By Eric C.
I LOVE COLLECTING WORLD COINS AND PAPER MONEY. I HAVE BEEN COLLECTING COINS FOR ABOUT 35 YEARS BUT ONLY ABOUT 15 YEARS FOR WORLD MONEY.
I HELPED MOVE AN OLDER GENTLEMAN FROM FREDERICTON NEW BRUNSWICK (NB) TO WOODSTOCK N.B. SOME YEARS AGO. HE HAD WORKED FOR A FILM COMPANY THAT DID WORK FOR THE CBC AND HAD TRAVELLED AROUND THE WORLD. HE GAVE ME SOME FAIRLY LARGE COLORFUL BILLS FROM FRANCE AND PORTUGAL AND A SMALL JAR OF WORLD COINS. I GUESS THIS IS WHAT GOT ME STARTED IN WORLD COLLECTING.
I DRIVE TRANSPORT FOR A LIVING AND THIS PUTS ME IN MANY DIFFERANT CITIES IN CANADA & USA, PLUS I HAVE WALKED OVER INTO MEXICO A COUPLE OF TIMES WHILE IN LAREDO TEXAS. I SEARCH FLEA MARKETS, BANKS, CURRANCY EXCHANGES AND COINS SHOPS WHEREVER I GO. I ALSO DO A LITTLE SEARCHING ON THE INTERNET TO FIND GREAT PLACES LIKE ECI.
SOME BILLS I HAVE SUCH AS SINGAPORE,MALAYSIA, NEW ZEALAND AND AUSTRALIA COST ABOUT THE SAME AS CANADIAN MONEY BUT MANY BILLS I FIND ARE LOW VALUE BUT VERY COLORFUL. MOSTLY IT IS JUST THE THRILL OF THE HUNT THAT IS SO EXCITING.
I HAVE A LOT OF OVERSIZE BILLS FROM PLACES LIKE RUSSIA, CHINA, CAMBODIA ETC.I HAVE NOW FOUND PAPER MONEY FROM 96 COUNTRIES AND COINS FROM 176 COUNTRIES. I HAVE A SON SERVING WITH THE PRINCESS PATRICIA'S IN EDMONTON ALTA. HE JUST RETURNED FROM AFGHANISTAN THE END OF AUGUST. HE BROUGHT BACK PAPER MONEY AND COINS FROM AFGHANISTAN, HUNGARY, ONE VERY LARGE BILL FROM RUSSIA. AS WELL HE HAD NOTES FROM SCOTLAND, THE ARAB EMIRATES, CYPRUS AND 1 BILL I DONT KNOW ABOUT. BUT THINK IT IS THAILAND. ALTHOUGH I WAS VERY HAPPY TO GET THESE I WAS JUST HAPPY THAT HE RETURNED SAFE AND SOUND. HE LOST 7 BUDDIES OVER THERE AND COULD HAVE BEEN HIM BUT BY THE GRACE OF GOD.
I'M NOW TRYING TO FILL IN THE LETTERS OF THE ALPABET THAT I DONT HAVE. I THINK THE LETTER X WILL BE A PROBLEM AS I CAN'T THINK OF ANY COUNTRY THAT STARTS WITH X. I HOPE OTHER PEOPLE ENJOY COLLECTING AS MUCH AS I DO.