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 Replies: 9 / Views: 2,139 |
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Valued Member
United States
318 Posts |
I have been identifying and organizing my foreign coins. I was talking to my friend last night and she had no clue that some foreign coins have big values on them, but compared to US money, they are almost worthless. For example: a Mexico $100 coin. I was trying to find a website that would convert this coin into a current U.S. equivalent value. But the only sites I could find were for Mexican pesos. I was unable to tell her what a Mexican $100 coin equals to in our money.
I would like to be able to plug in ANY COUNTRY coin value (from any time period) and see what it is worth (equates out to) in U.S. money.
Is there such a site? Am I not understanding why that is just not feasible?
I do not want to actually sell the coins, just to compare the two current "worths".
I would appreciate any comments and help on this issue. I am new to foreign coins and I am sure I have tons to learn. One question at a time.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2295 Posts |
Edited by wquinn
01/12/2012 12:02 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2605 Posts |
You can try this.One thing to keep in mind is that in many countries the currency becomes obsolete every so often, so before figuring out the exchange value make sure that the coin is "current" in that particular country. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2589 Posts |
often times after a currency is devalued there is a set conversion period and after it ends the old coins are worthless.
Edited by XavierOfGreen
01/12/2012 12:35 pm
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
17884 Posts |
Many countries do revaluations of their currency and this could cause real problems with such a conversion site. For example 100 current Mexican pesos is $7.35 in US currency. But if your 100 peso dates before 1992 it is worth only 1/10 of a modern peso or $0.00735 in US currency. In 1992 they had a currency reform and 1000 old pesos equaled 1 new peso. So your site would have to know the dates of the coins you are trying to convert and would have to keep track of all the currency revaluations. And of course as others have mentioned in some cases the old denominations have no value.
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Moderator
 Australia
16810 Posts |
Quote:
But the only sites I could find were for Mexican pesos. I was unable to tell her what a Mexican $100 coin equals to in our money. Mexico uses the "$" symbol for their peso. But as Conder101 pointed out, those are old pesos. Its theoretical face value is therefore 10 new Mexican centavos. I think the banks there will in theory still accept them, though they're worth far more in scrap metal value than face value. Quote:
I would like to be able to plug in ANY COUNTRY coin value (from any time period) and see what it is worth (equates out to) in U.S. money.
Is there such a site? Am I not understanding why that is just not feasible? I suppose there is one question that needs answering. Do you mean "What is this coin worth in US dollars, right now?" or "What was this coin worth in US dollars back when it was issued?" The answers to those two questions are often very different. If you have a German 1 mark coin from 1912, for example. When it was issued there were 4.2 marks to a dollar - which is more or less what you'd expect for a silver coin roughly the size and fineness of a US silver quarter. But in 1923, after a period of hyperinflation, the mark was fixed at 4.2 trillion to the dollar, and replaced with the rentenmark at a trillion to one. This was in turn replaced with the reichsmark at 1:1, which was replaced by the allies with the Deutsche mark at a ratio of 10:1, then by the euro at a ratio of 1.95583:1. So, if my maths is correct, your 1912 mark would, in theory, be "worth" 27 trillionths of a dollar. CurrencyDebasement is not an absolutely comprehensive list of all old and obsolete coins, but it gives metal value and (theoretical) exchange value for many of the commonly encountered ones for which the question is still somewhat meaningful. Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2589 Posts |
Actually the 1912 mark you mentioned would have no conversion value at all, since only German coins issued under the Federal Republic of Germany are still convertable. All other issues have had their conversions periods lapse and are worthless beyond their melt value or numismatic value.
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Valued Member
 United States
318 Posts |
Thanks for all the info guys. I guess I will never know how some of my obsolete coin values (as stated on the coin itself) can be converted to its current value and then compared to US money. I figure if the country still exists, then its old money should somehow be able to convert to its new money (no matter how many times it was changed) and then can compare to some other country's money. I bet a computer programmer could do the researching of each country's monetary history (create a datebase of some sort) and then do its conversion. Even if the final outcome would be "theoretical" and "not an actual trade-able monetary conversion" in todays values, I would still like for a formula-type program to exist to plug in what I see on the coins and then I could compare that country's money value to the US money value. I may not have all my terminology correct, but I think everyone gets the picture of what I would like the end result program to do. Just call me "curious". I am sure that many could call me other things, but lets just keep it at "curious". OK?  If by some chance, you run across such a conversion datebase/program, please let me know. Thanks again! |
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Valued Member
United States
126 Posts |
I too am thankful for all the great info. I had originally planned on going through the bags of world coins I have for a face value. Really glad I didn't end up wasting a weekend on nothing. Keep up the great info!
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Pillar of the Community
United States
507 Posts |
If you're asking 'can' they be exchanged, the answer is generally no. The great majority of coins you will encounter in bulk lots are no longer valid. Some exceptions are those with stable, long-term economies like: United Kingdom, Japan, Canada, Australia, etc. Even though they are still valid, the money-changers in your immediate area likely accept paper money only, leaving you out of luck. Most countries that converted to the euro no longer exchange coins. Exceptions (I know of) are Germany and Austria. Further details can be found at the European Central Bank website. Even if you want to exchange the coins that are still exchang-able, you'd have to pay for shipping a heavy package of coins across the ocean. The recipient countries may also pay out only in euros, have residency requirements, or other obstacles. . . One possibility is to offer them to people who will be traveling to countries where they are still legal tender. But then you have to go through the trouble of getting in touch with them, haggling over a price, and making a deal. ebay or craigslist may be worth a try. And think if _you_ were going to a foreign country--how many pounds of coins do you want want to carry? If a foreigner were coming to the USA with a bunch of pennies, nickels, and dimes weighing down their pockets--how much would that improve their travel experience? Many countries like the CCCP, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia have disintegrated. . . Even people living there at the time didn't want the coins! So ultimately, it's best to think of them as collector's items only. -wheatiefan |
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Replies: 9 / Views: 2,139 |
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Posted 01/12/2012 12:06 pm
