A new set of Thai banknotes, to commemorate the anniversary of His Majesty the King’s coronation, have been released. The 1,000 baht note is larger than its original size and is printed in a portrait orientation in 3D magnetic ink, to prevent counterfeiting.
The 100 baht note is printed using the same technology. Both new notes feature illustrations of the coronation ceremony were officially released yesterday (December 12th) by the Bank of Thailand.
Social media users, however, have been discussing the new banknotes, claiming that the new 100 looks similar to the old 1,000.
The new banknotes can be used like other banknotes in current circulation and can be exchanged through commercial banks, the Government Savings Bank, the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives, the Government Housing Bank, and the Islamic Bank of Thailand. The new 100 baht banknotes can also be withdrawn from ATM machines.
Commemorative 1,000 baht banknotes to commemorate the coronation of King Rama X [Credit: Bank of Thailand]
Commemorative 100 baht banknotes to commemorate the coronation of King Rama X [Credit: Bank of Thailand]
Beware of its similarities!
Those who have used the new 100 baht notes have noticed the change of colour, which has caused confusion, especially with local merchants.
A Facebook fan–page, “Drama-addict”, compared the new 100 baht with the original 1,000 baht banknote, and expressed concern that merchants, in a rush to give change to their customers, may confuse the notes.
Another Facebook user, “TheSpark Trader”, said a merchant had mistakenly given them 950 baht change, after he used a new 100 baht note to pay for a 50 baht purchase.
The new 100 baht banknotes somehow looks similar to the original 1,000 baht banknotes if not noticed carefully [Credit: Drama-addict on Facebook]
Is your 1,000 baht banknote “as big as your wall?”
Users of Twitter and TikTok have been discussing the size of the new 1,000 baht banknotes, compared to the original.
Normally, Thai baht banknotes are no larger than 72x162mm.
With its unusual 127×181mm size and changed orientation, users have created memes around the new 1,000 baht note, one of which uses a catchphrase from a popular Thai drama, “Bai Mai Tee Plid Plew”, where the female lead angrily asks “Is your 1,000 baht banknote as big as your wall?” (แบงค์พันเธอใหญ่เท่าฝาบ้านเหรอ).
“Of course, my 1,000 baht banknotes are as big as my wall, much bigger than anyone else’s banknotes!!!!” [Credit: junji.199s on TikTok]
Large commemorative banknotes in the past
On many previous auspicious occasions, the Bank of Thailand has released commemorative banknotes, but they were never as big as the one released yesterday.
The previous largest commemorative banknote was released in 2016, where The Bank of Thailand released them to celebrate the 70th anniversary of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej the Great’s accession to the throne. The size of that special 70 baht banknote was 89×162 mm.
Back in 2011, a special 100 baht note was released to celebrate His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej the Great’s 7th Cycle Birthday Anniversary. The size was 84×162 mm.
Another larger-than-normal banknote was released to celebrate Her Majesty Queen Sirikit, The Queen Mother’s 80th Birthday back in 2012, but that was only 80×162mm.
By Nad Bunnag, Thai PBS World
