5 Things to Do with Foreign Coins

You know how you always have a handful of change left over at the end of a trip abroad? There just isn't enough to spend on anything and you usually end up taking those coins home. Well, if you travel abroad a lot, you could end up with quite the collection of basically useless money! Here are a few ideas to put those coins to work for you.

Create an exotic coffee table. Get a simple wooden table that has a glass inset which you can remove. Lay the coins in the inset part, in any design you wish, and replace the glass. You could try putting flags from the corresponding countries underneath to add more color and interest. Or you could just glue the coins (using a clear adhesive) to the bottom of a glass coffee table top.

Turn them into jewelry. Although we have laws against defacing money, most other countries don't. There are artists who can use a special saw to cut out the designs in the coin, making beautiful relief pieces that can then be turned into earrings or necklaces. If you don't want to get fancy, just drill a hole in the coin and thread a chain through it. Drill two holes in opposite sides and connect several coins with chain links to create a very interesting bracelet.

Mount them. You can mount the coins on a background of velvet and then frame them to create a unique piece of art for your home. Make one frame for each country or a larger one that incorporates all the different coins. You can do this yourself by simply stretching the velvet (black or a dark color works best) over the cardboard backing in a picture frame, then using adhesive such as silicon to attach the coins in the pattern you want. For a more elegant look, try leaving plenty of space between the coins.

Let your children play with it. Every preschooler's pretend store needs money, right? Let them use your old foreign coins and you won't find your US money missing as often! Kids love to hear stories about where you got the money, too, so be sure to expound on the origin of each coin before you send them off to "buy" things with it.

Make a paperweight. If you have several coins of the same denomination, try gluing five or ten of them together with super glue. You can stack them or make a more interesting artistic design by gluing them in overlapping designs. When you finish, use the resulting piece as a paperweight that will give people something to talk about.

There's no need to let those foreign coins languish in a can or drawer somewhere. Get them out and use them where they will remind you of your global travels.