Whogirl84

I live in Chicago and I am a bank teller. I have a pretty good collection of coins, most of which I get from work. Some of my U.S. coins include steel pennies and a few silver dollars and half dollars. I also get a lot of foreign coins, many Euros and many other countries mixed in.
My biggest collection is Canadian coins. They don't go through our coin counter so I pull a few out here and there, and over the past few years have amassed a lot! I was wondering if anyone living in or near Chicago knows if there is a place I could exchange all this coin? The currency exchanges near my house only take paper money. I'm going to visit family in northern Minnesota this summer so I can take it with me, but I was just curious if there was any place around here to exchange. Thanks!

TheNoost

Travel agencies will exchange it for you and so will some coin shops. Around here (MI) it is a $6 charge no matter how much. Welcome to cointalk!

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chip

"My biggest collection is Canadian coins. They don't go through our coin counter so I pull a few out here and
there, and over the past few years have amassed a lot! I was wondering if anyone living in or near Chicago
knows if there is a place I could exchange all this coin? "

I would check if some of your collection is silver, and would sell canadian silver if you need the money right now, the rest of the canadian I would just pass at face. If you are not pressed for cash you might want to hold the silver to see if it will rise or fall.

As for Euros, I do not see any sort of artistry in the coinage, but they are trading at a premium compared to usd, if you have enough (to cover exchange fees) you might want to
convert it, or if you feel that the euro economic plan is stromg you might want to keep them, check the exchange rates to see what your possible risk/reward might be.

PennyGuy

Welcome to CoinTalk Candace, glad you've joined us.

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clembo

Hi Candace and welcome to the forum.
You may consider inquiring with your relatives in northern Minnesota. You may be able to dump it there for close to U.S. face for anyone headed to Canada.

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green18

Hi Candace and welcome to the forum. Just curious. How does the bank handle the Canadian coins that you pull from circulation? Do they consider the coins "slugs" (for lack of a better word) or are you required to buy them?

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900fine

Hi Candace ! Hope you enjoy the board.

Sure, if you're going to Minnesota you might trade CD$1 at par even at stores. These days, the Canadian "smaller dollars" are worth about 87c US. Anyone giving you a US $1 for a CD $1 is throwing their money away.

The strengthening US Dollar has recently brought as much as $1.30 Canadian, and the trend is positive for the US. If you have a lot of Canadian $$$, might want to hold 'em. Or not.

Here is the hard data :

http://www.x-rates.com/d/CAD/USD/graph120.html

andy21us

Welcome to the Forum Candace!

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Whogirl84

Thank you for the welcomes! The bank treats foreign coin in the machine as 'slugs'- they will stick to the magnet on the sorting bin. We are supposed to ask customers if they would like the coins back though. Most don't really care unless it's euros or coins they had from a trip that they could potentially reuse.
I might check and see if I can trade in the coins before our trip. Otherwise, my uncle told me that his bank in Bemidji will take the coins. I have over $150 saved, so I hope I can cash them, it's our gas money for the trip home!

covert coins

Yeah you won't get anywhere near face. Last year it was at face and at sometime above the US dollar. I exchanged money today and got $115 Canadian for $100 US.. Welcome to the forum ....