Is it a wise idea to buy notes from money exchange

Hi y'all…

Is it a good approach to add more banknotes into my collection by buying them from money exchange offices? If you may ask me about my experience, I'm just a beginner (having collecting notes and coins only since 2022)…

Eksdeta444

Hi y'all…

 

Is it a good approach to add more banknotes into my collection by buying them from money exchange offices? If you may ask me about my experience, I'm just a beginner (having collecting notes and coins only since 2022)…

Depends on how you want to collect banknotes. If you accept whatever the state of the banknotes they give to you, it can be a cheaper alternative compared to the price from banknote shops.

Such notes would be in circulated condition - ATMs are better for getting unused notes. 

However, you might get replacement notes if you get larger quantities of lower denominations from the money exchange. 

You will be paying more than the current rate (their rate + any commission). Many coin shops have exchange currency that they often sell lower than the rate, especially outmoded notes that are still exchangeable that can't be found at a forex

griff88

Depends on how you want to collect banknotes. If you accept whatever the state of the banknotes they give to you, it can be a cheaper alternative compared to the price from banknote shops.

+1

“Depends” is a great answer to this question.

One's collection is only as good as what one is willing to invest in it.  If you're a beginner & you don't wish to invest much, then by all means knock yourself out at the exchange outlets.  But if it were me, I would just aim for UNC examples (which has worked very well for me in the past). If you choose this route you must accept that you're collecting “blindly.”  I have asked the tellers if they have perfect Euros, DR Pesos, Pounds, USD, etc & they will actually show me what they have (& then I will buy or decline).  Everybody's happy. These notes will also be spent on vacations (if the need arises) b/c they are typically from massive runs & have very little collector value.

Since I have no idea what I'm going to get (I don't know foreign currency like our own) the notes I attain from exchange outlets are really low priority “keepers” which I will trade at the first opportunity.   I know my own nation's currency by the prefix (so I know which prefixes are short or have signature change overs, etc) & I never keep common prefixes unless they're special numbers.  

When I  shop for a world note online, I know exactly what I'm looking for & I then channel my limited funds to much more desirable banknotes.    I would be much more inclined to encourage collectors to do this (rather than use exchange houses) but that's me (& I tend to be a bit too serious about the hobby).😇

I agree with the previous replies. However, in my experience the money exchange's rate and commission can often be lower then some of the outrageous mark ups by some Ebay vendors. However, some money exchange places ask for a minimum purchase so you may end up spending more in that way and go home with multiple notes you may not want (unless you want multiples). With online/Ebay listings you know exactly what you're getting (condition, signatures, type etc.). I agree that going to a money exchange place may be approaching the collecting “blindly” because you really don't know what they have and what condition the notes are in. And that's cool too. Most of the time you'd be getting circulated notes, and sometimes UNC or AU if you're lucky that day. You may have to visit a few exchange places to find what you're looking for. And they also typically carry currency for commonly travelled to countries only.

For beginners who are looking to add a good variety and “bulk” to their collection, I would recommend searching for ebay listings with sets of random UNC banknotes (10x, 20x, 50x etc) - they are usually the common low value notes that most collector already have. But if you're starting out, this is a great starting point - often a few cents for each note. After that, coins shops and coin shows usually have a bin with world banknotes that you can find more treasures. 

For the others who replied earlier, where do you buy your banknotes from?

Here in Thailand the exchange agencies (not banks) are really a good source for current banknotes as they mostly only except notes in XF or AU/UNC condition. They are also very happy to sell them to me at close to current world exchange rates. As I collect for fun not investment speculation, these notes are fine by me and they are cheaper than most dealers and certainly cheaper than e-bay. The only downside I have seen is that a lot of tourists are being told to bring US dollars or Euro to exchange for baht. If you collect for fun, exchange places are always a good source for new notes.

Here in the United States the only currency exchanges I encounter are in airports and they charge large fees making the exchange somewhat impractical. For a trip my daughter had planned to Italy and Greece I did exchange some Dollars for Euro and was able to ask for several denominations allowing me to pick out a signature combination or two I needed. I have ask if they have any “interesting“ currencies they would sell And have always been told all they have is Euros, Pounds, Yen, Mexican Pesos, etc. and they don’t have any African currencies etc.  I think they also limit what they purchase to just these currencies keeping them from acquiring anything interesting. 

However, back in the 1980’s these airport exchanges were my “honey hole” for Eastern European currency that was not available generally. I was fascinated with the “other side” so to speak and in the US we could not get East German Marks, Hungarian Forint or other controlled currencies, but these exchanges would often have a few notes they had bought and could not get rid of. They were always glad to sell me what they had. My favorite part of traveling would be going to the currency exchange at the large airport (I live in an area with only a small commuter airport so no exchange) and buying notes from the forbidden “East.”