Hi all, I would like to share my experiences here with cashing in old pre euro currency, and hear your experiences as well.
Spain (Madrid, 2017) - Pesetas (exp. 2020)
Coins at machine, paper at teller. Euro coins not exchanged. Walk-in
Austria (Vienna, 2022) - Schilling
Coins in machine, paper at teller. Both euro and schilling can be cashed in free of charge. Walk-in
Germany (Berlin, 2022) - Deutschemark
Coins and paper at teller. Both euro and DM cashed in at same teller. Appointment required
Lastly I will be going to Croatia this October with my wife (first time in Europe!), will share my experience exchanging kuna. We will be renting a car and driving across borders, so any recommendations on our trip in general are welcome :)
Kenny
- Verifying your Asian and British-territorial coins everyday with the best quality photos and the best information.
Ireland: until recently one could bring punt coins and notes to the teller at Bank of Ireland in Dublin for immediate exchange. Now one must complete a form with bank info and drop form with coins and notes in dropbox. Funds will be deposited to account after inspection. Amounts in excess of 100 euro also require photo ID.
Germany: a few years ago I mailed a box of marks coins and notes to Bundesbank and within 2 weeks the bank sent to me a check drafted in US dollars from a US bank! Very fast and efficient. But as of last year the bank would only make direct deposits to an EU bank. Process was still fast, only 2 weeks or so, but not sure whether they can make deposits to non-EU accounts.
Ireland: until recently one could bring punt coins and notes to the teller at Bank of Ireland in Dublin for immediate exchange. Now one must complete a form with bank info and drop form with coins and notes in dropbox. Funds will be deposited to account after inspection. Amounts in excess of 100 euro also require photo ID.
Good to know, I'm sure many were exchanging the large GB 50p as Irish 50p in the machine.
Kenny
- Verifying your Asian and British-territorial coins everyday with the best quality photos and the best information.
Austria: they only have two branches of Austrian National Bank (OENB) left, Vienna and Innsbruck.
I usually go to Innsbruck once in a while to cash Schillings that find their way to me. In the early years Salzburg was my favorite, but they closed down years ago. Today I usually combine a brief stop in Innsbruck when on my way to Italy.
Basically you put the Schilling coins in a self-service-machine, get a paper receipt and cash it with the cashier.
Since a few years they have that machine sitting with the cashier though, as it is quite sensitive and often out of order when people put
other items but coins into it, as I was told.
During my last visit, it even broke down while counting my Schillings. The cashier was busy with a screwdriver and oil spray trying to fix it. In the end they gave up and asked me to leave the uncounted Schillings there and get a bank transfer, which arrived the next day. For those that had made it into the machine, I received EUR cash on the spot, as usual.
EUR you can exchange for free up to 15 EUR, above they charge 1%.
Typically I take my very small coppers to get rid of them, which typically is less than 15 EUR, even though 1% would not kill me, given the amounts I might possibly exchange.
Years ago, when the self service machine was still in place for the public I found quite a few, like 10 old silver 10s and 5s in the return box, as these cannot be exchanged anymore and were rejected by the machine.
Germany: The need for appointments came out of the pandemic. In the meantime no appointment needed anymore, just walk in.
I usually go to the Munich branch, as it is more or less next door to where I work.
There they never had a self service machine, coins were always handled by the cashier.
They take of course (most - a few early coins and notes are not exchangeable) DM but also EUR without any fees.
Funny enough I go more frequently to OENB (like once a year) than to Bundesbank, as it seems I more frequently come across old Schillings rather than DM. Of course for many people here in Germany it is easy to reach a Bundesbank branch, but quite hard to go to Austria.
Just a few weeks ago I was in Tallinn, Estonia . At Eesti Pank they have a self service machine in the bank's museum. Worked without any issue.
A few years ago same in Riga, Latvia.
Best wishes
in the end everything will be good - if it's not good, then it's not the end...
Hi all, I would like to share my experiences here with cashing in old pre euro currency, and hear your experiences as well.
Spain (Madrid, 2017) - Pesetas (exp. 2020)
Coins at machine, paper at teller. Euro coins not exchanged. Walk-in
Austria (Vienna, 2022) - Schilling
Coins in machine, paper at teller. Both euro and schilling can be cashed in free of charge. Walk-in
Germany (Berlin, 2022) - Deutschemark
Coins and paper at teller. Both euro and DM cashed in at same teller. Appointment required
Lastly I will be going to Croatia this October with my wife (first time in Europe!), will share my experience exchanging kuna. We will be renting a car and driving across borders, so any recommendations on our trip in general are welcome :)
Thanks for the information. You can also still exchange Slovenian Tolar banknotes, pre 2014 Hungarian notes and Bosnian notes 1998-2009, Swiss sixth and eighth series banknotes plus various coins.
I haven’t personally been to any county in the balkans (apart from Greece) but one of my work colleagues went to Bosnia and Herzegovina in May and he recommends Sarajevo and Blagaj.
Hi to whoever is reading this. Did you know that TYPEWRITER (on a QWERTY keyboard) is the longest word you can type using only the letters on one row of the keyboard.
Reading your links (above) I see that the European Central Bank has a chart for the deadlines each member country has for converting the notes and coins. Adding direct link here for future reference:
Does anyone know if the Banco d'Italia exchanges current euro coins by machine? Or anywhere in Italy where coins can be exchanged free of charge?
Hi, at least in the Banca d'Italia branch in Florence, they don't have any machines, everything is exchanged at the counter. Still, the coins can be exchanged for free and you only have to fill in a short form with your personal data. There are also many other branches of the national bank throughout Italy where they might have a self-service machine.
The Austria National Bank has replaced their coin counting machines, and euros exchange is charged at 1%. Schilling exchange is still free. Euro 5c coins in particular were knocked out into the reject tray several times.
While I had the opportunity to go to the Czech bank this trip, I was able to exchange all my coins and even the outmoded notes with the thin strip at stores since change is needed often.
My wife and I are currently in Hungary, and businesses are more reluctant to exchange coins. I was very lucky to be able to exchange the now outmoded lighter colored forint notes at a brewery here in Budapest from a barkeep who goes to the bank often, as they are closed on the weekend.
I am excited to share my results with kuna coins. If anyone knows an easy way to cash in Swiss rappen and franc coins please let me know.
Kenny
- Verifying your Asian and British-territorial coins everyday with the best quality photos and the best information.
On the National bank of Switzerland website there is a form "Instruction sheet on exchanging damaged coins" where it lists the offices where your Swiss banknotes, outmoded coins and damaged coins would be accepted.
Hi to whoever is reading this. Did you know that TYPEWRITER (on a QWERTY keyboard) is the longest word you can type using only the letters on one row of the keyboard.
Good morning everyone, today I stopped by Zagreb to cash in kuna coins. The exchange takes place on the HNB's smaller branch specifically made for kuna exchange. It is with a teller and not self service. Mint sets are not available for sale in person but online.
Kenny
- Verifying your Asian and British-territorial coins everyday with the best quality photos and the best information.
Guten tag everyone, yesterday I stopped by the SNB in Zurich thanks to @Worldwide collection ‘’s advice. No appointment is needed, though it seems recommended by email, and there is parking conveniently right in front of the building. Interestingly, they were happy to accept the old 5c coins, but were reluctant to accept the current rappen coins (which had totalled over 200F), and mentioned that normally these coins should be rolled and taken to the post office for free exchange. For this amount, they suggested wiring to my US bank account, but ultimately they were able to exchange to cash and asked for my personal information and to come back in an hour. Also outmoded but valid banknotes were exchanged with no issue. Overall a very friendly experience though complicated compared to other banks.
Kenny
- Verifying your Asian and British-territorial coins everyday with the best quality photos and the best information.
Hi all, this will be the last post for now regarding the exchange of pre euro coins. I stopped by the Bundesbank in the morning, which conveniently had free parking on the small street behind it. No appointment needed, nor ticket number, nor line. Besides this the experience was the same as in Berlin; coins are dumped in a plastic container, brought to the cashier, and the coins are counted in a machine. Two very corroded 10pf coins were rejected from the machine but were accepted by the cashier. This was by far the quickest and easiest exchange process.
That concludes my exchange experience across Europe this year! I hope these posts can help anyone trying to do the same.
Kenny
- Verifying your Asian and British-territorial coins everyday with the best quality photos and the best information.
was this a very specific Bundesbank in the city, or is it possible for any branch/location? I ask because I have heard other redemptions of old currency is handled at the center or main branch (England with old pound coins or banknotes).
Germany has Bundesbank in many of its large cities, but only one branch in particular within the city (at least in Munich) that would accept the DM. Google Maps was helpful finding which exact location to exchange. It is unlikely private banks would accept them. DM are the easiest outmoded coinage I have exchanged at the bank personally.
Kenny
- Verifying your Asian and British-territorial coins everyday with the best quality photos and the best information.
was this a very specific Bundesbank in the city, or is it possible for any branch/location? I ask because I have heard other redemptions of old currency is handled at the center or main branch (England with old pound coins or banknotes).
This was a lot of work, I have to assume that this was for fun because when traveling, there are so many things to see other than banks. If you made $300 in Switzerland but you didn’t have time to stop and sit by an alpine lake. It wasn’t worth the money, so I have to assume this was more for the fun of it. This begs the question. How much did you take with you, where did you get it all from and how much Euro did you finish with? Give us some stats!
Taking a break from swapping for a while, but still interested in pre 1799 Spanish coins, I will make time for that!
This was a lot of work, I have to assume that this was for fun because when traveling, there are so many things to see other than banks. If you made $300 in Switzerland but you didn’t have time to stop and sit by an alpine lake. It wasn’t worth the money, so I have to assume this was more for the fun of it. This begs the question. How much did you take with you, where did you get it all from and how much Euro did you finish with? Give us some stats!
With pleasure. This is not the first time I've brought circulating/outmoded coins back, but probably the most ambitious considering the number of banks in several countries I needed to visit. For me at least it is a lot of fun seeing the coins being put back to use, or finding their final resting place, knowing they have little collector value.
I took ~400€ in euro cents at around 35-50% of FV that were fished out of buckets or at wholesale. This was the heaviest of the pack. These are not exact numbers but a generalization of the rest:
800 CZK in coins (very easy to exchange/spend), some 1200 in old notes
~6000 HUF in coins (50f and up), 8000 in old notes
~730 EUR in coins, some 1000 in old series notes incl. 500€ note
~85€ ATS coins (50g and up)
~145€ in kuna
~230 CHF coins, 10F note
~300€ in DM coins (10pf and up), 20 DM in note
For these coins I paid as low as $4/lb (~8.8$/kg), and as high as $12/lb, with the majority of the DM from the $12/lb buckets. I also obtained a lot of 10pf and 5 euro cent from trades of obscure currencies (Bermudan dollars, Brazilian reais, etc) that I wouldn't normally fish out of buckets and come out at a loss. In 2022 I brought only 400-500€ in coins, but with 120€ of those coins in just 5 euro cent coins!
To get around I rented a car for around $12/day and lucked out with a 2024 Skoda Fabia Monte Carlo, and added 5000km to the odometer. It was my wife's first time to Europe so I figured this would be the best way to get around without having to lug our stuff around. The cost of gas and parking added up but I really prefer this over the train/plane and walking everywhere.
With numbers out of the way, I enjoyed driving through the alps. Personally I found the beauty of southern Germany more striking, the towns with their old world feel very charming. The best food and beers were in Hungary, with Czechia being a close second. Germany had the best Lidl bread selection and nature. Italy had the best coffee and coffee experience, and the kindest people. Croatia has the most beautiful beaches. Our route was Czechia>Austria>Slovakia>Hungary>Croatia>Slovenia>Italy (incl. RSM & Vatican)>Switzerland>Germany>back to Czechia. Final remaining currency in notes, after exchanging and paying for various things: 2965€, 6000 forint, 240F, 3200 korun
Kenny
- Verifying your Asian and British-territorial coins everyday with the best quality photos and the best information.
With pleasure. This is not the first time I've brought circulating/outmoded coins back, but probably the most ambitious considering the number of banks in several countries I needed to visit. For me at least it is a lot of fun seeing the coins being put back to use, or finding their final resting place, knowing they have little collector value.
I have some outdated currency as well that I'd hope to exchange on my next trip to Europe. But the weight factor is a slight problem - how much did the coins that you brought actually weigh??
I have some outdated currency as well that I'd hope to exchange on my next trip to Europe. But the weight factor is a slight problem - how much did the coins that you brought actually weigh??
What coins/currency? It all weighed 25kg+, with a 10kg limit pp. I ended up carrying the overlimit, more valuable coins (euros, DM) in my backpack
Kenny
- Verifying your Asian and British-territorial coins everyday with the best quality photos and the best information.
I have some outdated currency as well that I'd hope to exchange on my next trip to Europe. But the weight factor is a slight problem - how much did the coins that you brought actually weigh??
What coins/currency? It all weighed 25kg+, with a 10kg limit pp. I ended up carrying the overlimit, more valuable coins (euros, DM) in my backpack
Were the coins cashed in all common/low grade years? Some German and Swiss coins are worth more than face, especially the ones with lower mintages like pre WWII Swiss Rappen or certain mint marks. For example 1955 G, and 1968 G are pretty sought after on the German 1 Deutsche Mark.
Hi to whoever is reading this. Did you know that TYPEWRITER (on a QWERTY keyboard) is the longest word you can type using only the letters on one row of the keyboard.
I have some outdated currency as well that I'd hope to exchange on my next trip to Europe. But the weight factor is a slight problem - how much did the coins that you brought actually weigh??
What coins/currency? It all weighed 25kg+, with a 10kg limit pp. I ended up carrying the overlimit, more valuable coins (euros, DM) in my backpack
Were the coins cashed in all common/low grade years? Some German and Swiss coins are worth more than face, especially the ones with lower mintages like pre WWII Swiss Rappen or certain mint marks. For example 1955 G, and 1968 G are pretty sought after on the German 1 Deutsche Mark.
Yes they were all just FV coins and duplicates, after all I am a coin collector first and foremost. All rappen coins were 1940s and newer regardless of condition. All DM coins that were in better condition than in my collection I swapped out. While I did not look out for dates to swap/sell, I find it funny that Krause lists some very common dates as being very valuable.
Kenny
- Verifying your Asian and British-territorial coins everyday with the best quality photos and the best information.
Thank you for your detailed account, sorry but I did not understand all your county abbreviations and currencies?
1. How much total in Euro, or US equivalent did you end up with?
2. What was your original investment?
3. Where did you find all these? (my coin shops barely have any foreign coins, much less tons of bins to search through…)
3. Did you make this trip to Europe for the singular purpose of exchanging currency?
1. Returned with 2965 euro, 3200 Czech korun, 240 francs, and 6000 forint, all in paper cash which totals up to some US$3400 that I can keep or trade for other currencies like Mexican pesos or whatever currency for my next trip.
2. I cannot put a dollar amount on how much I spent originally, but I paid probably between 30-50% of the total face value. Some of it was traded with other currencies that I had found, usually in buckets
3. In buckets by weight! I am very fortunate to be the world coin guy for many coin shops near my hometown, and many of these coins I get for free or at a steep discount. I also buy coins from other parts of the US and other countries. I had a lot of luck buying old paper currency in Colombia, but most of the coins I buy are in the US. I recommend looking for the 10c/coin tray/bin, or the 6/$1, and asking if you can pay by weight.
On this bullet I would like to add that it helps knowing what coins are still valid and their value vs weight. My personal method is the nickel, dime, and dollar system: I value the denomination corresponding to its US coin value, divided by weight. With Czech circulating coins for example, 1 & 2kc coins value about the same as a US nickel by weight, so I fish them out in coin shops selling at $5/lb but not at shops selling at $8/lb or higher; 5 & 10kc coins are the dime value by weight; and 20kc and up coins are the dollar by weight, where I always pull them out regardless of how much is being charged by pound. Recognize the coins and do this over many years and you start to accumulate 10s of kilos of coins for just one currency. My largest stash are British pounds, Thai baht and Japanese yen, countries I plan on visiting again in the future and have coins that fit within this system.
4. Not at all. This was a trip for my wife, it was her first time visiting Europe and first time experiencing the Western world, so to speak. Earlier this year we saw how cheap the flights were, I gave my wife my CC and told her to just buy them, and months later we ended up on our adventure! Buying the coins for cheap, bringing them across the world, and cashing them in for notes was secondary but inevitable; it helped pay for the trip, though I plan on keeping the euros for now. Going to the banks was my way of having fun, and for her it was getting nice designer coats and fragrances that would have cost significantly more back home.
Kenny
- Verifying your Asian and British-territorial coins everyday with the best quality photos and the best information.
To a smaller degree I do set side exchangeable duplicate coins to be used on holiday by me or others. earlier in the year I gave my cousin some Mexican pesos for his trip, in July I went to the UAE and spent all the coins I amassed there, In January I'm going to France again so I’ll spent all the coins I have got in lots and from charity shops.
the rest I normally exchange with Leftover currency such as pre decimal coins and the larger old decimal coins.
Hi to whoever is reading this. Did you know that TYPEWRITER (on a QWERTY keyboard) is the longest word you can type using only the letters on one row of the keyboard.
To a smaller degree I do set side exchangeable duplicate coins to be used on holiday by me or others. earlier in the year I gave my cousin some Mexican pesos for his trip, in July I went to the UAE and spent all the coins I amassed there, In January I'm going to France again so I’ll spent all the coins I have got in lots and from charity shops.
the rest I normally exchange with Leftover currency such as pre decimal coins and the larger old decimal coins.
I've always wondered how reliable Leftover Currency is. Aren't older predecimal coins worth more as collector coins by weight, considering they all weigh the same compared to their value? Some years ago I gifted my friend a bunch of the older pre-2006 NZ coins to exchange there and they were not worth the effort.
A shame that France no longer accepts the franc, though I am sure there is plenty of outmoded currency like high value Belgian/Lux franc notes you can get for cheap. In the US at least I have no issues swapping even these for other current European notes.
Kenny
- Verifying your Asian and British-territorial coins everyday with the best quality photos and the best information.
Guten tag everyone, yesterday I stopped by the SNB in Zurich thanks to @Worldwide collection ‘’s advice. No appointment is needed, though it seems recommended by email, and there is parking conveniently right in front of the building. Interestingly, they were happy to accept the old 5c coins, but were reluctant to accept the current rappen coins (which had totalled over 200F), and mentioned that normally these coins should be rolled and taken to the post office for free exchange. For this amount, they suggested wiring to my US bank account, but ultimately they were able to exchange to cash and asked for my personal information and to come back in an hour. Also outmoded but valid banknotes were exchanged with no issue. Overall a very friendly experience though complicated compared to other banks.
Indeed exchanging Swiss small change works perfectly at the Post Office. I had once some 200 CHF in 5, 10 and 20 Rappen. Stopped by at a small post office in the mountains. They gave me their wrapping paper, so I had to repack my rolls in a quiet corner. At the counter they were weighed and I received paper Cash without issue. They only accept current coins though, so no Nickel 5 Rappen. Any expired but still exchangeable currency like 1 Rappen, nickel 5 Rappen and the few recent Series of banknotes can only be exchanged at SNB. Also once exchanged some 100 CuNi commemorative 5 Franken coins at SNB headquarters in Berne. They were not able to process these by machine and had to verify each Single coin manually. As this took time, I was asked to get the money sent into my bank account in Germany. Was received within two days at good exchange rate in Euro, without fees… in Germany at Bundesbank old 5 DM commemoratives just go through the machine together with the common DM coins.
in the end everything will be good - if it's not good, then it's not the end...
To a smaller degree I do set side exchangeable duplicate coins to be used on holiday by me or others. earlier in the year I gave my cousin some Mexican pesos for his trip, in July I went to the UAE and spent all the coins I amassed there, In January I'm going to France again so I’ll spent all the coins I have got in lots and from charity shops.
the rest I normally exchange with Leftover currency such as pre decimal coins and the larger old decimal coins.
I've always wondered how reliable Leftover Currency is. Aren't older predecimal coins worth more as collector coins by weight, considering they all weigh the same compared to their value? Some years ago I gifted my friend a bunch of the older pre-2006 NZ coins to exchange there and they were not worth the effort.
A shame that France no longer accepts the franc, though I am sure there is plenty of outmoded currency like high value Belgian/Lux franc notes you can get for cheap. In the US at least I have no issues swapping even these for other current European notes.
I’ve used Leftover currency a couple of times in the last year or so and they’ve have alright exchange rates. Because most of my parcels were several kilos heavy and had £20+ in value I used to send it UPS registered to them and had the money in my account within a couple of days.
regarding pre decimal coins and older decimal coins I only really exchange them if they are post 1946 and are sixpence and above because the old pennies take up too much weight. I get far too many common low grade sixpences, Shillings, florins and half crowns to sell them in lots so I tend to just exchange them.
If you visit the UK I recommend you to use them for all the old decimal coins as you cannot exchange them apart from old pound coins if you have an account with the bank.
Banknotes you can simply mail them to the Bank of England for exchange but most post offices would accept the most recent withdrawn banknotes from the last paper series.
Hi to whoever is reading this. Did you know that TYPEWRITER (on a QWERTY keyboard) is the longest word you can type using only the letters on one row of the keyboard.
Indeed exchanging Swiss small change works perfectly at the Post Office. I had once some 200 CHF in 5, 10 and 20 Rappen. Stopped by at a small post office in the mountains. They gave me their wrapping paper, so I had to repack my rolls in a quiet corner. At the counter they were weighed and I received paper Cash without issue. They only accept current coins though, so no Nickel 5 Rappen. Any expired but still exchangeable currency like 1 Rappen, nickel 5 Rappen and the few recent Series of banknotes can only be exchanged at SNB. Also once exchanged some 100 CuNi commemorative 5 Franken coins at SNB headquarters in Berne. They were not able to process these by machine and had to verify each Single coin manually. As this took time, I was asked to get the money sent into my bank account in Germany. Was received within two days at good exchange rate in Euro, without fees… in Germany at Bundesbank old 5 DM commemoratives just go through the machine together with the common DM coins.
That's great! Rappen are really abundant in the US (both outmoded and current), and even at the higher cost by weight it still comes out to less than 50% of exchange. At least in my inner circle of coin exchangers no one bothers with rappen. At first I was skeptical of bringing it all with me; I did not think I would even go to Switzerland on this trip, thinking I could cash it all at a grocery store and at worst it would be dead weight?
Regarding the 5 DM coins, I found that some coin shops in Germany pay more than face if they are at least AU (I cannot see why knowing how much they stockpile). In fact at the branch in Munich a young couple were breaking out old silver 10 DM and 10 Euro coins from what looked like their grandfather's collection, including a Bavarian 5 reichsmark! When leaving I passed them by and advised them that they at least take them to a coin shop, and the Bavarian coin they will not even exchange and would be worth much more than 5 DM if they did. They seemed like they had already tried or just wanted their quick money I guess.
Kenny
- Verifying your Asian and British-territorial coins everyday with the best quality photos and the best information.
I’ve used Leftover currency a couple of times in the last year or so and they’ve have alright exchange rates. Because most of my parcels were several kilos heavy and had £20+ in value I used to send it UPS registered to them and had the money in my account within a couple of days.
regarding pre decimal coins and older decimal coins I only really exchange them if they are post 1946 and are sixpence and above because the old pennies take up too much weight. I get far too many common low grade sixpences, Shillings, florins and half crowns to sell them in lots so I tend to just exchange them.
If you visit the UK I recommend you to use them for all the old decimal coins as you cannot exchange them apart from old pound coins if you have an account with the bank.
Banknotes you can simply mail them to the Bank of England for exchange but most post offices would accept the most recent withdrawn banknotes from the last paper series.
That's awesome, I'm sure old predecimal British coinage is much more abundant there than it is here. The older shilling/5p system coins are just too heavy for me to bother, and being nickel coins they fair better as bucket coins for all the young collectors, though with 1 penny coins you'd get less than 1 penny for them. If you sold them in the US you would get a pretty penny for them, being larger coins with many dates they are sought after even in low grades.
In terms of pound coins, I would like to see how to get rid of them once I get there. I have likely over 500 of them, some even from proof sets, also another giant bag of the old 50p. Coin exchangers and collectors pay very little for them, and online their validity is quite a grey area.
Outmoded BoE notes are treated as fairly as outmoded pre-Euro and current world currency fortunately, and they are abundant, so abundant that they are more common than the QEII polymer notes.
Kenny
- Verifying your Asian and British-territorial coins everyday with the best quality photos and the best information.
Great topic. Thank you for a more clear explanation to all my questions! It does sound like fun! Happy hunting
Thank you! If you are a coin person and like to see coins put to their actual use, it is exhilarating and makes the trip affordable. There are some forms I got from the banks that I have yet to upload on this post
Kenny
- Verifying your Asian and British-territorial coins everyday with the best quality photos and the best information.
I’ve used Leftover currency a couple of times in the last year or so and they’ve have alright exchange rates. Because most of my parcels were several kilos heavy and had £20+ in value I used to send it UPS registered to them and had the money in my account within a couple of days.
regarding pre decimal coins and older decimal coins I only really exchange them if they are post 1946 and are sixpence and above because the old pennies take up too much weight. I get far too many common low grade sixpences, Shillings, florins and half crowns to sell them in lots so I tend to just exchange them.
If you visit the UK I recommend you to use them for all the old decimal coins as you cannot exchange them apart from old pound coins if you have an account with the bank.
Banknotes you can simply mail them to the Bank of England for exchange but most post offices would accept the most recent withdrawn banknotes from the last paper series.
That's awesome, I'm sure old predecimal British coinage is much more abundant there than it is here. The older shilling/5p system coins are just too heavy for me to bother, and being nickel coins they fair better as bucket coins for all the young collectors, though with 1 penny coins you'd get less than 1 penny for them. If you sold them in the US you would get a pretty penny for them, being larger coins with many dates they are sought after even in low grades.
In terms of pound coins, I would like to see how to get rid of them once I get there. I have likely over 500 of them, some even from proof sets, also another giant bag of the old 50p. Coin exchangers and collectors pay very little for them, and online their validity is quite a grey area.
Outmoded BoE notes are treated as fairly as outmoded pre-Euro and current world currency fortunately, and they are abundant, so abundant that they are more common than the QEII polymer notes.
If you can half crowns and non silver crowns you can exchange them via leftover currency for a pretty penny.
Double check your pound coins because some like the Capital cities series and NIFCs are quite sought after especially Edinburgh Pound coin. The ones worth more than face can be sold to local coin shops in London whilst the rest can be exchanged at leftover currency as in recent years banks only accept them if you can an account with them.
Well if you exchange all outmoded notes included those pre decimal 10 Shilling notes you might be lucky enough to receive KCIII banknotes for your collection as those can slowly become somewhat findable in circulation.
Hi to whoever is reading this. Did you know that TYPEWRITER (on a QWERTY keyboard) is the longest word you can type using only the letters on one row of the keyboard.
Indeed exchanging Swiss small change works perfectly at the Post Office. I had once some 200 CHF in 5, 10 and 20 Rappen. Stopped by at a small post office in the mountains. They gave me their wrapping paper, so I had to repack my rolls in a quiet corner. At the counter they were weighed and I received paper Cash without issue. They only accept current coins though, so no Nickel 5 Rappen. Any expired but still exchangeable currency like 1 Rappen, nickel 5 Rappen and the few recent Series of banknotes can only be exchanged at SNB. Also once exchanged some 100 CuNi commemorative 5 Franken coins at SNB headquarters in Berne. They were not able to process these by machine and had to verify each Single coin manually. As this took time, I was asked to get the money sent into my bank account in Germany. Was received within two days at good exchange rate in Euro, without fees… in Germany at Bundesbank old 5 DM commemoratives just go through the machine together with the common DM coins.
That's great! Rappen are really abundant in the US (both outmoded and current), and even at the higher cost by weight it still comes out to less than 50% of exchange. At least in my inner circle of coin exchangers no one bothers with rappen. At first I was skeptical of bringing it all with me; I did not think I would even go to Switzerland on this trip, thinking I could cash it all at a grocery store and at worst it would be dead weight?
Regarding the 5 DM coins, I found that some coin shops in Germany pay more than face if they are at least AU (I cannot see why knowing how much they stockpile). In fact at the branch in Munich a young couple were breaking out old silver 10 DM and 10 Euro coins from what looked like their grandfather's collection, including a Bavarian 5 reichsmark! When leaving I passed them by and advised them that they at least take them to a coin shop, and the Bavarian coin they will not even exchange and would be worth much more than 5 DM if they did. They seemed like they had already tried or just wanted their quick money I guess.
You can Exchange old 1 Rappen until end of 2026, which is 20 years after they got demonitized end of 2006. 2 Rappen were demonitized already in 1978. They cannot be exchanged anymore. All other demonitized coins, silver 5 Franken, 2 Franken, 1 Franken and ½ Franken + certain non silver 5 Franken, as well as old 20 Rappen, 10 Rappen and 5 Rappen Made of Nickel have no time limit.
For Germany: the bullion value of old 10 DM and 10 Euro coins exceed their face or exchange value. So no major sense to take them to Bundesbank. The old 5 DM were made of silver until 1979, usually they can be bought at bullion value with the first 4 being significantly and the next two or three being a little worth more than bullion. I doubt that any serious coin dealer might pay more than face value for the ones between 1979 and 1986. There are millions. Even in proof condition, originally sealed you do not pay much more than face. When I get some of these in a bunch of coins, I usually put them away immediately for taking them to Bundesbank next time I go (fortunately thats just down the road from where I work). Thats why I don‘t have any in my swaplist. No one quite wants them, so it is just dead money lying around.
in the end everything will be good - if it's not good, then it's not the end...
Yes, but not if I have 5 times the same coin, 1 in my collection, 4 in my swaplist that no one ever asks to swap. So I‘d rather get rid of these 4 coins and for that money get something that I need for my collection, instead. So turn dead money into living money 😉
in the end everything will be good - if it's not good, then it's not the end...
