Place to exchange Canadian currency in coins?

[silversurealism]

I studied abroad in Canada for a couple of years and returned last year. It was a rough time for me. I only recently started really going through everything I brought back with me.

After going through wallets, purses, backpacks, and suitcases, I've come up with about $30 in Canadian change -- primarily loonies and toonies.

I could really use the

Comments

[nymphatacita]

I have never found anyone who will exchange any coin currency. It won't help you with the loonies or toonies, but you can use the pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters bit by bit mixed in with American currency, and few people will care.

[nymphatacita]

The parking meters here won't take canadian. Other than that, we've only had a problem once. That was at a Wendy's drive-thru.

[deadmystery]

I agree with this even if it's a little sneaky. I open rolled change with a Canadian coin or two mixed in all the time. I even got a rupee last week. If you use it when buying something, sometimes cashiers won't take a Canadian coin. But I never kick up a fuss about it. So, you might try it if you can't find another way.

[tropism]

Passports aren't particularly expensive -- I think with the application & acceptance fee, they come out to about $80.

Anyway. Go to a bank. Most banks will do currency exchanges, though they may charge something like 10% as a fee.

[necrotica]

Cost me $97.

[widowspeak]

Yeah, mine was in the $100-range, too.

[necrotica]

Thank goodness it's good for 10 years, heh. I think it's less expensive to have it renewed than it is to get the initial one (don't quote me on that, though).

[avenginglioness]

woah, they actually accept pesos? Living in SoCal there was never a place that would let you use anything but American curency. Now I live in a border town close to Canada and everywhere will let you pay in Canadian currency, but there's some exchange rate fees that are getting to where it isn't much worth it for Canadians to shop here anymore because their dollar is so strong. I'm thinking soon the fees are going to go away though, to get more business coming across the border.

(I love your user pic! XD)

[nerd4live]

Haha yeah the name of the pizza place is Pizza Patron, they're a chain here in Texas. I heard the owner was getting hate mail for accepting pesos (I suggested to my friend that we send him love mail, lol). But even they don't accept coins, only bills.

[daydreamingone]

Hate mail? That's so stupid! Do these people realize that accepting multiple currencies in border regions is done all over the world?

[avenginglioness]

I wished you lived closer to me, but then, you probably wouldn't be needing to exchange the coinage. You only need a passport to enter Canada by air or sea. You still can cross the border by car or foot power with only your birth certificate and picture ID until January 2008 at the earliest, and even that deadline might be pushed back. The way the Canadian economy has been headed America would be shooting itself in the foot, or at least all the border towns' feet, if they start to require passports for Canadians crossing the border.

[fiona64]

I have never yet found a currency exchange that would take back coins, regardless of where they come from. :-/

[my_aerie]

Alas, same here. I came back from Europe (pre-Euro) with over 100 dollars worth of change, but they just don't take it. I consider it some REALLY expensive souvenirs...heh. (I learned since, but I still came back with around 15 bucks worth of Euros last time I went to Europe)