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Thread Number: 37605
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Original Message
"Buying power outage."
Posted by Estee on 06-28-12 at 12:56 PM
Early this morning, I found forty dollars resting on the sidewalk.

Forty Jamaican dollars. Four ten-dollar coins.

I remained happy about this right up until the conversion page displayed the current U.S. exchange number.

So after that fun experience, I have two questions for those who've actually been to Jamaica.

1. Were you an instant millionaire?
2. What on Earth is the penny used for?

To save y'all the trip: forty-six American cents.

Table of contents
Messages in this discussion
"RE: Buying power outage."
Posted by frankz on 06-28-12 at 01:01 PM
LAST EDITED ON 06-28-12 AT 01:02 PM (EST)

So what is the current exchange rate? Last time I was there in 1978 it was one to one. But a U.S. bill bought much more.

ETA
Sorry didn’t see the footnote.

"RE: Buying power outage."
Posted by PepeLePew13 on 06-28-12 at 01:07 PM
LAST EDITED ON 06-28-12 AT 01:08 PM (EST)

Yeah I had a somewhat similar experience a couple of years ago. I got a toonie ($2 coin) as part my change when I got a coffee at Tim Hortons -- only it wasn't a toonie, but rather a Thai 10 Bhat coin that looked awfully a lot like a toonie at first glance.

I discovered the coin when I later went to a grocery store and was fumbling through the change when I saw it and held it up, the cashier said "uh huh, we don't accept that."

That 10 Bhat? Worth about 30 cents in Canadian money.

"RE: Buying power outage."
Posted by Estee on 06-28-12 at 01:25 PM
Just about how I feel when I get Canadian currency in my change. I never get loonies or toonies, but the lower denominations are so close in size and shape to U.S. as to mix in and become semi-useless the instant they're revealed. The number of cashiers who'll admit what they just did and fix it are depressingly small and mostly want a phone number in exchange.

(I say semi-useless because the New York Thruway (which has a Montreal exit) takes Canadian currency, which lets me dump anything of a nickel or larger when moving upstate. I just can't pay a toll with four hundred pennies without hearing gun-drawing sounds from the eighty cars lined up behind me.)

I still have a large cup filled with assorted multinational coins I can't spend. I could take them to the airport and try a mass dump, but I'm guessing the booth would charge their base skim fee per country.

"RE: Buying power outage."
Posted by Starshine on 06-28-12 at 02:27 PM
{Thinks} Should I make a joke about the Euro here? {/Thinks}

The most irksome currency I experienced was the Luxembourg Franc (about 200 to the pound), which was linked 1 to 1 to the Belgian franc (about 200 to the pound), so any Luxembourgian was happy to take Belgian money, but when you went back into Belgium you were stuck with notes/coins that they wouldn't accept.

OTOH it always seemed that every Dutch shopkeeper ran a bureau de change on the side because they would take any currency.

"One for AyaK"
Posted by cahaya on 06-28-12 at 04:03 PM
Yes, one specially for AyaK here, courtesy of my visit to Iran on the 10th anniversary of the Vincennes incident, 10,000 rials...

Value: U.S. 81 cents. Not a bad price for a finished, high quality portrait good for target shooting!

This one is a reminder to some folks not to monkey around with worthless currency, coming from Indonesia...

Value: U.S. 5 cents. Monkey change.

And the Saudis are rich, rich, rich, right? So how much is this worth?

Value: U.S. 27 cents. About 300 of these will buy you a barrel of oil.


Agman's world

I have a collection of about 100 different currencies of countries that I've been to or have traded with UN delegates coming from their countries.

"RE: One for AyaK"
Posted by Estee on 06-28-12 at 04:12 PM
So no matter where you go, you're broke!

I predict a new sigpic is coming.

"Works of art (pre-euro)"
Posted by cahaya on 06-28-12 at 05:13 PM
Some of these are actually worth something...

The Belgians had a nice collection, covering music, art and theater...

And also from Switzerland (cool art!)...

And Luxembourg and Holland...

"RE: Works of art (pre-euro)"
Posted by Puffy on 06-28-12 at 05:38 PM
I'm getting dizzy, standing on my head to look at your money.


I waddle for Agman

"RE: Works of art (pre-euro)"
Posted by cahaya on 06-28-12 at 06:20 PM
LAST EDITED ON 06-28-12 AT 06:39 PM (EST)

Whatever it's supposed to be worth (not much in total, really), I wouldn't spend a cent of it. The most valuable thing is the memories of being in these places, with the people, the culture, the art, the music, the life. These are just keepsakes of a remembered time and experience.

(eta) A serious money bill for you, Puffy, going back to "the sun never sets on the British empire"...


Capn's temple lions


"RE: Works of art (pre-euro)"
Posted by Puffy on 06-28-12 at 11:43 PM
Very true about the bills being great memories and keepsakes.


"RE: Works of art (pre-euro)"
Posted by Max Headroom on 06-29-12 at 09:01 PM
The HK $10 bill! Given as a gift to bring prosperity and happiness to the recipient.

Well, that's how it was when I used to travel to Hong Kong. Now? They're out of circulation.

"RE: Works of art (pre-euro)"
Posted by cahaya on 06-30-12 at 10:46 AM
And it seems we're out of circulation, too! How long has it been since we've traveled overseas like we used to?

It'd be cool if we could just take a spontaneous guy-vacation and go climb the Peak and look upon Hong Kong at night again...


"RE: Works of art (pre-euro)"
Posted by PepeLePew13 on 06-30-12 at 11:41 AM
Can I join, too?
"RE: Works of art (pre-euro)"
Posted by foonermints on 06-30-12 at 01:05 PM
I'll wait for you guys in the bar at the top of the Tram.

Waitaminit - there IS one, isn't there?
foonermint: So Old.. so old...

"RE: Works of art (pre-euro)"
Posted by cahaya on 06-30-12 at 01:08 PM
A friendsome foursome at the top, yeah, coolness.
"RE: Works of art (pre-euro)"
Posted by Max Headroom on 06-30-12 at 02:52 PM
Best skyline in the world.
"RE: Buying power outage."
Posted by SpotTheDiffference on 06-29-12 at 04:20 AM
Would you be happier getting 40 Philippine pesos ($0.98)?

I once gave my 7 year-old nephew a 10,000 Vietnamese dong bill for Christmas as a joke. He declared me as his favorite uncle, until he asked his father how much it was worth: P20. Just enough to get himself a small bottle of Coke.

"Waitaminit."
Posted by Estee on 06-29-12 at 07:06 AM
LAST EDITED ON 06-29-12 AT 07:57 AM (EST)

You can get a Coke for forty-nine cents?

"RE: Waitaminit."
Posted by SpotTheDiffference on 06-29-12 at 08:48 AM
The smallest available size here in the Philippines is called Coke Sakto. It's 200 mL (~6 fl. oz), and is worth P5.50 ($0.13). A Big Mac is also around half the price here, although I assume it also comes at half the size.
"RE: Waitaminit."
Posted by cahaya on 06-29-12 at 08:51 AM
At the current exchange rate, Coke is about 30 cents a can or a glass at most local restaurants in Malaysia. Coke and most other beverage companies have bottling/canning facilities in the country.
"*snicker*"
Posted by IceCat on 06-29-12 at 07:46 AM

'dong'
"Got Yourself"
Posted by foonermints on 06-30-12 at 01:22 AM
Some spliff money, mon?


Handcrafted by RollDdice

"RE: Buying power outage."
Posted by kingfish on 06-30-12 at 08:31 AM
Let's move to Zimbabwe. Victoria Falls is beautiful this time of year.

On Feb 2, 2009, the exchange rate for one US dollars was

300 000 000 000 000 Z$.

That's 300 trillion Zimbabwe dollars to one US dollar.