# What to do with a box of old foreign money? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 13, 2018, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-a-box-of-old-foreign-money/826075 "2018-12-13T19:06:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Chetumal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@Chetumal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chetumal)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2018, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-a-box-of-old-foreign-money/826075/1 "2018-12-13T19:06:21Z")
An elderly relative who used to travel extensively just gave me a box of miscellaneous foreign currency (I’m in the US) that he had amassed. Mostly coins but some paper bills. I see two 100 franc bills, 45,000 Mexican pesos, 40 deutsche marks, 4 British pounds and a Bahamian dollar bill. Plus a large jar of Canadian coins and another jar with assorted foreign coins. I have no interest in coin collecting, but could use some extra cash right now. What are my options here? Highly doubt my local bank would buy/exchange it for me. Editd to add: I just used an online currency converter…do I really have over $2000 worth of Mexican pesos??? Holy cow! ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2018, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-a-box-of-old-foreign-money/826075/2 "2018-12-13T19:08:13Z")
Got an international airport nearby? ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2018, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-a-box-of-old-foreign-money/826075/3 "2018-12-13T19:12:42Z")
A lot of banks will buy foreign currency, especially for places that Americans travel to frequently. It’s worth a phone call. Note that Mexico normalized it’s money in 1993, with 1000 old pesos being worth 1 new peso. Considering that you said “elderly relative”, and francs and deutsche marks were retired in 1999 so those bills are at least 20 years old, I’m going to hazard a guess your pesos are probably only worth $2, not $2000. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2018, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-a-box-of-old-foreign-money/826075/4 "2018-12-13T19:24:07Z")
Note that some of that currency is likely literally worthless, not just close to it. If those are French Francs, the deadline to exchange them for Euros has passed, so they’re just pretty historical paper at this point, not money. It looks like maybe you can still exchange old Mexican Pesos, but only at certain designated locations in Mexico. Probably not worth it for $2. Unless you’re really hard up or there’s an actual large denomination bill in there somewhere, it seems unlikely that you’re going to be able to get much out of this. The effort of sorting it out and finding a place that will exchange it might not be worth what you’ll get. I also collect foreign currency when I travel, but I generally make a point of saving a pretty small denomination. I bet almost everyone does. It works just as good as a souvenir, and what’s the point of tying up lots of money in paper currency I can’t spend. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2018, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-a-box-of-old-foreign-money/826075/5 "2018-12-13T19:25:58Z")
You could try sending it to a service like this one: [https://www.leftovercurrency.com/](https://www.leftovercurrency.com/) Based in London but according to their FAQ they’ll accept and exchange currency from almost anywhere, and they don’t charge a fee or commission. You do have to get your cash there yourself, of course, either in person or shipped, so make sure you have what you think you do, and that it will be worth the trouble. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2018, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-a-box-of-old-foreign-money/826075/6 "2018-12-13T19:32:08Z")
1. Arrange in nice frames 2. List on Etsy 3. Profit! ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2018, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-a-box-of-old-foreign-money/826075/7 "2018-12-13T20:00:41Z")
If any of the coins are silver they do have a nice value. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2018, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-a-box-of-old-foreign-money/826075/8 "2018-12-13T20:19:12Z")
You could give the worthless bills to a child to play with. I’m actually planning to give a 12 year old relative an envelope full of old foreign currency for Christmas this year. ---
**Author:** ![Corry\_El](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecae2f/32.png) [@Corry\_El](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corry_El)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2018, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-a-box-of-old-foreign-money/826075/9 "2018-12-13T21:27:42Z")
> [@Chetumal](#): > > An elderly relative who used to travel extensively just gave me a box of miscellaneous foreign currency (I’m in the US) that he had amassed. Mostly coins but some paper bills. I see two 100 franc bills, 45,000 Mexican pesos, 40 deutsche marks, 4 British pounds and a Bahamian dollar bill. Plus a large jar of Canadian coins and another jar with assorted foreign coins. I’d add you can mail DM’s directly to the German central bank if not _really_ old (pre 1950’s) and get Euro at the final rate of Eur 1=DM 1.95583 But then you’d need to exchange the Euro’s for USD if you’re not planning to spend Euro’s soon. DM40~$23 not including the trouble and few bucks you’d lose going Eur\>USD. > **[Exchanging DEM for euro](https://www.bundesbank.de/en/tasks/cash-management/dem-banknotes-and-dem-coins/-/exchanging-dem-for-euro-616928)** > > It is generally possible to exchange an unlimited amount of DEM banknotes and coins indefinitely and free of charge at all Bundesbank branches, or by post via our Mainz branch. As mentioned, the make or break for whether there’s any real value here is if the peso’s are ‘New Peso’ (since 1993) or older ones, 1000:1. ---
**Author:** ![Chetumal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@Chetumal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chetumal)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2018, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-a-box-of-old-foreign-money/826075/10 "2018-12-13T22:26:37Z")
> [@Corry\_El](#): > > As mentioned, the make or break for whether there’s any real value here is if the peso’s are ‘New Peso’ (since 1993) or older ones, 1000:1. Thanks. Just checked, they’re 1988 bills. Darn, got pretty excited there for a bit. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2018, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-a-box-of-old-foreign-money/826075/11 "2018-12-14T00:32:25Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > Based in London but according to their FAQ they’ll accept and exchange currency from almost anywhere, and they don’t charge a fee or commission. If you believe that, I bet there’s a bridge in town they’d sell you too. 😃 They of course do charge fees. They’re built into their exchange prices, which are not very good. For example, checking right now, the current market rate for $1 US is 0.79 GBP on XE. The service you linked gives 0.742 for “new” bills, 0.67002 for “old” bills, and 0.62791 for coins. That’s worse than you’d get at most airport currency exchanges, which are also generally a bad deal. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2018, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-a-box-of-old-foreign-money/826075/12 "2018-12-14T00:41:06Z")
Yeah, but the money was “free” to begin with. OP, do you know of any coin collecting clubs in your area? Even if the money is worthless as legal tender, and not all that valuable on the collector’s market, they may want it for things like getting children interested in the hobby. I have a good friend who’s really into this, and he’s told me about coin clubs doing things like this - for instance, putting it in containers and offering it as door prizes. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2018, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-a-box-of-old-foreign-money/826075/13 "2018-12-14T00:43:34Z")
> [@zoid](#): > > 1. Arrange in nice frames > 2. List on Etsy > 3. Profit! This ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2018, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-a-box-of-old-foreign-money/826075/14 "2018-12-14T00:48:23Z")
Just did a quick check of ebay & the Coillectables section of Amazon. Yeah, you can sell them. If you have the time, sell on Amazon. You can list them until a buyer shows up, no charge. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2018, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-a-box-of-old-foreign-money/826075/15 "2018-12-14T01:03:05Z")
UNICEF has a [program](https://www.unicefusa.org/supporters/organizations/companies/american-airlines/change-good) on some international American Airlines flights to collect spare change for donation. The website also lists an address to which you can mail the change (although I don’t know if the cost would exceed the value of the money. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2018, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-a-box-of-old-foreign-money/826075/16 "2018-12-14T01:20:36Z")
nm missed a detail ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2018, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-a-box-of-old-foreign-money/826075/17 "2018-12-14T02:41:27Z")
Random foreign coins are [sold by the pound](https://m.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2380057.m4084.l1311.R1.TR10.TRC0.A0.H0.XPound+for.TRS0&_nkw=foreign+coins+pound&_sacat=0). (Banknotes not as often, but [it happens](https://www.ebay.com/itm/ONE-POUND-SELECT-MIX-OF-CIRCULATED-WORLD-BANKNOTES-ABOUT-490-510-NOTES-NO-RAGS/152750180371?hash=item23909ec813:g:XhgAAOSwAC1Z6QWj).) The Canadian money, at least, will still be legal currency at face value, but unless you can literally dive to a nearby place to exchange it, probably not worth your trouble–once a total stranger on the Usenet coin collecting newsgroup not only gave me his sleeve of (40 or 50, I can’t remember which) [12-sided Canadian nickels](https://canadiancoinnews.com/twelve-sided-nickel-given-boot/) for the asking, but paid the shipping costs as well–he paid out of pocket to be rid of them. ---
**Author:** ![skdo23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@skdo23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/skdo23)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2018, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-a-box-of-old-foreign-money/826075/18 "2018-12-14T15:03:02Z")
1968 and earlier CAD silver coins can be sold to a coin dealer for the melt value. > **[Canadian Silver Coin Melt Value Calculator](http://coinapps.com/silver/coin/canadian/calculator/)** > > Calculate the silver melt value of your Canadian pre-1969 silver > coins in Canadian Dollars, U.S. Dollars, Euros, Pounds or any of ten other world currencies. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2018, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-a-box-of-old-foreign-money/826075/19 "2018-12-14T16:47:59Z")
My gf was doing some house cleaning and found a few Iraqi Dinar, complete with Saddam Hussein’s visage. The bills added up to several hundred dinars, which is currently worth about a quarter. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2018, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-a-box-of-old-foreign-money/826075/20 "2018-12-14T17:04:33Z")
As others have said, the francs and deutsche marks are no longer legal tender, and the pounds probably aren’t either - the notes have been discontinued and the coins updated in the last couple of years (and £4 is only about $5 in any case)… [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-a-box-of-old-foreign-money/826075.md?page=2)