Where to get foreign currency?

I'd like to get some modern foreign currency, such as some small-value euro notes (maybe 5 and 10), some of the new Australia polymer notes, some new Japanese yen, etc.

I've found some places online that will do exchanges, but they usually have high minimums and don't let you pick the bills. I don't have any place close by that does currency conversion. It would also be nice to get bills that are in decent condition.

Is there any place online that has this type of thing? eBay seems to have mostly old stuff.

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

American Express and other companies have currency exchange kiosks at just about every international airport. I don't know if they would sell just a few notes, but I do know that none of them, nor any of the banks that deal in foreign exchange, buy or sell coins.

 

Well Fargo online allows you to pick the bills.. only bills no coins. But again, a pretty high minimum. I have bought from them twice, and the nice thing was all notes they sent me were brand new unc. I tried to keep some away in that pristine state, but (sigh) Europe aint cheap! If you are looking for a single note, you'll have to be patient on eBay (they do show up on occasion) or find a foreign coin dealer.

 

If you're somewhere in the boondocks, good luck! You can use the kiosks at Intnl airports or go to the shops and ask them if you can have a few bills - they might even let you pick. But you'll get a real crappy exchange rate.

Only thing I can think of is to get ahold of some local travel agencies. They might have contacts that could help you out.

 

i collect uncirculated currency. if you don't mind paying a small premium above the exchange rates for quality, i recommend visiting http://e-worldbanknotes.com/country.html. he has all the notes you mentioned you were looking for in crispy new condition. he only mails once a month, so orders might be slow...but you can't beat his prices when you compare him to other world currency dealers. a lot of the newer issues in my collection were purchased through his website.

 

I've always been pleased with Page's Coins and Currency. He ships fairly quickly, isn't expensive and has a great selection.

 

You could try asking collectors that live in those country's if they would trade for your country's or sell for face value.

 

At any International Airport or Currency exchange portal.

RickieB

 

I looked into this at the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport last week hoping to bring home some currency with Thalia Elizabeth's favorite monarch on it.

I didn't see a minimum price but I did note a $5.95 conversion fee. So it would have cost me $26 for $20 worth of, say, British Pounds; at the exchange rate they were quoting that would have netted about 8 pounds-- a five pound note, a 2 pound coin, and a 1 pound coin.

But turning quickly away from there, I noticed an ATM that dispensed foreign currency! I know that there was at least Euros and Pounds. I wondered briefly about trying it, and then decided, maybe next time.

 

Thanks for the information everyone.

 

Just an idea...
I stopped buying coins and currency from coins show and dealers. Now I buy via the local "Shopper News" it's a local community advertisement paper. I advertise for about $20.00 per month "Wanted foreign and domestic coins and currency" I HAVE OBTAINED SOME VERY GOOD BUYS. Hope this helps!

 

A realistic approach...

Someone start distributing flyers in my housing estate stating that he is interested in buying old banknotes. It comes with pictures to illustrate the wanted banknotes plus contact numbers and name. Looks like a real estate agent at work.

 

A friendly travel agent that books international flights is the best bet for reasonable cost.

The real friendly travel agents strike up good relationships with all their customers and if a customer goes to the country you are interested in, it should be very easy to get a small amount from them.

The only country I'm intimately familiar with is colombia and looking the two sites, they were very expensive compared to what I was paying for those notes while I was there. Of course, I paid face value for the notes AND the cost of a family vacation. Knowing the language also helps.

So if one were to do a flyer, what's reasonable to offer for miscelaneous foreign money. ½ of face value??, considering you also take the risk that it's in circulated condition and inflation could cause it's value to keep going down?

 

I regularly bid up to 85% of face value for lots of current Japanese currency/coins on EBay, and I am constantly surprised when I end up buying thousands of yen for around 75-80%. The currency goes by registered mail to a sister-in-law who deposits it in the bank for us, and the coins go to Japan in our luggage when we go over there.

I don't recommend bulk purchase of that type to anyone who doesn't travel to Japan.

 

Your situation would justify a little more as you are able to easily repatriate it for face value with little extra cost.

For items that one is unlikely to repatriate, I'm guessing that the ½ face value would still be a good starting point.

 

So far I have not had a chance to bid up to 85% of the face value. You mean you actually won the items at 85% of the face value for one lot of the auction. That's great. Most of the time, I exceed the face value many times over. Do you have a current example ?

 

The last major purchase, about 18 months ago, was ¥40,000 in ¥500, ¥100 and ¥50 yen coins and another ¥20,000 in old notes that are not presently in circulation, but are redeemable at any bank. My total cost, including S/H was ~79% of face value at the exchange rate in effect at the time.

 

That's pretty remarkable. Coins are heavy to ship them over and included in the S/H.

 

Love the Belarussian note with the squirrel on it, lol... may be buying a few notes from him soon...

 

One thing to note is that you should always collect brand new, uncirculated ones for modern / current issued currencies whether it is from your country or from foreign countries.