Back when I thought every international trip would be my one and only visit to that country (because travel is expensive and I have a long list of places to see, yadda, yadda, yadda), I had a ritual: spend every last cent, pence, franc, or yen before I flew home. Why bring back money I would “never use again”?
Fast forward to the last several years and… surprise. I do return to places. So now, instead of trying to drain my wallet to zero, I keep leftover currency. Having cash in hand when I land means I’m not hunting down an ATM while jet-lagged and dragging luggage through an airport.
For a recent trip to London, I proudly packed my Ziploc bag-o-pounds. I even bragged about it on Facebook:
“On our way. I’ll finally be able to spend those GBP that have been sitting in my drawer since our last trip.”
To which a friend replied:
“Unless they were pound coins.”
Excuse me… what?
The “oh no” moment
That one comment spiraled into a discussion about how the UK periodically withdraws both bills and coins from circulation. My friend had previously taken old notes to the Bank of England to exchange them because shops wouldn’t accept them anymore. His old pound coins weren’t even exchangeable — they were just souvenirs.
So I did what any rational traveler would do: I checked the Bank of England’s website. And sure enough, one of the £10 notes in my Ziploc bag had been withdrawn from circulation. It ceased to be legal tender on March 1, 2018. Instead of buying coffee, I was holding a rectangular piece of nostalgia.
What I learned — and what I do now
I still save leftover currency, but now I verify that the bills and coins are still valid before I travel. In the UK, several older paper notes have been phased out in favor of the newer polymer notes. The same thing happened with the round £1 coin, which was replaced by a 12-sided version in 2017.
The easiest way to confirm whether your money is spendable is to check the Bank of England’s page on withdrawn banknotes: https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/withdrawn-banknotes. If a particular note has been withdrawn, you can exchange it directly with the Bank of England. And this is key: there is no deadline. The Bank of England will continue to accept old banknotes indefinitely.
If you want to exchange in person, their counter in London is open Monday through Friday, 9:30 am to 3:00 pm (excluding bank holidays). However, they warn that it can get busy, and arriving after noon may mean you won’t be seen before closing. Some Post Office branches will also swap old banknotes. You can also exchange by mail if you’re not visiting London. Full details are here: https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/exchanging-old-banknotes.
About the new King Charles III banknotes
Some people worry they’ll need to exchange their Queen Elizabeth II notes now that King Charles III notes are being issued. Good news: you don’t.
There is no need to exchange current banknotes for the new King Charles III notes. Banknotes featuring the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II will remain legal tender and can continue to be used.
Only the old, withdrawn paper notes need to be exchanged — not the newer polymer ones with the Queen.
Reader Tips & Interesting Currency Facts
When this post was first published, it sparked a surprising number of comments from readers — many of whom had also discovered that their money had “expired.” Here are a few of the most interesting takeaways readers shared:
- In the UK, the Bank of England issues legal tender banknotes; however, banks in Scotland and Northern Ireland print their own notes, each with unique designs.
- Some countries never demonetize currency. Readers mentioned that Japan, the United States, and Singapore continue to honor old notes indefinitely.
- Other countries demonetize currency regularly. Examples shared included Sweden, Switzerland, Canada, Costa Rica, Tanzania, and the UK. One reader even attempted to purchase a beer in Tanzania with old shillings and was informed that the money was no longer valid.
Bottom line: Depending on the country, money might last forever—or only for a few years.
The takeaway
I now keep leftover currency, but I check it before a trip. It takes ten seconds, and it prevents the awkward “your money isn’t real anymore” moment at a store counter.
So learn from my Ziploc bag of no-longer-spendable pounds: if you have foreign cash tucked away in a drawer somewhere, look up whether it’s still valid before your next trip. Otherwise, you may end up with a nice souvenir and nothing to buy a coffee with.
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14 comments
To my knowledge US bills are always legal tender here in the USA. However I do know that abroad, most money changers just want the more recently issued USD bills (in great condition of course)
yep, had that happen to me with pounds, swedish kronor. so now i have google alerts for currency changes so i can get them exchanged and not have paper weights or take the really bad exchange rates at one of those money exchanges for old notes.
Actually it seems USA is one of th few countries that uses money that lasts forever. And actually it only lasts forever in the USA. Try using older bills or bills that are less than perfect in Ecuador or Cambodia where USA bills are their legal form of tender. The USA is wayyyyyyyy behind other countries in having bills they help for example people who are sight challenged. Many countries have a different color and size for each denomination which can make it easier for everyone.
This is exaclty what I learned also past weekend when I went for a citytrip to London. I had some older bills from previous trips that I took along for this journey, and wanted to pay my meal. There they told my that they could not accept the bills and I should go to the bank to have them changed. (on a sunday…)
I had never heard of this kind of method to enforce new bills. Living in the Euro zone, we are used that new versions are printed and gradually the older versions are taken out of circulation.
I visited Tanzania in 2001. I returned in 2005, and brought about $2 worth of Tanzanian shillings with me. I was proud to be so organized as I tried to buy an excellent Kilimanjaro beer at the airport, but was told my money was no longer legal tender. I paid $4 US instead. . .
[…] I Never Thought Money Expired. I Was Wrong […]
Our head of state is featured on the currency and this needs to be updated; you can see this as the Queen’s image changed on currency over the decades…. King Charles is slowly replacing the Queen on the current currency; when updates happen the new security measures are also added.
Happened to be with British Pounds that were from AIB bank in Northern Ireland. They supposedly expired and I have to go back to NI to have a chance of trading them in. It’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard. They wouldn’t do it in England or Scotland.
Now here’s a curious thing… Whilst The Royal Mint issues coins, only the Bank of England can issue banknotes of Legal Tender, for the whole of the UK. However, The BoE authorises and regulates 3 banks in Scotland & 3 banks in Northern Ireland to print local banknotes of their own designs, but only so long as they deposit assets of equivalent value with it in London. These local banknotes are not legal tender in Scotland or Northern Ireland (or anywhere else in the world for that matter), but by convention are widely accepted throughout all countries of the UK.
I’ve had currency “expire” from Canada and Costa Rica. Basically old bills that I had stowed away for a few years only to find that (in each case) they had redesigned the bills to include more colors and security features. Luckily for me, my Canadian $20 bills were accepted after some negotiation. Given the new king, I’d imagine this is happening again.
As for Costa Rica, they had totally redesigned their bills and the old ones were no longer valid. Fortunately, this only resulted in a loss of less than $5 in our case. But yes, it is not that unusual when a country updates it’s currency and phases out the old.
The United States and Singapore are among the countries that do not demonetize old currency.
The UK does so regularly. Luckily, paper currency can be exchanged at the main office of the Bank of England in London so it is not too inconvenient.
I have been burned by Sweden and Switzerland, too. I suppose I could go to Bern or Zurich. I pulled a fast one and exchanged my last remaining Sweden bills with an unsuspecting US bank. Maybe they can call it a loss or find some way to ship it to Sweden.
India is terrible. With little notice, they made most of their currency worthless. Luckily, I had little and pulled a fast one on a taxi driver that cheated me.
I don’t know the status of Japan. They just introduced a new banknote but the old ones are still good. I think Japan is like the US and Singapore and doesn’t demonetize their paper money with the exception of some old World War II currency.
Earlier this year I took some old UK pound notes to the downtown post office in Bath and exchanged them for the newer version that has a clear window. The only requirement was to show my US passport.
Interestingly, the Bath post office is upstairs in an office supply store.
Many countries have demonetized old notes and coins. They almost always provide a way to swap the old notes and coins for new ones, but it can be inconvenient.
I found a company called Leftover Currency (www.leftovercurrency.com) which cashes out old notes and coins. They don’t pay full value—for old British pounds they pay something like 92% of the value, for other currencies sometimes quite a bit less—but I found their rates high enough that the loss of value was justified by the convenience. On a recent trip to London, I changed a huge pile of currency into my home currency and was very happy with the result.
I have no connection with Leftover Currency except as a one-time customer, but my experience was good. Of course, your mileage may vary.
@Derek
You’re correct, Japan’s postwar currency doesn’t expire
You can still use the Shotoku Taishi and Fukuzawa Yukichi 10k jpy bills alongside the new ones.
tbh, seeing the portrait of Prince Shotoku on a bill makes it look like play money… One of those things that the younger generation may not realize being legal tender.