sangha assembly at Wat Phleung and received the ecclesiastical title Phra Kru Srutsdi Sikhhathorn on January 16, 1934. He died of old age in 1947 at the age of 82 and in his 45th year as a monk, deeply mourned by the community.
During his lifetime, Luang Pho Heed created many amulets and talismans, but the most famous were the first-edition coins. Unlike some revered monks who produced portrait coins during their lives, he did not create portrait coins; his sacred objects were primarily amulets and talismans. The first-edition coins were produced after his death in 1947 as memorials for those who attended his funeral.
