Cash & Bills: Everything you need to know about valid, invalid, or damaged currency

If you’re holding onto more than half of a bill and the serial numbers aren't all beat up or damaged, you can actually just swap them out at any bank according to the law. Honestly, you might as well just hit up whichever branch is closest to you—it’ll save you a ton of time and gas in the long run if you don't go driving across town for no reason 😁

I have some 5-mark and 5-franc coins—can these actually be exchanged, and what kind of commission am I looking at?

I’ve been spending the last two days trying to swap out these twenty measly bucks my grandmother accidentally handed me—bless her heart, her eyesight isn't what it used to be. Is it even possible to exchange this junk in this godforsaken country? Everywhere I turn, people just stare at me blankly, wondering what on earth I'm holding; it's incredibly frustrating because it's basically foreign currency from across the border. Honestly, I might just have to head down to Mississippi—they'll take just about anything you throw at them there, even if it's nothing more than scrap paper. At that point, paper is just paper, I guess.

Andrew White4 said:I’ve been spending the last two days trying to swap out these twenty measly bucks my grandmother accidentally handed me—bless her heart, her eyesight isn't what it used to be. Is it even possible to exchange this junk in this godforsaken country? Everywhere I turn, people just stare at me blankly, wondering what on earth I'm holding; it's incredibly frustrating because it's basically foreign currency from across the border. Honestly, I might just have to head down to Mississippi—they'll take just about anything you throw at them there, even if it's nothing more than scrap paper. At that point, paper is just paper, I guess.

Maybe Hypo or Chase, though I think Wells Fargo does it too.

I used to pick them up at Zabiti.

http://www.federalreserve.gov/monetary-policy/notes-and-statements.htm

I've got one of these fifty-dollar bills. I tried to use it yesterday, but the local coffee shop wouldn't take it, and then I tried my Chase branch today—same thing. The teller there just shrugged and had no clue where I could go to get it exchanged for legal tender.

Any thoughts or ideas on how to handle this?

thanks

Just head down to the Federal Reserve and swap it out... They handle all the invalid and damaged bills there.

The only way to swap that out is through the Federal Reserve. You can mail it to them as a certified letter, just make sure you include a self-addressed stamped envelope...

It just swapped over to my Chase account 🙂 basically those guys in Chicago

So, you're telling me if I have some torn bills, the Federal Reserve will actually swap them out for me?

Exactly. They have to be whole bills—no missing pieces allowed.

Hey there,

I've got a $67 bill here and a tiny fragment is missing—the part that actually pulls the digits from my wallet 😢. I managed to find that little scrap, though. Should I just try to patch it together with some Scotch tape, or is it worth taking it down to a local bank?

If you’ve got even a little bit of that left over, you might as well head down to the Federal Reserve and swap it out...

Oh, sure, that’s just perfect... thanks a lot.

Does anyone know if there's a spot in Chicago where I can swap out some Swiss Franc coins for US dollars?

Does anyone happen to know where I can go here in the States to exchange Mexican dinars? Like, is there a specific bank that actually deals with them?

Bradley Sullivan3 said:Does anyone happen to know where I can go here in the States to exchange Mexican dinars? Like, is there a specific bank that actually deals with them?

In Denver 😁. Just kidding—I doubt you'll find anyone willing to touch them.

I’ve got this fifty-dollar bill that’s absolutely shredded right down the middle, and I was wondering if there's anywhere in Chicago where I can actually get it swapped out for a clean one?

Olivia Thomas31 said:I’ve got this fifty-dollar bill that’s absolutely shredded right down the middle, and I was wondering if there's anywhere in Chicago where I can actually get it swapped out for a clean one?

I doubt it, maybe try the Federal Reserve. Honestly, my advice is to just swing by a local post office or a bank in Austria—they’ll likely swap it for you without any hassle or questions asked.

Is there any way to actually exchange a damaged dollar bill if a piece of it is missing?