What's interesting about these coins are a few things. First, the 10 baht, bi-metallic coin is part of a growing series of Thai commemorative 10 baht coins, the coins really are not that rare, but they are generally easy to collect and usually are in great condition. You could likely buy the entire set of the bi-metallic 10 baht series (number around 56-58 now) for about $60 on eBay. If you were to purchase them in Thailand at a coin shop at say, MBK or Jatujak, you could purchase the entire set for around 1,500 Baht, about $50 or less with current exchange rates.
The second interesting thing relates to the 50 Baht coin. 50 Baht coins are more rare than their 10 and 20 baht commemorative counterparts. The mintage is usually significantly less but the purchase price of one of these coins is not too pricey. One of the reasons why the coins is not too expensive is due to the fact that many Thai people work for far less than 50 baht an hour; in fact, the current DAILY minimum wage is 300 baht, which entails that you may work for approximately 10-12 hour days. So you would be looking at around 30-40 baht an hour, which is close to $1-1.25. Not a lot of money, but regardless, many Thais revere the monarchy quite highly and always have a picture of the King around which makes these coins collectible in Thailand. Compared to other South East Asian countries, Thailand's commemorative coins are very numerous in all types of denominations, metal bases and types!
I had my fiancee pick these two coins up for about 80 Baht, so around $2.75 for both! She was in Bangkok visiting her family (while I studied for the bar exam), and I added these coins to my long list of things to collect from Thailand.
If you have any questions about finding a coin shop in the Bangkok Metropolitan area, please let me know and I will direct you to a few great places to find these gems! Enjoy!
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