Do you have a couple of old bills left over from a long-ago European vacation? Did you inherit some old European currency from a relative? Are you still holding on to some old French francs, German marks or Spanish pesetas?

Since the euro was introduced in 2002, 17 European countries have adopted it as a replacement for their local currency. If you go to your bank and try to exchange Portuguese escudos, Austrian schillings or Slovenian tolars, you may be told “those are no good anymore.”

Technically, that information is correct, but it’s only part of the story. In many European countries, the old currencies are gone and can no longer be used to make purchases in stores or deposited at the local bank.You may still be able to present your old, pre-euro bank notes to the central bank in Brussels, Helsinki, etc. and exchange them for euros. It can be complicated, though. The old German notes have to go back to the central bank in Germany, the Belgian notes to Belgium, and so on. To add to the complication, some older notes were withdrawn or demonetized prior to the switch to the euro, or the exchange deadline has passed, and they can no longer be redeemed.

WARNING: If you have old currency from Finland or France, the period to exchange certain old bills expires in February 2012! After the deadline passes, those notes will become worthless. Although we no longer buy those currencies, our site contains links with instructions on how to cash in old currency from Finland and France.

So what do you do if you live in Des Moines, have only a few old Irish bank notes, or a handful of Deutsche Marks, and are not planning to be back in Dublin or Berlin any time soon? What if you are unsure about which notes can still be redeemed?

Euro Coin Exchange will buy your old pre-Euro bank notes. No fuss, no bother for you. Click here to see our rates. It’s as easy as filling out your packing list, putting your old bills in an envelope, and mailing them to Euro Coin Exchange. All it costs is a stamp.

We will even sort through your old banknotes, determine which ones can still be redeemed, and return the others to you along with your payment.

In most cases, our currency examiners will process your bank notes on the same day we receive them. If you select payment by PayPal, your money will be sent to you electronically the same day. Payments by check generally are mailed no later than the next business day.

We are now accepting pre-euro banknotes from the following countries:

Click on the links above for pictures and other information about all of the notes we will buy.

Are you ready to mail your old currency? Click here to download a packing list and shipping label.

*Important notice regarding Dutch Currency: Due to exchange restrictions imposed by the Central Bank of the Netherlands, we do not buy Dutch guilders. We will accept your guilders and donate them to humanitarian organizations in Holland on your behalf. You will not receive any payment for guilders.