On the apparent scarcity of the 50 baht bill

[Jingthing]

I'm not telling why I hoard them.

It's already hard enough!

[Naroge]

The Toll Way price in Bangkok is 50 Baht. That's where they are.

[masuk]

There doesn't appear to be that many in circulation. I notice when counting up say 20,000 Baht in takings from my wife's shop there will be a huge pile of 20 Baht notes followed by 100's then 500's, maybe 10,000 in 1,000 Baht notes with maybe five or six 50 Baht notes.

About time they had a coin for 20 and 50baht and do away with the little brown things. It's like having a wallet rattling with farthings and halfpennys.

[Jingthing]

I think 20's and 50's should remain paper.

[jacko45k]

The plastic ones all melted away to nothingness.

[Chao Lao Beach]

Every morning I grab a sammich and bottle of milk at 7-11 and the total is always 51 baht. I usually hand over a hundred and one, expecting to get a fifty back

100-

51

= 49

So why do you expect a 50 ???

[DogNo1]

101-49=50

[Mudcrab]

101-49=50

101-49=52

101-51= 50

pay attention

Edited September 1, 2014 by Mudcrab

[attrayant]

Every morning I grab a sammich and bottle of milk at 7-11 and the total is always 51 baht. I usually hand over a hundred and one, expecting to get a fifty back

100-

51

= 49

So why do you expect a 50 ???

Where do you see the number 100 in my story?

[bubba45]

Well, that explains your change.

No, it really doesn't. She's got a fifty in the cash drawer. My change is 50 baht. Why is she clinging to it?

Try getting them at a bank. Hasn't ever been a problem for me.

I'm actually dealing with this quite well, even though there's no support group. In other words, it's not really a problem, just an idle curiosity as to why the 50 is so rare.

I've always wondered the same thing.

Edited September 1, 2014 by bubba45

[bubba45]

Has there been any movements towards someday introducing some larger notes...like a 5000 or 10,000 baht note?

Buying anything very expensive sure does require a monster stack of 1000 baht notes.

Large value bills increase the reward to risk ratio for counterfeiting & they make money laundering or drug deals easier logistically.

Bank transfers or credit/debit cards etc ... especially in countries like the US or in Europe, but increasingly in this part of the world ... can be used for most large purchases or making payments for large scale business transactions. People who want to make large business transactions solely in cash often are trying to hide something by avoiding bank transactions or a paper trail.

In the US:

The Federal Reserve began taking high-denomination bills out of circulation in 1969, after an executive order by President Nixon (rather than actual legislation passed by Congress). As of May 30, 2009, only 336 $10,000 bills were known to exist; 342 remaining $5,000 bills; and 165,372 remaining $1,000 bills

When combined with concerns about counterfeiting and the use of cash in unlawful activities such as the illegal drug trade and money laundering, it is unlikely that the U.S. government will re-issue large denomination currency in the near future, despite the amount of inflation that has occurred since 1969

Which brings up an interesting point. Maybe it's something about the number 50. Try getting a $50 bill in the U.S. If you get change for $100 they will give you five $20's. Even though a $20 ain't worth much. I'd take a wallet full of 50's over 20's of the equivalent sum any day, whether in Thailand or the U.S. But 20's seem to be the currency of choice.

[isnakebite]

Which brings up an interesting point. Maybe it's something about the number 50. Try getting a $50 bill in the U.S. If you get change for $100 they will give you five $20's. Even though a $20 ain't worth much. I'd take a wallet full of 50's over 20's of the equivalent sum any day, whether in Thailand or the U.S. But 20's seem to be the currency of choice.

Same can be said for £50. My local bookies rarely have them and repeatedly pay out in £20s and 10s. I prefer to take 50s when I travel to LOS. I have accounts with different banks and my local branches hardly have them, lucky if they have 1 let alone 2 and I have to order them in. Visited a branch near my father on the outskirts of London last year and asked the bank clerk for some. She asked "how much?" I said "a lot", she checked her computer and laughed "we have £5,000". Maybe it is a geographical and more common is passing hands in the more tourist or higher trading areas. I've definitely not handled a 50B note in a while.

[Eneukman]

I've noticed the apparent lack of 50 baht notes as well though strangely I actually has 2 in my possession yesterday. One was used to pay for washing my car (150 baht)..

I'm happy to keep the 20 baht and 50 baht notes for the time being though. When I first came here here (14 years ago) was a 10 baht note though it was pretty scarce at the time.

Alan

[mike324]

Well, that explains your change.

No, it really doesn't. She's got a fifty in the cash drawer. My change is 50 baht. Why is she clinging to it?

Try getting them at a bank. Hasn't ever been a problem for me.

I'm actually dealing with this quite well, even though there's no support group. In other words, it's not really a problem, just an idle curiosity as to why the 50 is so rare.

if you are ever trained as a cashier (not that I have been one) but they are taught to use up the surplus bills and coins first, so no fifty baht bill for you because there IS indeed a scarcity in the cash drawer compare to the coins and twenties that most people pay with.

[attrayant]

Which brings up an interesting point. Maybe it's something about the number 50. Try getting a $50 bill in the U.S. If you get change for $100 they will give you five $20's.

No, it's nothing about the number 50. 50s just aren't that useful in the US because quite a few things can be bought with twenties. If everybody used 50s to pay for their McDonald's orders and Starbuck's coffees, the cashiers would be out of change before the day was half over. For most day-to-day purchases, USD twenties work just fine. For larger purchases like groceries or electronics, people use credit/debit cards or (god help me) personal checks. Simply put: USD 50s are just too big.

That's not the case with 50 baht notes. There are plenty of things you can buy with a Bt50 and not need much change. And you won't run any merchants out of change by using 50s all over town, either. It's quite a conveniently sized bill.

Even though a $20 ain't worth much.

It's worth exactly twenty dollars. Whether or not that's "much" is highly subjective, especially considering the current state of the economy and number of unemployed.

I'd take a wallet full of 50's over 20's of the equivalent sum any day, whether in Thailand or the U.S.

In the US, cashiers would be asking you if you had anything smaller. In Thailand, they wouldn't. A USD 50 is more than 77 times the value of a 20Bt bill. If you compare a USD 50 bill to an imaginary 1,550 Baht note and imagine trying to use that for all your daily purchases in Thailand, then you'll see why USD 50s aren't that common.

[seancbk]

To save money each month and avoid getting coins with my change, I try to never use 20 or 50 baht notes.

I always pay with 100's or higher, so my change is in 50's and 20's (depending on the amount of course).

I then save the 20's and 50's, so at the end of the month I have a fairly large stack of them.

However, whilst I may have 250-300 of 20 baht notes at the end of the month, I rarely have more than 20 of the 50 baht notes.

It would seem that 50's really are quite rare.

[laocowboy2]

Noted the same - and in HKG the HK$50 note is also scarce for some reason. As I hate to carry coins, 20's. 50's and 100's pretty well cover everything in combination.

[fletchsmile]

Yes I reckon there's a lot less 50's in circulation. You can add me to the list of liking them so keeping/hoarding them for the tollway though I seem to use them as quick as I get hold of them.

Banks do have a nice stock of new notes in any colour should you want them. So if you want a nice crop of brand new green +/or blue +/or red+/or purple +/or white to display for Sin Sot at a wedding then a bank's your best bet

Cheers

Fletch

[Gentmartin]

_{Im sorry to say im also a hoarder of 50s, they are like rocking horse shit around here too.}

_{I like the colour.}

_{Looking at the 3 bundles of 100 50B notes gives me an enormous sense of well being.}

_{I also hoard 25st coins, one day i will melt them into a big bar and polish it twice a week.......}

Old Train tickets....now there's a thing..perhaps i need to start a new thread for that...................