Tomorrow is the 200 Forint Day

Starting tomorrow, the Hungarian government will begin issuing the new 200 forint coin, replacing the 200 forint bank note. Similar to the 100 forint coin, it will be minted in two metals with an outer and inner ring, made of 75% copper. The last date to be able to use the current 200 forint paper currency will be November 16, 2009. According to the central bank, the reasons are two-fold. The coins will have a longer life expectancy as the bills wear out faster and this is also to prepare people for the eventual adoption of the Euro. That will not be happening in the near future, but it is still interesting to think about the currency exchange identification between 100 or 200 forints and 1 or 2 Euros. Yikes, what a rate that would be sending inflation skyrocketing. The forint's name comes from the city of Florence, where golden coins were minted from 1252 called fiorino d'oro. Hungary's florentinus (later forint), was also a gold-based currency, which was used from 1325 under King Charles Robert

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$64. for a Lei

Here is your brain teaser for the day. What do Hawaii and Romania have in common? I can hear those synapses firing for some of you; others are just trying to read on to see if I share the answer. The clue was in the title of this post. In Hawaii, you get a lei at the airport if you are lucky. In Romania you get a lei in your wallet. Lei is the currency of Romania. What the hell has that to do with the title of the post you ask? A week ago, we had these two guests who where leaving here for Romania. They were concerned about not having any currency when they arrived with the train arriving late in the evening. In my box of currency from many nations that we have left over from trips, I had a 20,000 Romanian Lei bill and offered to sell it to them for American dollars. Ron was about to leave for the US; this gave him starter cash. In the back of my mind, I knew that Romania had changed from the old lei to the new lei. At my stage of life, I don't think about new leis or old leis, but had thought best to Google it with visuals. All of the pictures showed this bill was a new lei, so I sold it with good faith for $64. Last night, the guest called to say they had a great time in Romania, but guess what, his lei would not get him a lay or anything else. I apologized, reiterated that I checked it online and the pictures for a good lei matched the lei I had laying around. He remembered I had done that, but still he was told his 20,000 leis would not get a good lay or a bad meal. I offered to have him sent a check by my CA bank and apologized yet again. All he has to do is send me his address and I would like the lei back to at least make into a bookmark if it is just going to lay around again. Personally, I still think it is a good lei, but if you ever want me to be your currency broker from now on, all deals are final!

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Outdated Currency in Your Drawers? There is Hope.

This was sent to me and I thought it worthy of passing on to those that may be interested. I have not used this service, so cannot vouch for it, but it you have outdated currency, you are certainly not losing a thing by sending it in. Ryan Dear Dr. James,

I've been reading some of your travel writings and while not exactly travel related, thought that the following may be a topic of interest for your readers.

What do you do with your travel money after you return from a foreign vacation? Save it for next time, convert it back and spend it, throw it in the garbage? Realistically no one is going to throw money away, but that's what actually happened to billions of dollars!

Starting in 1999 many countries belonging to the European Union adopted the euro. Financial institutions in these countries and around the wrold allowed the exchange of old domestic currency into euros, however this redemption period has long since passed. Now, for example, if you attempted to exchange your German deutsche marks in to euros or dollars, your bank would simply say "no".

There is the equivalent of billions of dollars of these non-legal tender banknotes in the desks, sock drawers and wallets of millions of vacationers. Money that could be used for paying bills, a night out on the town or savings is impossible due to the lack of any exchange mechanism. The Currency Commission is here to solve this problem.

Our mandate is to facilitate the conversion of old, expired banknotes. Currently we redeem banknotes into euros, Canadian or US dollars. Other currencies may be added if the need should arise. All of this takes place through The Currency Commission website -www.thecurrencycommission.com.

People simply sign-up and enter the face value of any banknotes that The Currency Commission accepts. Upon receipt of old banknotes, The Currency Commission validates the currency to ensure authenticity and will then issue funds to the recipient in the currency of their

choice.

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Scottish Reader

I see I have had a Scottish reader here. We would certainly love to have a Scottish B and B guest. We left Edinburgh last summer with more than 30 Scottish pounds, which we tried changing to British pounds. The 'gentleman' at the exchange claimed he did not have any British pounds, but that the Scottish pounds would be exchangeable anywhere. If we had a guest from there, we could do a private exchange. It seemed to me at the time that we had problems the year before with the extra currency, but was not about to humiliate him by telling him his currency was worthless outside of the islands. When we returned to Hungary, no one would exchange the Scottish pounds. Had I thought about it, I could have changed them for Euros while still in Edinburgh. Too much feisty Fringe Festival frivolity to remember options, I guess.

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Which Euros Did You Want?

We have a guest coming here from the States. We had advised her that we prefer payment in Euros even if Hungary has not converted over to them yet.

She sent me a note today stating she went to the bank to order Euros and THEY, the bankers asked her if she wanted Italian, German, or French Euros since they could not get Hungarian Euros. Holy smokes!! A bank asking these questions blew my mind.

It gave me a big laugh, but I did not laugh at her when she asked which we preferred. I could understand her not knowing, but any banker should obviously be up-to-date on this information.

If this leaves anyone scratching their heads, I will save you the time from Googling it. From January 1st, 2002, twelve of the fifteen European Union members completed their conversion to using the Euro instead of their own national currencies. These twelve states comprise the Eurozone, sometimes called Euroland. The Vatican uses the Euro, but does not circulate them. They are sold in sets. Finland does not circulate the 1 Euro cent coin, but stores sell it for an inflated price. San Marino has its own set too.

All Euro bills are the same regardless of the country. The coins are all the same design on one side, but each country has their own design on the other. All currency is legal within the Euro zone regardless of the country of origin.

There are 27 countries in the European Union, but the last 12 to be admitted will not be able to use the Euro for some time yet. Hungary like the others, need to meet a set ratio of debt vs Gross National Product for two years before being allowed to convert to the Euro. In Hungary, it is estimated it will not be until about 2012.

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F**king ATM

I went to use my new ATM for the first time since calling in and verifying the information. I have had the same PIN code for 15 years. I punch it in. This pin number is not correct, try again. ****, this number is not correct, try again. ****, this number is not correct, you are pressing your luck of ever seeing this card again. Cancel transaction. Insert card again. Select language. German. Do I speak German? No, but perhaps I will be luckier. ****, I am guessing the message was the same since I didn't get currency choices. Cancel. Go home. Fume.

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