How do foreign coins get into bank rolls?

I'm not sure if this question has been asked before, but I'm wondering how a few of the coins I've found have gotten here.

Recently, I found several foreign coins in bankrolls here. I found some 1940's Canadian pennies, which I liked. I can easily see how they could have made it here, but I also found a 1 cent coin from the Bahamas, and a 5 cent coin from Australia. Interestingly enough, the Bahamas coin was my first bankroll find that didn't feature a member of the royal family. The Australian coin got me really excited at first, because I thought it was a U.S. penny struck on a dime, from the rim. I was still excited, though, when I found out what it was, because I really liked the design.

Either way, my question is, how do you think those two coins made it into circulation? Was someone vactioning in those places and brought the coins all the way, only to be accidently spent? Or was it something else?

Maybe be a stupid question, but I figured I'd ask to see what you guys thought.

 

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Someone spent them, simple as that. I've heard of interesting things found in rolls. Howabout a 12th century Edward I silver penny from England in a dime roll? Crazy. (That wasn't me, lol.)

 

Probably someone who just wanted to get rid of some foreign coins.

I find plenty of Canadian coins in rolls.

 

And I find plenty of those pesky American coins in my rolls. LOL

 

Topher:
Send them my way!

I send you those funny Canadian ones.

(LOL)

 

Cool ! You just made yourself some money !

 

Yeah, Canadian coins are more common than wheat cents here, in my rolls at least. That's right accross the border, but how do the coins from Australia make it here in the first place, to be passed off in cent rolls?

 

But not as much as it used to be.

I spend them when I come down to visit family, that is, except for the pre-82 cents. I unloaded several rolls of coins when I went to LA in July. I had them in my carry-on at the airport and they wanted me to show them that they were, in fact, rolls of coins. Should have figured that it would look suspicious on the x-ray machine. LOL

 

I've found coins from the Bahamas in my cent rolls, I've found about a half dozen 20-pence coins from the UK in my nickel rolls, plus a handful of other oddball coins as I search rolls. The most remote ones were coins from India and Thailand, and a German 1DM coin.

 

I see plenty of Canadian cents in US cent rolls. Occasional Philippines cents, once a Euro 2 cent. And any correctly sized washer.

Question I wonder about is, how do dimes get in cent rolls? Every once in a while I find those as well in the shrink wrapped rolls. I guess the machine slips up, since they are certainly not the right size.

 

I don't find it at all unusual to find US coinage in my Cdn rolls, as our coins are sometimes accepted on either side (eg. border towns where stores accept the neighbour's cash at par, at least for small amounts).

For foreign coins, however, that have absolutely no business being in our currency system, I believe part of the reason is more sinister. The original holder of said foreign coins has difficulty dispensing them so they get inserted surreptitiously into rolls and cashed at the bank. How often have you seen a bank teller crack open a roll to check the contents?

 

I've vacationed in a few other countries and, being a coin collector, brought home a ton of currency from those countries. Heck, I have so many coins from Jamaica and Canada laying around I could see myself easily spending a few on accident.

 

Easy, you just get a bunch of tourists travelling around and they accidently spend these coins. I find some Kiwi coins in circulation here from time to time.

 

And not as much as it will be tomorrow !

 

It's also worth remembering that currency exchange booths are precisely that. CURRENCY exchange. They won't touch coins with a ten-foot pole. So tourists come home with a pocket full coins. The accidental circulation of coins and the temptation to put a few in rolls gets lots of them out there. Even where I am, in western Pennsylvania, where we won't find out about the Second Coming until thirty years later, I get Canadian coins with some regularity.

 

I used to live in Northern Idaho - not far from the Canadian border. Businesses accepted Canadian coins at discount. Freely circulated.

I have not noticed Mexican coins / currency along the southern border, however.

 

A Los Angeles area pizzeria recently announced that it will accept payment in pesos!

 

13th-14th century, not 12th century. And probably only worth $30.

 

Something that I've always found strange... I've lived in the north east, and in the deep south, and in both places I've come accross plenty of Canadian coins. Quarters, nickels, dimes, pennies, but never any Mexican coins.

 

My bad - I meant 1200's. And I know its not worth very much - but to find it in roll of US coins?