What To Do With Your Unused Foreign Coins After Travel

What To Do With Your Unused Foreign Coins After Travel

Many of you are looking for ways to get rid of the unused foreign coins after you come back from a trip.  Unused coins are heavy, loose, and space consuming; worse, it doesn’t give you much value back if you exchange it to your local currency. Chances are you probably won’t enjoy keeping all of the foreign coins unless you’re a coin collector.

My husband and I love to travel.  Over the years, we had collected coins from over 10 different countries.  Fortunately, all Schengen States use one currency, EURO.

So, what to do with it?  What would you do with it?

A while ago, I thought about why don’t each International Airport provides a donation box for travelers to donate their coins before they depart?  It is a win-win situation as the travelers will have less to no coins to carry and the government can use the extra fund from the donation to improve the facility and infrastructure on the airport or tourism sector, depending on the amount of donation received.  It will make the airport or the country a more comfortable place for the travelers to stop over.

Nonetheless, here are the options people would normally go for when dealing with foreign coins.  Some folks will put an effort to spend all of their foreign coins prior to leaving the country.  Some will give it away to their relatives, friends, family, or even other travelers who remain in the country.  Some will keep the foreign currency hoping that they will use it again on their next trip.

Most people do not realize you can actually donate the unused foreign coins and notes to UNICEF.   UNICEF will utilize the money for Change for Good  program.  You can mail in your foreign currency to UNICEF at the address below.  You may include your name, address, e-mail and phone number so that UNICEF can send you an acknowledgement of your gift.

Change for Good Program
U.S. Fund for UNICEF
125 Maiden Lane
New York, NY 10038

For further details, please refer to UNICEF official website.  http://www.unicefusa.org/donate/other-ways-to-give/foreign-currency.html.

Travelers returning to the United States on an American Airlines flight can often donate coins on the plane or may stop by the American Airlines Admirals Club or Flagship Lounge at the airport to donate unused coins and notes to UNICEF.

I hope this article will help you solve the unused foreign coins issue and help the world to improve to be a better place to live.