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Thai money – Coins

by 66 Comments

 

Thai Coins come in six denominations: 10, 5, 2, 1 Baht, and 25 and 50 Satang

One Baht is divisible into 100 Satang.

The 10-Baht coin is a silver ring with a brass center. The coin replaced a 10-Baht bill in the early 1990’s.

The back of the 10-Baht coin depicts Wat Arun (วัดอรุณ) in Bangkok.

The diameter is 26 mm.

The 5-Baht coin is slightly smaller than the 10-Baht coin (24mm). The reverse features Wat Benjamabophit (วัดเบญจมบพิตร) or the Marble Temple.

The 2-Baht coin has two designs.

The new 2-baht coin design is in brass color. It features H.M. King Bhumibol Adulyadej, on the obverse. The reverse design depicts the Golden Mountain at Wat Saket Ratcha Wora Maha Wihan in Bangkok.

The original two-baht coin was minted 2005-2007, but it is still in used. It looks similar to one-Baht coin so many people write number two on the coin to prevent the mix up. The diameter is 21.75 mm.

The one-Baht coin is silver(20mm). The back of the one-Baht coin displays the chedis of the Temple of the Emerald Buddha.

The  fifty-satang coin is copper. It’s currency unit equivalent to one-half of one Thai baht. The back features the chedi at Wat Prathat Doi Suthep in Chiang Mai. The diameter is 18mm.

The 25-Satang piece is a tiny brass coin (16mm).

*Both the 25- and 50-Satang coins are mostly used in supermarkets and convenience stores like  7-Eleven.

 

Learning point: Ngern (เงิน) is Thai for silver as well as the general term for money, reflecting the fact that the baht (or tical) is foremost a unit of weight for precious metals and gemstones.

coin in Thai is called เหรียญ /rĭan/.

 

Click here to learn about Thai banknotes.

 

Have you ever confused the Thai coin denominations?

🙂

Mod

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Thank You very much for posting this to your website. I am in Bangkok now and I am trying to learn some Thai phrases and currency so I can make my holiday as enjoyable as possible while trying to fit into Thai society.

    Wonderful Country and People!

    Reply

  2. A 5 baht coin found its way into my pocket. Being close in size to a US quarter, I suspect it was passed to me in change.
    Whenever the odd, foreign coin appears I leave it on a table in a restaurant offering that country’s cuisine.
    And no, the $0.14 (a/o Aug.2022) value won’t be my tip. I use it as a conversation piece.

    Thailand, alas, is so far away, I doubt I’ll ever have the pleasure of seeing it for myself. There are too many other things and places I must experience before I leave this Earth.

    Your efforts regarding teaching Thai language go beyond common currency questions and are appreciated.
    I will endeavor to find “Lesson #1” on the website out of respect.

    Reply

  3. I have a 1 baht coin 15mm made of aluminum I cannot find anything online at all.
    The edge is not milled but the coin does look real.

    Please help eternally thankful

    Reply

  4. I have an antique Thai coin I bought on an auction for fun. However, I’m having problems dating it. Is there a way to upload or tweet pictures to here to have you help date it please?

    Reply

  5. Hi
    I have a 5 baht coin. When you look at the head and turn it over, the temple is upside down and not facing upwards like the perwon. I was therefore just wondering, Is this normal or is it an error? I can provide pictures if needed.

    Thanks
    Mark

    Reply

  10. Hi,

    I test with a magnet and i can pick up 1 and 2 bath silver color coins (not bigger value coins).
    1. Some silver color 1 bath coin are not magnetic / can not pick up with magnet. Why? Different metals?
    2. I have some different 10 bath coins with images of 2 kings, monks , babyface, and some symbols and writings on backside of coin. Are these coins real money or collectables ?

    Kind regard
    Jan

    Reply

    • Hi Jan, I am sorry I have no knowledge about the materials that are used to produce the coins.

      I have never seen 10 baht coins with monks and baby faces. I am sorry I can’t help with these matter.

      Reply

    • Hi,

      From 1986 to 2008, 1 baht coins were made from Cupronickel and from 2008 to the present they are made from Nickel plate. I would guess that if you check the Mint date of he coins when you are doing your magnet experiment 2008 will be the year that separates those which are attracted to a magnet and those that are not.

      I was aware there were different coins but did not know the details. I found the above information on the Treasury Department website; http://asean.treasury.go.th/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&layout=item&id=216&lang=en and also on Wikipedia; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thai_baht.

      I believe you can find the answers to your other questions through these websites. I am glad that I seen your question, it motivated me to learn something more about the country I have living in for quite some time. Thanks for taking the time to ask it.

      Have a great day

      Reply

      • It should have said “From 2008 to the present they were made from Nickel plated Steel” No option to edit, lol.

        Cheers

        Reply

  12. I have 1 THB, 2 THB and 5 THB coins. In all these coins the head of the king is opposite to the direction of the temple top. Are all THB coins minted that way ? Or it is minting error ? Please advise.

    Reply

  13. Thank you for this! I was having a hard time telling them apart & kept handing people the wrong coins. Gratefully, people have been kind about my mistakes.

    Reply

  17. Hi, i have 4 pieces of 10 thai bAht coins.
    This is from my grandma,as i remember she have worked in thailand during her young age.I am not sure if this is 1990 ,i dont know how to read in thai words.

    Reply

  18. I have 1990 bath coin value of 10 the first in the pictures yoh described what will be value for that coin let me know

    Reply

  19. Hi mod i do have 1990’s 10 thai bath coin now what will be its value the coin in first pic you have posted

    Reply

  21. Hi can I ask some question I have here a 10 baht coin but the worst thing is I don’t even know if this is a 1990 10 baht coin what is the difference between 1990 baht 10 coins to 1994 10baht coins and how much there prices

    Reply

  22. Hi Mod, can please show us some pictures of the valuable baht coins and can you tell us also how much it cost. I would really appreciate it.

    Thank you

    Reply

  23. Hi Mod, I have a 5- baht silver coin. Same one you showed on the second photo. The reverse features wat benjamabophit or the marbles temples. Since it is a rare coin, may i ask what is the value of this coin? And where can we sell it?

    Reply

  24. Hi Mod,

    I have a 5-Baht that looks exactly the same 5-Baht silver coin you show on the photo but the man (i assume he is the king) on the coin looks much more younger. Please can you tell me the year this coin was produced?

    Thanks!

    Reply

  29. This is amazing! Yesterday I found a 2 bath coin in my town called “Grenaa” here in Denmark, and it had blue marker on it, excatly like the one in the picture!!! :O
    I don’t know where Mod is located, but it is crazy that I found the excact same coin as in the picture 😀

    Reply

  31. i have a 5 baht thai coin but the front looks the same & the reverse is round with an edge that raises up instead of octagon shaped & is sunk in. it looks like it has actually been stamped into the front side it even has an edge on the rim side of the coin like two coins pressed together. i have found no error coins like this & would. like a little advice if you could help me. thAnks

    Reply

  33. I’m agree with Mr.Lee comment, Thai coins are not silver. They’re steel, copper or brass.
    Some 50 cents or satang are steel plated with copper so it’s not a copper either.

    Reply

  34. The ten baht coin has a silver colored ring; not silver metal. The one baht coin is not made out of silver. They are either steel or aluminum. Run a magnet over a one baht coin and you will quickly see if it is steel or aluminum. If any of these coins were made from silver metal, they would be worth much more than one baht. Whenever a metal exceeds the value of the coin minted, that coin disappears from circulation, and governments replace the metal with a less valuable alternative.
    U.S. coins before 1964 contained silver, but since that time they do not.

    Watch the price of copper. When it goes up significantly – as some predict – the 50 satang coin will be made from another less valuable metal, and your copper coins will be worth more than 50 satang from a copper dealer, who will melt them down. If the metal of a coin goes up very quickly to a high level, the government may try to confiscate the coins, and force you to exchange them for coins of a different metal. During World War 2 in the U.S., copper pennies were replaced with ones made of zinc.
    By the way, if you think that an aluminum one baht coin is silver, try this: Silver conducts heat better than any other metal, much better than aluminum. Hold a one baht coin between your thumb and index finger and run the edge through a candle flame. The aluminum coin will feel warm, but you can still hold it. If it were silver, you would have to drop it immediately because the heat would flow through it from the candle flame very quickly.

    Reply

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