[Thomas12400]

I came across plenty of 2 baht coins, but I have a feeling that I spent them as if they were a one baht coin, because I don't remember a time specifically using it as a2 baht. They are so darned close in size.

This trip, it took me 3 weeks before I got a satang in change, and then they seemed to come from everywhere!

[SOgLak]

Hand Solo, you're asking questions that a little imagination and thought would answer for you. Don't you know that there are millions of people in LoS who would not regard satangs as "small money"?

[Inonanialry]

I don't remember a time specifically using it as a2 baht. They are so darned close in size.

That is probably why they write the number "2" on it with a blue marker in the local shops and businesses. Someone didn't do their homework.

[Habalinnyf]

There was a story in Chicago newspapers some years back, of a man who went to buy a new pick-up truck-with Quarters (now 4 quarters go to 1 dollar) Quarters he was saving for over 20 years,...new pick-up costs over 12,000 dollars, so he had to haul all those coins on his old pick-up truck imagine all the hassle & time the truck dealer had to count ALL those coins ....but the frugal guy still got his new pick-up.

[LasTins]

tesco, rimping, and other big stores round prices up to 25, 50 or 75 satang - for vegetables and stuff that is measured. I find it highly annoying. haven't seen any other place where satangs are used, in fact, all prices are nicely rounded to the nearest 5 baht in most sensible places (markets, small restaurants), and not many people care about an occasional 1-baht change. I mean here in the city.
the cheapest thing I can think of is a litre of water from these drinking water machines - 1 baht for 1 litre.

[Adamdjeffe]

I think it is 100 satangs to 1 baht-in 5 trips to Thailand I have yet to see a satang coin. However, Paknam Web does have pictures !


http://www.thailandlife.com/thaicoins.htm

[Adamdjeffe]

I remember those metal bowls-and the sound they make when people throw coins in them but did not know the coins were satangs or that you could get change there. Thanks. Will remember that next time I go to Wat Pho.

[Adamdjeffe]

I take bags (counted) of 1p, 2p and 5p coins to my bank several times a year-the staff love weighing all the bags which often add up to more than £40-particularly if I have miscounted. and have to search in a bag of mixed coins I take with me for just that purpose.

(Listen-I am always in credit with my cheque account and they give me something ridiculous like half a percent interest on it-so they can work to keep my money!)

[AngelinaLip]

I saw quite a few 2 baht coins while I was there, and the satangs are very useful as they can be used to make the pawns in a chess set drawn out on paper.

[trettegeani]

One of the annoying things about shopping in Foodland stores was that you always ended up with a ciuple of satang coins.
One day my mate and I took a bowl of them to foodland to buy some beer and cigarettes.
They said they could not accept the the satang coins, so we sat there in a peaceful fashion until they counted them out.
The manager was good about it, and said they would pass out comments onto the powers that be, still no change 12 years on?

I know in Australia there is a limit of 10 or 20 coins that you are permitted to tender for shopping purposes.

I think they would be better used to make jewelry, like necklaces or bracelets. But that might be illegal, as you would deface leagl tender, and possibly an afront to the King as well???

[Immampdah]

I know in Australia there is a limit of 10 or 20 coins that you are permitted to tender for shopping purposes.

Actually, there is the law about legal tender of thai coins, too.
10-Baht Coins: upto 1,000 Bt.
5-Baht, 1-Baht, 2-Baht Coins: upto 500 Bt.
50-satang, and 25-Satang Coins: upto 10 Bt.

Though I think the aim of the rule is to protect sellers, hence we can't insist to use all 1-baht coins to pay for anything costs more than 500 Baht. IMO, it didn't exactly say anything about the seller must accept the payment if it is within the limit, so it is open for argument there.

I think they would be better used to make jewelry, like necklaces or bracelets. But that might be illegal, as you would deface leagl tender, and possibly an afront to the King as well???

yeah, it is illegal.

[Habalinnyf]

In all my shoppings I done in Thailand, only once did I receive satangs as return change, ...and I was surprised, I thought it`s a farang coin then my wife explained that Baht is not the smallest money unit there, they have these Satangs. So how much are satangs generaly used?....better yet, what can you buy-if anything, with a satang?...are they just nuisance in shopping?, as pennies/cents are here in U.S.?...I mean one pack of chewing gum here costs 30 cents, so you really can not buy anything for one cent. Isn`t the satang situatuion same as cent`s here?...oh, they wanted to stop making cents here some years back, but they are still around...you can even find some of them thrown away on street as bothersome and useless (I saw lot of them), ..so how Thais feel about their Satangs?..are they heplful in shopping or just satans/nuisance?... ....

[LasTins]

sounds like I've "seen" lots of 2-baht coins without noticing them. but never mind. I spotted one when the darn dringking water machine kept giving it back to me instead of swallowing it up.

I keep having problems distinguishing between the colour of the 20-baht and 1000-baht notes, and I always have to be very conscious of carrying around the latter, keep it in a different pocket, etc. but everyone says they are very different in colour, and I have serious problems with my visual perception :-)

[Habalinnyf]

Thanx to both of you for your comments. ...Betty by reading your comment I can`t quite come clean as to how Satangs fit into a Baht......how many satangs to a Baht?..100?... like cents to a Dollar, or is there differ set up?

[LasTins]

yes, 100 satang in 1 baht. there are 25 satang and 50 satang coins. if you don't visit tesco or rimping, your best bet to see them is at Wat Pho - in the Reclining Buddha hall, there are 100-odd alms bowls along the south wall, and for a donation of 20 baht or so, you get a bowlful of satangs which you can drop one by one into the alms bowls. same at Wisakha Bucha or Asalaha Bucha in major temples in Chiang Mai.

btw, has anyone seen the 2-baht coins since their introduction a year ago? I've only come across two (!), but I might have mistaken a lot more because they are very similar to the 1-baht coin. colleagues said they had hardly seen any of them.

[LasTins]

I have a friend who collected a couple of thousand baht in satangs and 1-baht coins, he went to his bank and said he wanted to make a deposit :-)