# What's the best way to buy small amounts of foreign currency? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 10, 2012, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-buy-small-amounts-of-foreign-currency/624725 "2012-06-10T14:50:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Meltdown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Meltdown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meltdown)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2012, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-buy-small-amounts-of-foreign-currency/624725/1 "2012-06-10T14:50:50Z")
My son’s doing a project for school on world geography in which we (he and I) thought it would be pretty cool to have samples of currency from foreign countries. Is there a good way to obtain this? Googling seems to bring me mainly to professional currency exchange sites, which require a substantial (hundreds of dollars) minimum purchase. We just want to get a smattering, from several different countries. I imagine I would pay a hefty premium above the prevailing exchange rate, and I’m fine with that – are there any places that provide this service? Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2012, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-buy-small-amounts-of-foreign-currency/624725/2 "2012-06-10T15:00:41Z")
Where are you? Can you go to one of the regular retail currency-exchange stores that might be found in a mall or airport? Can you order it from a bank? Do you have enough time to request people–Dopers, even–to send some to you by mail? ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2012, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-buy-small-amounts-of-foreign-currency/624725/3 "2012-06-10T15:05:33Z")
Usually you can just go to a bank and exchange a couple of bucks for whatever you want. You might have to go to one of the larger branches (and it might help if you have an account there), but it shouldn’t be a big deal to just exchange $20 for whatever you want. ---
**Author:** ![Meltdown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Meltdown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meltdown)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2012, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-buy-small-amounts-of-foreign-currency/624725/4 "2012-06-10T15:07:03Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > Where are you? Can you go to one of the regular retail currency-exchange stores that might be found in a mall or airport? Can you order it from a bank? Do you have enough time to request people–Dopers, even–to send some to you by mail? Greater Boston area. The airport would be a bit of a trip, but might be doable. I googled the mall locations, but they seemed to be operated by the same companies that had the high-volume minimums. But perhaps the high minimums only apply to online purchases, and if I show up in person it would be much more reasonable. Has anyone used these? Do they have minimums? I suppose I could call – but I hate talking to people. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Meltdown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Meltdown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meltdown)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2012, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-buy-small-amounts-of-foreign-currency/624725/5 "2012-06-10T15:14:03Z")
> [@Meltdown](#): > > I suppose I could call – but I hate talking to people. 🙂 So I called, and it turns out that if you’re not picky about the exact currency you need (which we’re not), they’ll exchange small denominations at the mall locations. I should really pick up the phone more often. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2012, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-buy-small-amounts-of-foreign-currency/624725/6 "2012-06-10T15:14:21Z")
Check the stations that Amtrak hits in Boston. I know there are currency exchanges in both DC’s Union Station and NYC’s Penn Station. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-buy-small-amounts-of-foreign-currency/624725/7 "2012-06-11T05:25:32Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > Usually you can just go to a bank and exchange a couple of bucks for whatever you want. You might have to go to one of the larger branches (and it might help if you have an account there), but it shouldn’t be a big deal to just exchange $20 for whatever you want. This. I’ve been all over the planet and I always exchange for currency before I go anywhere. In fact, just last month (May, 2012) my wife and I went to Italy and got a $1000 worth of American dollars-to-Euros and the total exchange only cost me a fee of $10 U.S. from a bank I don’t have an account with (U.S. Bank in Milwaukee). It’s really no big deal. **BUT** … be warned that even in a big city market there could be a slight (1-7 day) waiting period to get foreign currency, depending on what you’re trying to get. Euros, Pesos, and Canadian dollars are usually 24 hours. Some others may be closer to a week. ---
**Author:** ![X.L.Lent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/a5b964/32.png) [@X.L.Lent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/X.L.Lent)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-buy-small-amounts-of-foreign-currency/624725/8 "2012-06-11T07:57:24Z")
You might want to try a coin dealer - a place that sells old coins to coin collectors. Sometimes they will have small bags of miscellaneous foreign coins for sale. They may also have paper currency if that is what you are looking for. ---
**Author:** ![madrabbitwoman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c37758/32.png) [@madrabbitwoman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madrabbitwoman)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 9:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-buy-small-amounts-of-foreign-currency/624725/9 "2012-06-11T09:40:04Z")
Ebay?? ---
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-buy-small-amounts-of-foreign-currency/624725/10 "2012-06-11T10:25:47Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > Usually you can just go to a bank and exchange a couple of bucks for whatever you want. You might have to go to one of the larger branches (and it might help if you have an account there), but it shouldn’t be a big deal to just exchange $20 for whatever you want. Really? The fairly large BoA branch here didn’t have any idea what to do about my Canadian money. I mean, the teller didn’t even have any idea how to look up the exchange rate, and when she asked around, the other employees were just as clueless. I was surprised, but rather than coming back to talk to a supervisor, I just kept the stuff for my next visit home. ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-buy-small-amounts-of-foreign-currency/624725/11 "2012-06-11T13:11:58Z")
**Meltdown** : I have a number of foreign coins of little value, left over from when I was travelling internationally on business. I’d be glad to mail you some coins and bills, I have some old European currencies (pre-Euro). They have no or low value. Email or PM me with your mailing address, I’d be happy to get rid of some of 'em. ---
**Author:** ![cantara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6f9a4e/32.png) [@cantara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cantara)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-buy-small-amounts-of-foreign-currency/624725/12 "2012-06-11T13:49:34Z")
Generous offers like C K Dexter Haven may be the most productive (and cost effective)! Have your kid hang out in the International Arrivals area with a sign explaining what he is doing…he might end up with what he needs. (Don’t know if security would see it as panhandling…you might want to ask first.) My experience with Foreign Exchange suggests that getting currency from a bank (or trying to return it to a bank or Foreign Exchange counter) will be difficult. Because they don’t want to risk holding on to small amounts of money that they may not be able to ‘sell’, they usually only deal with denominations equivalent to $10 and up. (individual companies may have different policies) Trying to return currency, they typically will not take coinage of any kind and only take the larger bills. When you come back from vacation with a pocket full of small bills, you are stuck with them. We had some Serbian Dinar that the FX counter wouldn’t exchange, and we donated it to a family in Serbia who had been affected by the earthquake last year. We’ve also got Tanzanian Shilliings and Turkish Lira, but the kids are holding on to that money for us. [aside] We travel to UK every year or two and I don’t bother taking my money back for exchange since I end up losing money on the spread anyway. Imagine our surprise when England discontinued certain notes and wouldn’t take them any more. We had to ask a relative to exchange them at the bank. [/aside] ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-buy-small-amounts-of-foreign-currency/624725/13 "2012-06-11T14:40:40Z")
I have a metric crapload of foreign currency in my house. If you’re not picky about where it is from, I’m happy to throw some in and envelope and mail it to you. Mostly bills as I always chuck coins in the charity buckets at airports. PM me. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-buy-small-amounts-of-foreign-currency/624725/14 "2012-06-11T20:03:24Z")
Hey, I work for a firm that does intenational development, I was able to round up some currency from just what people had in their desks (I asked first, so don’t report me to HR). Let me know if you want it. I have coins from the Eurozone, Uganda, and Hait and papermoney from a couple of different countries. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-buy-small-amounts-of-foreign-currency/624725/15 "2012-06-11T20:06:07Z")
> [@Antigen](#): > > Really? > > The fairly large BoA branch here didn’t have any idea what to do about my Canadian money. I mean, the teller didn’t even have any idea how to look up the exchange rate, and when she asked around, the other employees were just as clueless. I was surprised, but rather than coming back to talk to a supervisor, I just kept the stuff for my next visit home. In Maryland? I was expecting your location to be, I don’t know, Georgia or something, some place far away from Canada. MD isn’t that far. Here in NY I just go to the bank. It’s super easy and they do it in a few minutes. Only they won’t take change back so when I come back I invariably have small change leftover. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Lukeinva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lukeinva/32/17872_2.png) [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-buy-small-amounts-of-foreign-currency/624725/16 "2012-06-11T20:06:12Z")
You can find plenty of currency from just about every country on eBay. ---
**Author:** ![Saltire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saltire/32/553_2.png) [@Saltire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saltire)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-buy-small-amounts-of-foreign-currency/624725/17 "2012-06-11T21:36:29Z")
If coins are useful for your purpose, there are lots of online places you can buy foreign coins by the pound or half-pound. You’ll get a lot of random stuff, and some of it will be out of date, but it’s interesting to look through. I buy a bag of it from time to time to drop in geocaches. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-buy-small-amounts-of-foreign-currency/624725/18 "2012-06-11T22:22:25Z")
Checking on Google, there’s several currency exchange businesses in the Boston area: Currency Exchange International 100 Huntington Avenue Travelex Currency Services 745 Boylston Street (also at Logan International Airport) Consolidated Currency Exchanges 282 Centre Street, Jamaica Plain 140 Harvard Avenue, Allston 595 Washington Street, Dorchester 1998 Revere Beach Parkway, Everett ---
**Author:** ![ClevelandProud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7bcc69/32.png) [@ClevelandProud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ClevelandProud)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-buy-small-amounts-of-foreign-currency/624725/19 "2012-06-11T22:34:39Z")
A good place to find inexpensive foreign coins is at a local coin show. Usually, admission is free. You will find tables set up by each coin dealer. Walk up to each coin dealer and tell them exactly what you are trying to accomplish. Many coin dealers will have a container placed on their table labeled something like: “Anything in this container, 25¢ each.” - A list of coin shows: [http://www.coinworld.com/events](http://www.coinworld.com/events) - and - Coin shows in the great state of Massachusetts: [http://www.coinworld.com/events/MA](http://www.coinworld.com/events/MA) ---
**Author:** ![Traveller44](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2acd7d/32.png) [@Traveller44](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Traveller44)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2012, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-buy-small-amounts-of-foreign-currency/624725/20 "2012-09-02T17:23:14Z")
and the best way to sell small amounts would be a donation to UNICEF i guess > **[Companies](https://www.unicefusa.org/about-unicef-usa/partnerships/companies)** > > Building best-in-class alliances that meet philanthropic and humanitarian goals UNICEF USA is proud to partner with leading companies. We strive to build best-in-class alliances that enhance corporate and philanthropic objectives while helping save... this for the currencies still circulating and www.unicef.at/unternehmen.html via Euromoney24 for all the pre-EURO currencies you might have like Dutch guilders, German mark, Slovenian tolar, Austrian schilling, Portugese escudo, Spanish peseta, Belgian and Luxembourg franc, Maltese Lira, Irish pund, Koruna of Estonia and Slovakia - that migth be a nice way of using them for poor children. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-buy-small-amounts-of-foreign-currency/624725.md?page=2)