Cash4coins Blog

History of the US Dollar

History of the US Dollar ($ USD)

The US dollar is one of the world’s most important currencies; it is more used in international transactions than any other currency, and is one of the most significant global reserve currencies. For all its status as a global institution, though, the dollar is a relatively young currency and has been through many changes over the years.

Prior to independence, the British colonies in America used a wide range of currencies, but the most common was the Spanish peso, known in English as the “dollar” after similar coins minted in what is today the Czech Republic.

After the colonies became independent, Congress ordered a new currency, but one based on the value of the Spanish dollars. Indeed, Spanish and Mexican currency remained in circulation in the US well into the 19th century.The modern US dollar is the product of a long serious of changes over the course of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Almost all of the current coin values have been in circulation since the 1790s, but many others, such as the twenty-dollar “double eagle” gold piece, or the short-lived two-cent coin, are now collectors’ items.

The 1920s and 30s saw the last of these fade away, with the demise of the $2.50, $5, $10 and $20 coins. Since 1933, the familiar American coinage of penny, nickel, dime and quarter has been the standard. 50-cent and $1 coins do exist, but they are far rarer and seldom used in transactions.

Dollar notes, or bills as they are known in the US, come in $1, $2, $5, $10, $20, $50 and $100 denominations. The two-dollar bill is extremely rare, although still legal tender. This range of bills has existed since 1969, when high-value bills such as the $100,000 bill were taken out of circulation. Unlike many currencies, the US dollar uses the same size for all its bills. Recent redesigns to many denominations of bill have prompted some Americans to refer to these as “Monopoly money”, although as with most currency redesigns the initial distrust for the new bills soon faded.

Both dollar bills and coins bear the images of famous Americans, with national symbols on the reverse. Although often referred to as “presidents” (“dead presidents” is a slang term for money), not all of these individuals were presidents. Benjamin Franklin, whose face appears on the $100 bill, and Alexander Hamilton, whose image appears on the $10, were prominent early statesmen who never served as president. Similarly, womens’ rights campaigner Susan B. Anthony and Native American explorer Sacagawea appear on the $1 coin.

If you would like to exchange US Dollar coins, Dollar banknotes or any coins from the USA for cash then we can help you. We specialise in changing foreign coins back into a usable currency of your choice. Contact us for more information.  We have helped countless customers to turn their otherwise useless coins and notes into cash they can use.  What will you do with your extra money?  You might be surprised just how much that old collection of foreign coins is worth.  Send your coins to our helpful and friendly team today and we will count, sort and value them for you.

5 ways to spend leftover foreign coins

Help for impoverished students…!

OK, you’re a poor student and you’ve pretty much spent all your foreign coins on your holiday in the sun. However, you get to the airport and shock horror…. You find some pesky foreign coins left in the deepest darkest recesses of your pockets. If you take them back home you can’t exchange them at any bank so you’d be stuck with them. So what can you do..?

Here are a few great ways to leverage the last bit of value from them.

1. Make a call

It’s not very exciting but it may be a great way to get rid of some of the foreign coins. Maybe you want to call ahead and confirm your lift or (even better) call the new friends you’ve just made on your hols.

2. Get yourself a book

If nothing else most airports have a decent place to buy a book so you could spend those last few coins on one. The good news is that when you’ve finished the book you can always sell it after or exchange it towards another book.

3. Treat yourself to a snack

Now you’ve got a bit of spare wedge you may want to splash out on some street food or a tasty snack on the way to the airport. If you’re suffering from (ah-hem) dehydration then you may want to save it to buy some water on the plane.

4. Taxi

OK, a taxi is usually a bit extravagant but if you’ve got some leftover foreign coins then why not use them to travel in style and get a cab to the airport. Even better of there are a bunch of you – you can all club together.

5. Exchange your foreign coins in the UK

So you’re back home and you still have some foreign coins leftover from your hols. You tried to spend them all but there are still a few lurking around. As banks won’t exchange them you’re stuck with them…. Right?

Wrong..! Here at Cash4Coins we exchange all foreign coins and notes for cash. The process is simple, fast and easy and you get great rates and instant payment. Contact us today and let us turn student woe in to happiness!!!!

We can change any foreign coin into lovely Sterling for you, ready to spend as you wish. And if you have more foreign coins lurking at home, even better! It’s a great way of making some extra cash and we will do all the hard work for you.  We tell you how to send us your coins and it couldn’t be easier.  We have lots of local drop offs that you can use to send us your coins through and if you have over 10kg of coins (you never know!) we will arrange our secure courier service to pick them up completely free of charge!

So the next time you are a little short of cash, take a look at your foreign coin collection to see if you have any left over foreign coins you can send to us. We would be delighted to exchange them for cold hard cash!

 


Holiday Money Travel Advice

Holiday Money Travel Advice

For most of us a holiday in the sun is the highlight of the year. The annual holiday should be fun and relaxing however for many people travelling abroad it can turn sour. This is usually in relation to having a credit card stolen or being defrauded.

To help you stay safe and have a fantastic holiday here’s our ‘Holiday Money Travel Advice’ to help keep you safe and secure.

Credit Card Security

As with the UK there has been a significant rise in the last few years of identity theft and credit card fraud in popular holiday destinations. Some criminals will target holiday-makers as they are a softer target when in a foreign country.

Always be careful where you use your credit cards, if it does not feel right then it may be good to follow your ‘gut’ instinct. Always get a receipt and make sure that you keep them in case you need to prove a transaction in the future. If possible and if it’s safe to do so you may want to keep track of your spend online.

If you see any transactions on your statement that you don’t recognise then make sure that you question them. Criminals often start with a small transaction to test the card works before going on to larger transactions.

When paying by card try to make sure that the transaction is carried out in front to you. This is to stop someone walking away with your card and copying the details.

Keep handy the contact telephone numbers for your card providers lost or stolen departments. And keep them separate from your cards. If you do find your card stolen then don’t panic as pretty much all credit card companies will refund any money that’s been stolen.

Hide your foreign coins and notes

You would not go flashing the cash when in the UK so think the same way when travelling in a foreign country. Try to take only what you need in cash with you and leave the rest in a safe.

Try to keep your cash in a couple of locations when you’re out so if it does get stolen from you you’ll have some spare.

One of the biggest crimes is by pick-pockets, especially in busy tourist areas. With this in mind keep cash and cards separated to make sure that if they are stolen you’ll still have some left.

If you are going to carry any foreign banknotes then try to use a money-belt that keeps the currency hidden.

If you follow this basic commonsense safety advice then it will help reduce any potential problems for you. When you come back from your holidays you’re also likely to have a few foreign coins leftover that you could not spend. As banks in the UK (as well as bureau de change and the Post Office) won’t change foreign coins back into cash you could be stuck with them until you next go on holiday (and that’s if you remember to take them!).

However we offer a foreign coin exchange service where you can change leftover foreign coins back into cash. Contact us for more info.

 


The Top 3 Most Worthless Currencies

You definitely don’t want any of these!

When it comes to some of the worlds most useless and worthless currencies there have been quite a few over the years, however in fairly recent times there have been some spectacular devaluation of some currencies followed by some crazy printing of ridiculous notes and coins. We all know that when things go wrong some governments do some daft things but read below about three of the worlds most devalued…

Why devalue foreign coins and notes?

There are many reasons why countries devalue their currency and this can include trying to increase exports as well as trying to reduce the demand to import products. However for some countries devaluation can spiral out of control until their currency is basically worthless. Here are the three worst offenders…

Zimbabwe

The inflation rate in the UK has fluctuated a little bit in the last few years by a few percent and most of us have probably worried about it at some time or other. However spare a thought for the hapless Zimbabwe currency where the inflation rate hit 100,000 percent. (Yes, you read that correct – it was 100 thousand percent!).

This lead to the issue of the £10 million dollar note. As a comparison you can buy 30,000 Zimbabwe Dollars for just 1 USD. If you wanted to buy a roll of toilet paper then this would set you back a trifling $145,000 Zimbabwe Dollars and a beer would be in the region of $200,000 Zimbabwe Dollars.

We have had a few call from customers looking to exchange foreign coin and notes who have found a 10m Zimbabwe note in their collection and have thought they have won the lottery. As you can imagine they are a bit disappointed to find out the real value!

Vietnam

Recently Vietnam have had a bit of a financial kicking with the strangely named ‘Dong’ being devalued by 5% which makes an exchange rate of around 11,885 ‘Dongs’ to the Dollar (USD that is).

Unlike the £10m Zimbabwe note the Vietnamese were a bit more conservative and issued a 500,000 Dong which is worth around $30 USD.

Indonesia

Back on the late 90s Indonesia was stuck in a bit of a pickle and their currency (the Rupiah) lost eighty percent of it’s value over just a few weeks. This caused outrage amongst the Indonesian population and riots ensued. The biggest note is the 100 thousand rupiah note which is worth around ten USD.

If you have any foreign coins or notes that you want to exchange or if you’d like some advice then please contact us. We are always glad to help.  Our team is always on hand to answer any questions you may have about our foreign coin exchange service and we would be delighted to help you get the most from the spare change you have available. Remember, you don’t even need to sort or count your coins.  We have local drop off points that you can use and if your coins weigh over 10kg we will pick them up from you FREE of charge!  What a great service!

 


How much can you legally pay in coins?

What are the rules with paying for things with coins?

If you’ve ever been annoyed at what you think is an unfair fine then you may have been tempted to pay it all 1 or 2p coins to reek some revenge. But what are your rights? How much can you pay in coins and are people obliged to accept them?

Just recently a lady from Hampshire in the UK had been paying for her weekly shopping in ASDA with £1 and £2 coins that she’d collected during her job operating an ice cream van. However, after weeks of successfully paying with the coins on her last shopping trip she was refused and told to come back with notes instead!

Understandably she was a bit miffed and following a load of publicity ASDA quickly backtracked and issued an apology as well as a £15 shopping voucher.

In another story a resident from Wales was informed that he was no longer allowed to pay off his debt of £650 in instalments of 4,000 pennies at a time. Also, a man from the West Midlands was refused when he tried to pay off his parking fines with a bucket of 1p pieces.

What are your rights with coins?

Amazingly the British Coinage Act (1971) states that 1p and 2p coins are only legal tender up to the value of 20 pence. However, you can use more coins if the person you’re paying is willing to accept them.

From a legal perspective the meaning of ‘legal tender’ is that you can’t be sued for not paying a debt as long as you give the right amount of money in ‘legal tender’. That’s the long and short of it. For the most part it’s down to the person who pays coming to an agreement with seller.

And if you’re thinking of ways to get some revenge (and by the way, we don’t endorse or recommend this) then you may be interested to know that £1 and £2 coins are legal tender for any amount – even if they are in a block of ice or a bucket of rice pudding.

What are the rules?

1 pence coins > upto 20 pence
2 pence coins > upto 20 pence
5 pence coins – upto £5
10 pence coins > upto £5
20 pence coins > upto £10
50 pence coins > upto £10
£1 pound coins > any amount
£2 pound coins > any amount

So, if you are having problems paying with coins or if you have lots of coins leftover from a foreign trip, why not let Cash4Coins handle them for you?  We can exchange any foreign coins for Sterling or any other currency you like and our team is waiting right now to assist you.  We have helped charities, schools, museums and hospitals to get the most from their charity donations of foreign coins and we have helped people like you to make use of their leftover currency.  Speak to our team today if you need any more advice about our service or send us your coins for quick assistance.


Counterfeit British Coin Guide

Counterfeit coin guide – how to spot a fake

Counterfeit £1 coins are becoming a huge problem in the UK with an estimated 3% of all £1 coins now thought to be fake. This would mean that there are £44 million pounds (yes, that’s 44 million pound coins) in circulation. Indeed, you may have received fake coins in your change from a store and been worried about spending them. The problem is huge and it can become harder and harder to spot the fake coins.

With this many coins floating around it’s highly likely that you’ve had a few counterfeit £1 coins – but how do you spot them?

According to the Royal Mint it’s important that you check your change and if you spot a fake coin then ask for a replacement immediately. However if you don’t notice the dud coin until later the advice is to take it to a Police station. This helps the Police spot trends in counterfeiting in certain areas and ultimately helps prevent it.

The sophistication of counterfeit coins varies and the methods employed by forgers varies, however here is a simple guide to help you spot the most common mistakes.

Dates and designs

Each year the design of reverse side of the £1 coin is changed and so date of the coin should match the design for that year.

Coin quality

Real £1 coins will lose a bit of their shine and lustre after they have been in general circulation for a while. Some of the fake coins don’t lose their shine and can appear not to show signs of age.

Alignment

The orientation of the designs on both sides of the coin should be aligned when turned round.

Edge Lettering

The inscription on the edge of a real coin will always correspond to the year date of the coin. Usually, with counterfeits the milled edge of the coin will be badly defined with the lettering uneven or spaced incorrectly.

What do you do if you have a fake coin.

Using any counterfeit coins is illegal. If you have a fake coin or suspect that a coin is fake you should hand in to your local police station.

More information on counterfeit coins can be found on the Royal Mint website. 

At Cash4Coins we have a vast knowledge of the coins that are in circulation and those that are no longer legal tender. Whether you have lots of old British or Irish currency at home or you are a charity wanting to exchange foreign coins for Sterling or another currency, we can help.  Of course, we cannot help you with your fake coins but we can help you with those legal coins you have collecting dust at home.

It’s easy to send us your coins and if you have in excess of 10kg of coins waiting to be exchanged we can even pick these up from you free of charge! That’s a great service.  We will also count and sort them for you.  Once our team has counted your coins we will send you a no obligation valuation to consider at your leisure.


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