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Old April 23rd, 2004, 02:23 PM
Olivers
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Default Beware - credit card rip-off

Alan muttered....



Our biggest currency cost came when we arrived home and tried to
convert the left-over cash in US$, euros, czech crowns, Swiss francs,
Pounds Sterling and Singapore dollars back into AU$. That's when they
hit us with fees, and refused to touch the coins at all. Doesn't sound
like a lot, until you realise that a single 2 pound coin is AU$5. So I
have about $150 in "souvenir change".


Your tale reminded me of an annual event at our oldest daughter's
elementary school's "May Fete" back in the mid70s. One of the booths,
always manned by a couple of us who were frequent travelers and preferred
it to "Pin the Tail on the Donkey" or the "Ducking Booth" was the "Foreign
Money Store". Several weekes before the May Fete, the school would send
homea note with each child soliciting contributions of foreign coins (or
currency) brought home unused from trips (especially in UK coinage).
Amazing amounts would be brought in by little nippers whose parents were
travelers and supportive of an easy, painless fund-raiser.


Come May Fete day, I'd take off at Noon and join a friend to separate and
count the take. We'd chalk our version of acceptable conversion rates for
each major country's cash for prospective buyers on a chalkboard beside the
booth (and note possession of strange money to be bargained for). Then at
the opening bell, we would be busy for an hour of two with folks planning
foreign vacations or business travel. With the entire take going to the
school, we could be generous, however there always arguments over what to
do with old devalued coins and currency and the occasional contribution in
Occupation Marks or Yen. Something interesting like a Maria Theresa thaler
would always show up, and a couple of coin collectors would always show up
to paw through the remains.

Any unsaleable "leftovers" could be saved for future years, and the
strange, unsaleable coins - often those big iron Chinese sort with the
square holes - could go to classroom use. The booth always made "big" money
for the school, when compared to more fun-oriented activities. Even today,
such a scheme might work at a Charity Fair, although those Uropeens have
certainly spoiled the broth, leaving all those assorted old coins and
nowhere to spend'em.

TMO