What can I do with foreign coins?

United Kingdom
June 16, 2026 1:49pm CST
Like a lot of people, I'll pick up a coin if I see it in the street. And lately, I've been consciously looking for dropped coins, just for a bit of fun. I even started a spreadsheet to see how much I can collect in lost change by the end of the year. Not that I've had very much look so far, people don't seem to drop coins as much as they used to. Probably because they don't carry them so much anymore, since so many people now use cards for payments. But now and again I find foreign coins in the street. Sometimes American cents, recently a Euro cent, and just today an Indian coin. What to do with them? The Euro cent's easy enough - I live in Britain, so there's every chance I'll be taking a holiday on the continent in the near future (I just need to get my next job sorted out). I'm bound to carry Euros in cash when I visit Paris or Rome, so some extra coinage might come in handy too. But what about the Indian and American currency, and anything else that might come my way? We're talking about pennies, so no chance that the bank will accept them. I have no plans to visit India, and I wouldn't try visiting the USA if you paid me. Currently circulating coins won't have any collector value, so I'm stumped. I don't just want to throw them away - throwing money in the bin feels completely unnatural, even if it is foreign. Any ideas from the assembled MyLot brains trust would be appreciated.
1 person likes this
2 responses
16 Jun
wouldn't try visiting the USA if you paid me. I wouldnt get in I had a speeding ticket 7 years ago
2 people like this
@xFiacre (15136)
• Ireland
16 Jun
@ineeddentures I was refused entry to Mexico, Cuba and Iran a long time ago. Can’t remember why.
2 people like this
16 Jun
1 person likes this
• United Kingdom
16 Jun
I'd be regarded as a thought criminal.
1 person likes this
@Traceyjayne (12823)
• United Kingdom
16 Jun
Some charities take foreign coins. There are machine in some supermarkets I think they might take them, and give you the same in pounds ….
1 person likes this
@Traceyjayne (12823)
• United Kingdom
17 Jun
@VictorFrankenstein I think when charities get a lot of any particular foreign coin they just get them changed. I will check in our local supermarkets ….the machine does take some commission though .
1 person likes this
• United Kingdom
17 Jun
I've never seen machines like that in the supermarkets where I live. I'll bear in mind what you said about charities though, that sounds like a good idea. Some charities operate in more than one country, so it might be practical for them to take foreign change.