Coins in Tanzania

 WOW!  It’s been nearly 3 months since I sent out the last Penny Tale.  It is GREAT to be back in the U.S.A.!  Tanzania was NOT coin friendly.

 

Several people have asked how many coins Doc and I found in Tanzania during our recent 18 days there.  Easy answer:  ZERO, None, Nought, Zilch, Zip, Nada!  Doc was looking, I was looking, our son and his wife were looking, my brother and his wife were looking.  The only time I saw any coins whatsoever was the next to the last day as my change when buying a few last postage stamps.

 

Of course we would not find pennies since they use Schillings as their unit of currency.  To give you an idea about the exchange rate …A $3 bottle of water at the hotel would cost approximately 6,990 TNZ Schillings.  ($1 US = 2330 TNZ).  A postcard stamp was 2300 TNZ.  In the Capital of Dar es Saalam we took our local guide and driver out to lunch at a nice café.  Four delicious lunches on the rooftop of a downtown building were 50,000 TNZ.  (That’s about $21).

 

There were thousand of zebras, wildebeest, elephants, giraffes, Cape buffalos, antelope, baboons and such, but not a single wayward coin!

In comparison:  I found coins each of the three days immediately upon our return, then yesterday when filling my fuel tank at the gas station, I found a penny, dime and two quarters in just moments.

 

It’s Good to be BACK IN THE U.S.A.