Finding a use for small, worthless coins<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): \"Mommy, how come I never see one rupiah coins?\"
\nmy little son asked while showing me his math book. His book was
\nfilled with arithmetic problems using examples with less-than-Rp
\n10 coins. In reality, the coins are antiquated.<\/p>\n
In many supermarkets, for example, cashiers often give you
\ncandies instead of 75, 50 or 25 rupiah coins. Some cashiers argue
\nthat the candies are worth more than the small change you are
\nwaiting for. They don't find it funny, however, when you make up
\nthe change with sweets.<\/p>\n
One day my son showed his pity for a beggar at a traffic
\nlight. He was surprised when the money, which he gave with all
\nhis heart because he was told by his teacher to help the needy,
\nwas thrown back into the car by the angry beggar. I tried to
\nexplain to him why his Rp 10 coin was worthless even to a beggar.<\/p>\n
A similar experience happened to me on a city bus.
\nUnfortunately, I realized I had left my bag at the office only
\nafter I was on the bus. I busily collected small change from the
\nbottom of my bag. When I gave the bus conductor the exact fare
\nfrom what I had found -- Rp 300 in 25 and 10 rupiah coins -- he
\ninsisted the coins were obsolete. He said he usually threw away
\nthe worthless money and he did not want to take them. It was a
\npainful experience.<\/p>\n
I wonder why we don't take pride in our money. Some people say
\nit is all due to high inflation, others insist it's because the
\ngovernment issued the Rp 50,000 bill with smiling President
\nSoeharto -- the Father of Development -- on the front. The bill
\ncreates the impression that the lesser bills have been made
\nworthless by inflation. By issuing the large bills the government
\nindirectly admitted that they could not control the inflation
\nrate.<\/p>\n
Coins are only considered precious on certain occasions in
\nIndonesia. Indonesians wanting to get married need coins as a
\nmemento of the date of their wedding. These coins are usually
\ngiven to the bride as a dowry. Coins are also used at funerals.
\nThey are mixed with rice and ground turmeric and thrown at the
\ncorner of the house of the deceased and street junctions to
\nprevent bad luck.<\/p>\n
Indonesians suffering from colds ask their spouses to rub
\ncoins covered in mint balm and coconut oil on their back until
\nwelts appear. This is a precious moment. This traditional healing
\nmethod, called kerokan, is cheap -- no doctor bills and a use for
\nthe useless coins. Undergoing kerokan is a quick way to forget
\nabout inflation.<\/p>\n
-- Nining I. Soesilo<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/finding-a-use-for-small-worthless-coins-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }