Foreign money

[edible_hat]

Australian and New Zealand coins are so close in size and weight that they're practically interchangeable (I see New Zealand coins every day, mostly 10c and 20c coins, and the customers I give them to don't even notice).

Other non-Australian coins I occasionally get include:

-Malaysian 5c and 10c (in place of local 5c and 10c)
-Singapore $1 (in place of Australian $1)
-British £1 (in place of Australian $1)
-US quarter (in place of Australian 10c, they're almost the same size)

and today:
-10 Euro cents (in place of Australian $2)

[GingerBiscuit]

I get a lot of american and canadian coins, and Euros.

Sometimes we get coins we can't identify.

[NateTheChops]

I get a lot of american and canadian coins, and Euros.

Sometimes we get coins we can't identify.

We get people from every corner through my store. I've seen Canadian, (common in the Northmost American States) Japanese, German, Indonesian, etc. Mind you we can only accept Canadian if it's in quarters and pennies now.

[Bloodsoul]

*sifts through collection* Let's see, I've seen coins from Canada, England, Bermuda, Bahamas, France, Japan, China, Korea, East Carribean States, Hong Kong, Spain, Germany, Greece, Norway, and Euros. Amonst old US coins include a centennial half-dollar, a two-dollar bill, a steel penny, buffalo nickel, and mercury dime.

Oh, and one subway token.

[chops]

We get people from every corner through my store. I've seen Canadian, (common in the Northmost American States) Japanese, German, Indonesian, etc. Mind you we can only accept Canadian if it's in quarters and pennies now.

Really? No nickels or dimes? That's odd. I can see not taking loonies/toonies, but that's weird.

but I actually have a collector's item: a Canadian $1 bill.

[NateTheChops]

Well yeah, nickles and pennies too. I should have said change. But we can only take the change if we try to get rid of it as quickly. We use to be able to take the bills and what not, with our old bank. Now the new lifesucking Goblins over at Gringotts won't let us have Canadian change in our deposit.

[Gurndigarn]

Well yeah, nickles and pennies too. I should have said change. But we can only take the change if we try to get rid of it as quickly. We use to be able to take the bills and what not, with our old bank. Now the new lifesucking Goblins over at Gringotts won't let us have Canadian change in our deposit.

Despite if finally being worth more than US money....

[GolfCart34]

Our branch of the bank (we're a small, local bank with fewer than 20 branches total) is one of two branches that has a coin counter. What this means is that, if you have an account with us, you can drop your loose change off with us and we'll run it through the machine and deposit it into your account for free within 48 hours (or mail you a check for a 10% fee). We can't run coin when we're busy that's why we have the 48 hour rule.

Anyway, when people bring in this loose change it's almost always mixed in with foreign change. Any foreign coins or American coins larger than a quarter will end up in the reject bin we sort through. If the coins are Canadian (with the exception of the loonie and toonie) we'll just do an even exchange, meaning if we get 4 Canadian quarters we'll just swap them out for 4 American quarters and run them through the machine. If Canadian is a loonie or higher we have to do a Canadian exchange and find out the proper exchange rate for the coin.

Anything other than American and Canadian change gets thrown in a cup and a now retired teller from the branch goes through them to take what she wants since she's a foreign coin collector. We can't exchange any foreign money other than Canadian since we don't have our own foreign currency department within the bank (our Canadian transactions and rates are dictated by one of the larger, regional banks in the area, but shhhh... don't tell anybody). Actually, it helps having said other bank right across the street from us because we can just send customers with other foreign currency over there to exchange money.

[Horsetuna]

I got a new foreign coin. I swear its Russian but those who've looked at it think its from Saudi Arabia.

On one side is a thin, old looking guy in a fur hat (Makes me think of the russian fur hats).

The other side has a pointed-peaked domed building (Its not the Taj Mahal... it doesnt have the reflecting pools, but instead two double-archways of walls to either side, which I SWEAR I've seen somewhere in relation to Russia.)

The alphabet is the swirly dashy kind, with a 1 on it (The same 1 we use in america/canada.), so I'm not sure WHAT this coin is. Its a little larger and heavier than a penny, and is made of copper.

[jb17kx]

The alphabet is the swirly dashy kind, with a 1 on it (The same 1 we use in america/canada.), so I'm not sure WHAT this coin is. Its a little larger and heavier than a penny, and is made of copper.

Swirly-dashy sounds Arabic. Russian (Cyrillic) looks more blocky and has a number of Roman characters. Incidentally, English uses - you guessed it - Arabic numerals.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_alphabet
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyrillic_alphabet

[Horsetuna]

Makes me wonder what kind of coin this is now. Intriguing! If I have the energy later I will scan it and try to find out.

Maybe its mongol?

[Dreamstalker]

but I actually have a collector's item: a Canadian $1 bill.

My mom has a British one-pound note (those definitely aren't made anymore) and one of the "plastic" five-pounders that were released to commemorate something or other. Also one of the "old" Northern Bank (Belfast NI) 20-pound notes (after a massive bank heist the twenties were redesigned and the old notes destroyed). Maybe I'll find her a frame to put them in.

I've gotten some Japanese and Canadian coins, an Australian $5 bill (not sure where that came from, but it was in the reg one day at the old store and the manager asked me if I wanted it), 2 or 3 silver US quarters among other things.

Horsetuna, my dad used to travel extensively in the Mideast and Asia; if you can post some good pics of the coin I can see what he has to say about it.

[Horsetuna]

Thanks DS. I'll try to hook up the scanner tonight.

[edible_hat]

an Australian $5 bill

Paper or plastic?

I've got some paper $1, $2 and $5 bills somewhere and the first plastic note issued anywhere in the world, a special $10 in 1988 which is completely different from the standard plastic $10. (If I ever get another one in my register, I'm swapping it for a regular one, I even carry a $10 in my wallet just for that purpose)

[Coconut]

I found a dime from Trinidad and Tobago in the parking lot once.... if that counts.