How much foreign currency do you have?

[BigNick]

Sometimes I pick up some tacky trinket in the departing airport just to get rid of it.

Many airports (in Europe, anyway) have boxes where you can drop your unwanted currency, which then goes to a more worthy cause than trinket manufacturers.

 

[brett]

Australian, Cuban, Thai, and USD. A little of each, more of Thai and USD though.

 

[triangle]

The £20 notes are scheduled to be replaced next year.

Really? I still have one of the previous generation £20 notes. Buy the time I reach London again maybe my old note will only be useful as a fire starter.

 

[braumeister]

Really? I still have one of the previous generation £20 notes. Buy the time I reach London again maybe my old note will only be useful as a fire starter.

The Bank of England is very clear that all their old currency is still valid. You just have to go to a bank to exchange old for new.

 

[donheff]

Like others I have a few bucks in random currencies and a couple of hundred Euros.

 

[deserat]

I usually carryover a few hundred euros from the previous trip.

It sure is convenient for the next one.

But that has been the only foreign currency I have used in the last 10 years.

Yes it helps to have some cash on hand to use when you hit the ground. I also hit the ATM to 'top-up' and then go about my itinerary. I have some GBP and CHF as well....

 

[brett]

We have a bag of change from various countries. Europe, South America, Asia, etc. It has no value to us and I plan to get rid of it...hopefully at some airport donation bin. Issue is that I have no intentions of taking it along on a trip in the hope of finding such a bin. So, until we actually see one at our local airport that bag of change will remain at home and continue to grow! From time to time we have found a bin on the way home and dumped our change and small bills but this is not the case all the time. Hence the bag of coins.

 

[6miths]

Way too much cash. Also have 30% of net worth in foreign currency but that is diversifying.

 

[braumeister]

From time to time we have found a bin on the way home and dumped our change and small bills but this is not the case all the time. Hence the bag of coins.

The last time I flew out of Reykjavik, I took the time to examine one of the charity bins. In addition to huge amounts of change, there was at least US$10K worth of bills (probably more) in over 20 different currencies. I expected to see only Icelandic currency, but there were bills from so many different countries, and some of them were large denomination. Apparently, when the mood to be charitable strikes, many people go all the way. I was hugely impressed. Some Icelandair flights also have such a bin on board when you're flying out of the country.

 

[Aerides]

Our trick is to use all our foreign currency at the last hotel check out. Give them the last of our cash then pay the rest of the bill like normal. That way we don't have tons of it lying around for years, or lost to stupid conversion fees.

I'll look for those bins though next time, in case I keep a small bit just for use at the airport then don't actually use it.

 

[Moemg]

We have a bag of change from various countries. Europe, South America, Asia, etc. It has no value to us and I plan to get rid of it...hopefully at some airport donation bin. Issue is that I have no intentions of taking it along on a trip in the hope of finding such a bin. So, until we actually see one at our local airport that bag of change will remain at home and continue to grow! From time to time we have found a bin on the way home and dumped our change and small bills but this is not the case all the time. Hence the bag of coins.

Donate it to a school so the children can learn about other currency. I give all mine to my grandsons and they are fascinated with it .

 

[Koogie]

We have a bag of change from various countries. Europe, South America, Asia, etc. It has no value to us and I plan to get rid of it...hopefully at some airport donation bin. Issue is that I have no intentions of taking it along on a trip in the hope of finding such a bin. So, until we actually see one at our local airport that bag of change will remain at home and continue to grow! From time to time we have found a bin on the way home and dumped our change and small bills but this is not the case all the time. Hence the bag of coins.

I remember this coming up on a forum thread before... there are options for Canadians who want to donate foreign change.

https://www.marchofdimes.ca/EN/support/donations/Pages/coincollection.aspx

https://globalcoinsolutions.com/airlines-&-charities
- Air Canada, Sunwing, Transat, Tim Hortons all take it

 

[brett]

Thanks. There is an extremely good chance that we will be on an Air Transat flight in the next nine months. Time to get rid of the change.

 

[FIREd]

I live in the Eurozone, and I have cash in only 2 foreign currencies: less than 10 USD, and 80 Swiss Francs. I go to Switzerland several times a week so I always have some CHF in my wallet.

 

[cbo111]

Donate it to a school so the children can learn about other currency. I give all mine to my grandsons and they are fascinated with it .

After decades of military travel, I gave DW wife a bag of foreign coins to use in her classroom. Every Friday she would extract a coin from the bag an award it to a student. She would not tell them anything about the currency, which made it all the more exciting. Eventually she would extract a couple coins and let the student select their prized coin. Then she would explain where each coin came from and what the dollar value was. Great fun and learning at the same time.

 

[audreyh1]

Our trick is to use all our foreign currency at the last hotel check out. Give them the last of our cash then pay the rest of the bill like normal. That way we don't have tons of it lying around for years, or lost to stupid conversion fees.

I'll look for those bins though next time, in case I keep a small bit just for use at the airport then don't actually use it.

That's a very good idea!

 

[pb4uski]

..... Also the pound coins have recently been replaced with smaller, 2-metal coins also with a hologram so the old pound coins won’t be accepted by stores or work in machines. ...

That is too bad, I really liked the old 1 GBP coins... they some substance to them. Not great as a golf ball marker though... they might stop a golf ball.

 

[Alan]

That is too bad, I really liked the old 1 GBP coins... they some substance to them. Not great as a golf ball marker though... they might stop a golf ball.

The new ones are really nice, gold and silver, and much lighter for carrying in the pocket. The £ symbol hologram is very clever as it turns into the figure 1 when you change the angle of viewing.

A survey by the Royal Mint in 2015 found that 2.55% of the pound coins circulating were counterfeit.

https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/en...kI_G8G9LXoKhRCP4oAnSpajuEkfKGBJM_RZzvhSa3jltv

 

[Doribe]

No much. I usually plan pretty well and tip a lot if I seem to have extra currency near the end of the trip.

 

[robnplunder]

I used an on-line service to exchange a leftover paper money. The exchange rate was terrible but the paper money I had went out of circulation and it was the only place willing to exchange.



And like many others, I have two jar full of foreign coins. None of them can be used for quarter accepting parking meters.

 

[Junior]

As a kid I collected coins and bills from other countries, a part from old ones from my country (think the oldest one was from 1879). So relatives used to give me some as a gift after their trips. Most may be outdated now (like the ones I had from European countries).

 

[WestUniversity]

I usually have minimal amounts leftover from the last trip...

 

[Col. Klink]

I have 1000's of Indonesian Ringots. They might be worth $10.

 

[Koogie]

I have 1000's of Indonesian Ringots. They might be worth $10.

Indonesia ≠ Ringots

Malaysia = Ringgits

Indonesia = Rupiah

 

[Nemo2]

Indonesia ≠ Ringots

Malaysia = Ringgits

Indonesia = Rupiah

"One ringy dingy, two ringy dingies! Is this the person to whom I am speaking?"