# What to Do with Old Foreign Coins **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 1, 2024, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-old-foreign-coins/1006580 "2024-09-01T20:18:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2024, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-old-foreign-coins/1006580/21 "2024-09-02T14:36:49Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > I think it would be really rude to drop a lot of obsolete coins in one of those Most us don’t know what has value and what doesn’t. The people who process those donations do. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2024, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-old-foreign-coins/1006580/22 "2024-09-02T15:00:16Z")
We all know, from reading this thread, that pre-euro coins from France do not have value. A quick Internet search confirms that they stopped having value in 2005. Those collections are for coins you acquired in current travel, that are still being used as currency somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2024, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-old-foreign-coins/1006580/23 "2024-09-02T17:33:01Z")
During my recent trip to Iceland/Glasgow there were envelopes in the seat pockets of the IcelandAir planes for donations to a children’s charity. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2024, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-old-foreign-coins/1006580/24 "2024-09-02T17:40:54Z")
…to be made with valid currency. Old currency is just bits of metal. ---
**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:** [September 2, 2024, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-old-foreign-coins/1006580/25 "2024-09-02T17:47:42Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > But if i wanted to downsize, I’d look into whether they belong in metal recycling or in landfill. Or, again, Ebay. I wasn’t kidding about selling them in bulk there, they are sold every day. One example: > **[10 lbs mixed FOREIGN COINS, Bulk World Coins by the Pound! Many countries! |...](https://www.ebay.com/itm/221853582796)** > > Each item is 10 lbs group of world/foreign coins - nice mix from all over - no Canadian, tokens, or culls, etc. (I see that seller has sold over 1000 of the 10 pound lots.) ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2024, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-old-foreign-coins/1006580/26 "2024-09-02T17:49:29Z")
If I had thought of it I could have put in one of the 1000K notes I had left over. I think it was only worth about $8 US. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2024, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-old-foreign-coins/1006580/27 "2024-09-02T18:01:49Z")
I have some demonetized bills with pretty startlingly high denominations. [![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3e/Zimbabwe_%24100_trillion_2009_Obverse.jpg) ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3e/Zimbabwe_%24100_trillion_2009_Obverse.jpg) ETA: When I rented an apartment in Israel, there was a big bag of these valueless agorot stuffed in a high-up cabinet: [![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/47/Israel_5_agorot_1960_Obverse_%26_Reverse.gif) ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/47/Israel_5_agorot_1960_Obverse_%26_Reverse.gif) ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2024, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-old-foreign-coins/1006580/28 "2024-09-02T18:19:04Z")
I have one of those Zimbabwee bills somewhere in my office. I bought it on eBay years ago for about $2. Most of which, I suspect, was for mailing. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2024, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-old-foreign-coins/1006580/29 "2024-09-02T18:45:49Z")
I do love my 2 mil coin from Palestine: [![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/29/PSE-2m.jpg/440px-PSE-2m.jpg) ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/29/PSE-2m.jpg/440px-PSE-2m.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Bookkeeper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bookkeeper/32/281_2.png) [@Bookkeeper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bookkeeper)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2024, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-old-foreign-coins/1006580/30 "2024-09-02T22:54:08Z")
I have a bag full of them. I plan to put a listing up on the local free stuff site for anyone who might have kids starting a coin collection or just wanting them as play money. There might be a couple of dollars worth of still valid coins in there, but only back in their various countries of origin. I also have a hundred-odd old French francs from the '60s and '70s that I use as game markers. ---
**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:** [September 3, 2024, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-old-foreign-coins/1006580/31 "2024-09-03T01:16:51Z")
Back when Ebay was pretty new I bought a batch or two of bulk foreign coins. I haven’t looked at them in years. Some of them have corroded a bit, others still look new. Lots of them from the 1930s-1940s (I like the thickness of the several old Brutish threepence coins, and have one of the old huge pennies). A few of them (dime-sized or smaller) are probably silver. One of them was even an 1896 or 1898 US quarter that has seen much better days. [![](https://i.postimg.cc/yNTMr5mQ/coins-20240902-202309851-crop.jpg) ](https://i.postimg.cc/yNTMr5mQ/coins-20240902-202309851-crop.jpg) [![](https://i.postimg.cc/QCVZ7bW6/coins-20240902-202317709-crop.jpg) ](https://i.postimg.cc/QCVZ7bW6/coins-20240902-202317709-crop.jpg) [![](https://i.postimg.cc/Hsq1JbW2/coins-20240902-203403-crop.jpg) ](https://i.postimg.cc/Hsq1JbW2/coins-20240902-203403-crop.jpg) [![](https://i.postimg.cc/NFKZFjWS/coins-20240902-210335-crop.jpg) ](https://i.postimg.cc/NFKZFjWS/coins-20240902-210335-crop.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2024, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-old-foreign-coins/1006580/32 "2024-09-03T01:32:39Z")
Delicious! ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2024, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-old-foreign-coins/1006580/33 "2024-09-03T23:22:46Z")
Maybe a coin shop? Some collectors may want to add obsolete coins to their collection. ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2024, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-old-foreign-coins/1006580/34 "2024-09-04T01:33:42Z")
I have a few of those silver three-pence(?) coins. Plus assorteed foreign coins from my travels and especially from my dad. I’m assuming for example Mexican coins from the 1950’s aren’t worth much. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2024, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-old-foreign-coins/1006580/35 "2024-09-04T01:40:45Z")
I have a lot from my travels, paper money too. ( Including a million Inti note from Peru. ) I recently saw a clever idea, they picked out only the choicest most meaningful coins, and made fridge magnets from them. That kind of appeals to me. I am considering it! ---
**Author:** ![Al128](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/al128/32/16541_2.png) [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2024, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-old-foreign-coins/1006580/36 "2024-09-04T01:44:26Z")
drill a hole in them and use them as washers ---
**Author:** ![Mark\_Finn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@Mark\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mark_Finn)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2024, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-old-foreign-coins/1006580/37 "2024-09-04T17:10:53Z")
Test them out in vending machines. The French 20 centime coins (worth 4 or 5 cents at the time) used to work perfectly as quarters. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2024, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-old-foreign-coins/1006580/38 "2024-09-04T17:28:30Z")
When some mechanics want to clean out an old, sticky, rusty gas tank, they often attack the interior of the tank by pouring a pail of nuts (as in: nuts and bolts) in the tank and – with or without added liquid chemicals – agitating the tank vigorously in order to let the nuts gently abrade the degraded surfaces within. When _you_ restore _your_ next vintage automobile, you won’t have to do anything as pedestrian as they do. You’ll have obsolete foreign coins to use 🙂 Gear head-cum-bon vivant! ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2024, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-old-foreign-coins/1006580/39 "2024-09-04T17:30:47Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > I have an enormous collection of obsolete coins, because my grandparents traveled extensively and kept their spare change as souvenirs. My youngest had a large container with all manner of foreign coins and bills. My job in Europe was to travel all over doing work for the State Department. When I got back from a trip I’d give him whatever was in my pockets, other than larger bills. When we moved, his collection was stolen by the movers. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2024, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-old-foreign-coins/1006580/40 "2024-09-04T17:36:56Z")
> [@Mark\_Finn](#): > > Test them out in vending machines. The French 20 centime coins (worth 4 or 5 cents at the time) used to work perfectly as quarters. Because theft is cool [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-old-foreign-coins/1006580.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-old-foreign-coins/1006580.md?page=3)