Post: #1

Thought that this might be an interesting topic for the Forum given how much travel we all do. I for one really like the look, feel, smell etc. of the currencies I’ve used during my travels and so wanted to start a thread about it.

Right now I must have at least 10+ different currencies in my bag or wallet on account of all the travel I've done recently. Some of the cooler currency coins/notes I have are from Iceland and the Czech Republic and of course Russia. I also have some older stuff from way back when including Irish pounds, Italian Lira and German Marks (!).

Things are always changing on the currency front and that makes it pretty interesting I think. For example, I noticed today that the 5 Euro note now has Cyrillic on it (from Bulgaria’s membership? Or a precursor to Ukraine’s eventual entry? Maybe even on there now to placate the large number of Russian speakers currently residing in the EU as well?). None of the other Euro notes seem to have this so perhaps it’s a work in progress and eventually the other notes will also have Cyrillic? I'm sure other currencies change all the time and we just don't notice it.

Here’s the 'new' €5 note FYI:



I also recently took some USDs out of my Russian account and they were the old notes and when I got back home noticed that the US has all sorts of new more difficult to counterfit notes that they've issued (the $20, $50 and $100 notes in particular).

Anyway, I just think that the various different currencies are all pretty cool and so thought we could all post the ones we have in our pockets and use on a daily basis in our various domiciles and/or ones that we think are particularly interesting. Here are a few I like:

Icelandic Coins:





Love the squid!!

(IIRC all the Icelandic coins had some sort of ocean/sea creature motif)

Russian Ruble 5000 note (baller note (biggest one they issue, but value dropping rapidly!)):



Other currencies/coins I love are the Canadian two dollar "Twoonie", the US $2 bill (now long since out of circulation, but you still see them from time to time) and even the Russian 10 Ruble coin (they are just a nice size and not too heavy). I will say that I find the UK and Canadian coins a bit on the heavy side and whenever I'm walking around in those countries I feel kinda like I have a pound or so of coins in my pocket!

Also in this thread I thought we could cover getting swindled abroad with various currency exchange hustles. Or even discuss how you’re getting crushed right now in a particular currency or killing it due to a new favorable exchange rate. For me that would be Rubles which I still have some in an account in Russia which has dropped almost 15% in the past few months .

Re ‘hustles’ I’ve personally been involved 2x with gypsy cab drivers trying to ‘exchange’ large counterfit bills for my smaller notes when exiting the taxi – one in Argentina years ago and then a few months ago in Egypt. Some of these guys are real scoundrels so look out!!

Anyway, tell us your stories and post your favorite currencies and/or interesting things about them in this thread!

Post: #2

I always have one of these in my wallet.

It is a genuine note - and was worth about 2 US dollars when it was issued.

Pretty amazing.



I always stare at the signature of the 'Governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe' and wonder what went through his mind when he signed off on the banknote.

You can pick these off eBay for about 5-6 dollars.

Post: #3

(03-21-2014 01:22 PM)cardguy Wrote:  I always have one of these in my wallet.

It is a genuine note - and was worth about 2 US dollars when it was issued.

Pretty amazing.



I always stare at the signature of the 'Governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe' and wonder what went through his mind when he signed off on the banknote.

You can pick these off eBay for about 5-6 dollars.

One hundred trillion dollars - love that. Man Zimbabwe's currency sure went down the toilet fast. Hedge fund manager Kyle Bass always mentions how their stock market went through the roof over the course of the devaluation and was the best-performing equity market of all during that time but by the end of it your money was worth nothing. Sort of like in Germany post WWI when they were carrying their Marks around in wheelbarrows.

Post: #4

I don't know much about the Forex market, but I understand the yuan and the ruble are getting beat up pretty badly lately vs USD. I wonder if there is a way to take advantage of that and earn some money on it?

Post: #5

You might enjoy this funny story about a bank going bust which I posted ages ago.

/thread-26172-...#pid522311

It is my favourite anecdote.

Post: #6

(03-21-2014 01:16 PM)Akula Wrote:  Thought that this might be an interesting topic for the Forum given how much travel we all do. I for one really like the look, feel, smell etc. of the currencies I’ve used during my travels and so wanted to start a thread about it.

Right now I must have at least 10+ different currencies in my bag or wallet on account of all the travel I've done recently. Some of the cooler currency coins/notes I have are from Iceland and the Czech Republic and of course Russia. I also have some older stuff from way back when including Irish pounds, Italian Lira and German Marks (!).

Things are always changing on the currency front and that makes it pretty interesting I think. For example, I noticed today that the 5 Euro note now has Cyrillic on it (from Bulgaria’s membership? Or a precursor to Ukraine’s eventual entry? ☺ Maybe even on there now to placate the large number of Russian speakers currently residing in the EU as well?). None of the other Euro notes seem to have this so perhaps it’s a work in progress and eventually the other notes will also have Cyrillic? I'm sure other currencies change all the time and we just don't notice it.

Here’s the 'new' €5 note FYI:



I also recently took some USDs out of my Russian account and they were the old notes and when I got back home noticed that the US has all sorts of new more difficult to counterfit notes that they've issues (the $20, $50 and $100 notes in particular).

Anyway, I just think that the various different currencies are all pretty cool and so thought we could all post the ones we have in our pockets and use on a daily basis in our various domiciles and/or ones that we think are particularly interesting. Here are a few I like:

Icelandic Coins:





Love the squid!!

(IIRC all the Icelandic coins had some sort of ocean/sea creature motif)

Russian Ruble 5000 note (baller note (biggest one they issue, but value dropping rapidly!)):



Other currencies/coins I love are the Canadian two dollar "Twoonie", the US $2 bill (now long since out of circulation, but you still see them from time to time) and even the Russian 10 Ruble coin (they are just a nice size and not too heavy). I will say that I find the UK and Canadian coins a bit on the heavy side and whenever I'm walking around in those countries I feel kinda like I have a pound or so of coins in my pocket!

Also in this thread I thought we could cover getting swindled abroad with various currency exchange hustles. Or even discuss how you’re getting crushed right now in a particular currency or killing it due to a new favorable exchange rate. For me that would be Rubles which I still have some in an account in Russia which has dropped almost 15% in the past few months .

Re ‘hustles’ I’ve personally been involved 2x with gypsy cab drivers trying to ‘exchange’ large counterfit bills for my smaller notes when exiting the taxi – one in Argentina years ago and then a few months ago in Egypt. Some of these guys are real scoundrels so look out!!

Anyway, tell us your stories and post your favorite currencies and/or interesting things about them in this thread!

That squid is cool.

Post: #7

The UK is switching over to plastic notes that are impossible to tear.

Sucks for magicians - since there are a ton of great tricks which involve tearing up banknotes.

Post: #8

(03-21-2014 01:48 PM)cardguy Wrote:  The UK is switching over to plastic notes that are impossible to tear.

Sucks for magicians - since there are a ton of great tricks which involve tearing up banknotes.

heh - plastic eh? Wonder how much more expensive that will be compared to the paper notes. I know that Canada uses it's Loony $1 CDN and Twoonie bc they last way longer than paper money and are more cost efficient. And in the UK it's really hard to find a 5 quid note right? (not many in circulation).

I'm sure the rest of the world will follow the UK's example re plastic currency soon enough.

Post: #9

Plastic currency is more expensive.

But it works out cheaper over the long run - since they last longer and therefore don't have to be replaced as often.

Post: #10

delete

Post: #11

Post: #12

(03-21-2014 03:49 PM)cardguy Wrote:  

Post: #13

I came across a 1935 US dollar bill when I was traveling in the Caribbean - a bathroom attendant guy had it in his 'change/ tips' jar and after seeing it and I took a glance and noticed something odd. Then I inspected it and convinced him to exchange it for $2 of mine. Thought it was pretty cool as I'd never seen anything that old as far as paper currencies go.



The telltale difference included the number "1" on the front and the blue color of the seal on the front right. Few other differences too including the '1s' at the top and of course the "Silver Certificate" header at the top of the front of the bill. The back seemed to be exactly like the other US $1 bills.

Have seen a lot of old coins in the US but never saw anything like this just lying around/in circulation!

Post: #14

(03-21-2014 01:48 PM)cardguy Wrote:  The UK is switching over to plastic notes that are impossible to tear.

Sucks for magicians - since there are a ton of great tricks which involve tearing up banknotes.

FYI, was just up in Canada for a bit and they already have the plastic notes there - kinda funky/futuristic looking IMO especially the clear part of the notes. My buddy up there said they actually melt if you put them in the dryer though so lookout!!



Also was in the Turks & Caicos in the Caribbean and they use the US dollar as their currency. Sort of interesting but I guess a few of these Caribbean nations just use US currency since they get so much tourism from America.