Keeping Euros organized

I suggest two of such organizers:
The left pocket and the right pocket.
One goes to the Euro coin (1 and 2) and one goes to the Euro cents (1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 cents).

As for me, I change them into bills (smallest bill is Euro 5) as soon as I have a chance because I hate all that metal.

pueblojca,

You might find it interesting to have a look at THIS short video which describes a product called EuroFix. That sounds like what you have in mind. It looks like an interesting product, but I'm not sure where to buy one in North America.

Cheers!

Here is an interesting problem. Countries in the EU, but not on the Euro, have been modifying their coins to look like Euro coins. I am sure there is some legitimate logic behind this but it's easy to mistake a 200 forint coin for a 2 euro coin. Same size, same two town color and both have a 2 on them. The forint coin is worth about a dollar, the euro coin is worth almost $2.70.

Pueblojca,

welcome.

I have a coin pouch i made and it resides on my belt. I made the fisrt one in Jr. High School and have remade it several times since then. It doesnt have a specal slots/pocket or such to separate any coins but it keeps them out of my pocket.

What i do and it may not work for you is that when its filled up with change and then when i do some shopping somewhere and you will, you will be the only person at the cashier. So i just dump my change and use as much as i can. I let them know i have alot of change and they have not said no, yet. Some of them have offered to help pull out the proper change too. I still keep some on me since you will find that some places charge $$ to use the bathroom.

Also since i collect $$ from different countries, i just add whats left over to my collection or will sort thru the ones in want and separate the ones that will go back with me later. I also give the extras to my nephews for gifts.

happy trails.

She can do what I see people doing all the time when paying - dump a pile of coins in her hand and let the cashier select the necessary ones.

A quick google returned euro-fix.com. The company the makes the coin holder seems to be in Germany. Don't know if you want to order out of the country. I did look around for similar items on U.S. sites but found nothing comparable.

All I find at euro-fix.com are large packing containers, not these little rubber pouches.

I found this site where they have the same clever little device in that video Ken posted.
http://euro-fix.votreboutiquepro.com/index.php/language/en

I've been using Euro when I'm in Europe since the day, January 1, 2002, Europe started using them. At first I didn't use the coins much because I couldn't quickly recognize them; I just gave the cashier a paper note, which had the amount clearly printed on it, and got coins for change. Pretty soon I had a heavy pile of coins in my pocket.

I've finally figured out a system, and it's based on the pattern on the edge. If I curl my fingers and hold the coins face to face in my hand and look at the edges it's easy to see what they are. See my webpage. 2€ Coins have fine milling, like our dime or quarter all along the edge; 1€ coins have intermittent milling. 50, 20, and 10 cent coins are brass colored and have large indentations, a lot on the 50 and 10, just a few (7) on the 20. It's easy to tell the difference between the 50 and 10 by the size. Finally, the 5, 2, and 1 are copper colored with no milling. The 1 and 5 have smooth edges but noticeably different sizes; the 2 has a groove circumferentially around the edge.

If you make purchases of groceries, post cards, etc, you might get small coins. When you buy a meal, you round the bill to an even amount of Euro, so you won't get the small coins.

I find the 1€ and 2€ coins to be very convenient since you don't need to take out your wallet for a small purchase. I don't mind having 5€ - 10€ in 1s and 2s in my pocket as long as I keep the small coins to a minimum. It's really not much different than here in the US, and I don't need an organizer over here.

To add to my previous post, I found a company in Quebec that appears to offer the EuroFix, which would make it very easy for me to order one. Unfortunately, they don't list any retail outlets. I've sent an E-mail to obtain further information, and hopefully they will reply.

I also looked at the site that Elaine posted, but it appears to be in Paris, so ordering from there would likely depend on their shipping policies to this part of the world. They offer a variety of other types of coin wallets as well, which provides more choices than just the EuroFix. They have an English language option on their website, so they must do business at least in the U.K. I figured I'd start with the Quebec site first.

Cheers!

One advantage of the EuroFix is that after looking at all the coins for a while when loading it, you'll become familiar enough with them not to need it.

And, just to keep things straight, the plural of Euro is Euro, not Euros.

I emailed the French website to ask if they will ship to US or Canada. If not maybe I can get an overseas friend to order for me.

Ken - can you post the link to the Quebec website.

Don't they organize themselves by size/shape/color - - plus the dead giveaway of having numerals stamped on them?

I would say 99.9% of the people just look at the face of the coins as it says what they are worth. Looking at the edges to see how they are milled, if they are smooth, etc. sounds like a lot of work compared to just looking at them laying in my hand. Would you recommend someone doing this with American money too? So is a dime milled on the edges differently than a nickel or a quarter? What about a silver dollar or a penny?

The OP is talking about a 72 year old that wants a way to organize her change. She didn't ask about how to tell the difference in coins.

@Elaine,

After a bit of searching, I was able to find the website for the Quebec firm that listed the EuroFix sorters. Unfortunately, I still haven't received a reply to the E-mail that I sent last night. It could be they're only a distributor and don't have any retail outlets established yet?

Have you tried amazon.com? They seem to sell everything.

I hate having a pocket full of heavy coins. I've wondered the same thing because I never notice Europeans walking around with pocketloads of coins - what are they doing differently?

Do they use debit cards for their purchases, so they don't have to deal in cash? Not likely, too many small retailers want cash.

Maybe the answer is the first guy in the video Ken provided. The guy pulls out his wallet and one half opens into a coin purse. That may be the way to go. I haven't been using a wallet, just put some folded walking around money in my front pocket. Maybe I need to shop for a "day" wallet next time I'm in Europe to see what options the locals are using. I'll use the same rule as I use now and put nothing in my pocket that I can't afford to lose.

I'm not sure I could hold my head up in public with the coin sorter in the video - it seems a little too organized for me.

@ brad

"I've wondered the same thing because I never notice Europeans walking around with pocketloads of coins - what are they doing differently? "

on my last and previous trips i noticed that many of the locals using their debit card for EVERYTHING.

happy trails.

"I hate having a pocket full of heavy coins"

In October I brought back 11,40€ (over $15) in coins. The whole pile weighed only 3 oz. Only 40 cent were in small coins because I have learned to recognize the small ones and use them. I like to keep a fair amount (although not usually this many) of whole Euro coins because they are so convenient. My stash included 3 x 2€ and 5 x 1€. Whether or not you put them in an organizer, the coins themselves will still weigh as much plus you have the size and weight of the organizer.

The point is, Jo, that the organizer will be completely unnecessary if she just learns to recognize the coins and uses them. That's what we (most of us) do in this country.

I've found the edge method works better for me than trying to spread the whole pile out on my hand, and turn half of them over, so I can see the number stamped on the faces.

I use a traditional, French leather coin purse that has three compartments when it's unsnapped. These coin purses have been around since way before the Euro, so Kim and Susan probably know what I mean. You can find them for sale by the street vendors and some stores. I find it really handy for the silver coins in one compartment, the larger centimes in the second, and the baby centimes in the last compartment. I usually stick a bill and some metro tickets in the coin purse too. I agree that the coins take longer to distinguish than the old coins.

An employee at the duty free shop at the airport was counting on my not paying attention to the coins. I was owed two euros. He gave back a one euro and a 50 centime. When I picked up and looked at the coins, he discreetly slid the 50 centimes he owed me onto the counter. Evidently, enough people see two coins, pocket them, and walk away.

At first I thought you were talking about old French coins (centimes), since the new coins are cent (actually "Euro Cent", the words are stamped right on the coin). But the 1 Euro and 50 Cent coins are easy to confuse since they are almost the same diameter, with nearly the same outer color. Right after the Euro came out I heard Europeans complain that they could mistake them. But again, the giveaway is the large rounded knotches around the edge of the 50 Cent coin - hard to miss.

In 1988, the clerk at the gift shop at Frauenkirche in Munich slipped me a 100 lira coin, worth about 8¢, instead of a 2 Mark piece, which then was worth about $1.

A one euro coin is silver and brass. A 50 cent coin is just brass. They look nothing alike. There are other countries that don't use the euro but who make coins that look like euro. Those are the ones you have to watch out for.

A 2 euro coin looks like a one euro with the ring of silver around the brass core, but they are clearly marked, 1 or 2.

The brass colored ones are marked 10, 20, or 50 with their denominations. The copper ones with 1, 2, or 5.

Know exactly what you mean Bets, they're great. They've been around since before I was born. Makes it simple to keep coins organized.

Actually, it's cent in English but the French speaking countries still use centime. We're bilingual and usually in France, not Ireland, so we say centimes. In fact, we've used the word centime in other EU countries without a problem, but this is the second time I've caused confusion on the Helpline. Sorry folks.

Fun fact: those who have learned Latin American Spanish may be tempted to call euro cents "centavos" in Spain; however they are "céntimos" there.

The French can call them donuts for all I care. The coins are clearly marked "5 Euro Cent", "10 Euro Cent", '20 Euro Cent", etc. so that's what they are. I didn't notice the Germans calling them Pfennig.

Fun fact : subdivisions of the Spanish peseta were called centavos in purest Castillian.

I've noticed that too that the cent is sometimes still called centime by les francais. It alerted my attention since in Germany I had always heard "cent" being used. Still, if you hear centime, it's obvious what les francais mean by that. That one cent piece is a like a groschen.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Monnibox-Euro-box-Coin-holder/dp/B00CDIUJSK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1386298033&sr=8-1&keywords=euro+coin+purse#productDetails

They will ship to the US

I don’t see a need for this Euros organizer. The coins were designed to be easily distinguishable and I don’t remember there being a mass confusion when they made a switch from D-Mark to Euro.

I can understand being nervous about using a foreign currency in a foreign language, but honestly this video makes this product seem a little easier than I think it would function in real life. Maybe have your sister review a picture of the different coins or get your hands on a pile of Euros to relieve any anxiety. Keep in mind, over 300 million Europeans manage to get by every day without confusion. No one expects you to immediately have correct change.

Also, the plural of Euro can be Euro or Euros. If you’re referring to the coins in your pocket, it’s Euros. But many people use the terms interchangeably.

"it's cent in English but the French speaking countries still use centime"
Nope. In the French-speaking part of Belgium, we generally use "cents". 70 cents = septante cents in Belgium,
and soixante-dix centimes in France.

It is rare to see euro or cent pluralised in print with an s in Ireland in either language although probably about 50/50 in speech. There are other currencies that come to mind that aren't pluralised in English; yen, rand and baht are three common ones and there are probably more.

Lee,

I'm sure you're right on how much euro coins actually weigh. If I have 3 x 2 euro and 5 x 1 euro coins in my pocket, however, I feel like I'm carrying five pounds of coins and asking for a Mae West joke (are those coins in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?).

Even though the denomination is printed right on the coin, I can tell you that my older mother with poor reading sight had a hard time figuring it out even with her reading glasses(in the hustle and bustle of a checkout line to boot). I think those coin organizers are rather nifty, but alas, there does not seem to be a US outlet for them. I wonder if you could take a coin purse with different slots (I'm thinking accordion style ones) and have her designate a spot for each coin. Maybe the 2, 1, and 50 can have their own slot, and the rest could share. Label them with whiteout or something else for easy identification.

Now the problem arises that she would need to take the time to actually organize her coins after each purchase without drawing too much attention to herself (or if she can wait to do it in the hotel that night, but I figure this would somewhat defeat the purpose if there were more purchases happening that day).

What Brad said.

The amount of change I mentioned, 3 @ 2€ and 5 @ 1€ is unusual for me. I only bring it up to indicate that you can carry a lot of euro coins for not much weight. I think I had so many 1€ coins because my partner gave me her loose change when we got on the plane to leave.

But I do normally try to have at least 2 2€ coins and some 1€ coins, more than 5€ total, a couple of oz, with me. It's so convenient not to get my wallet out every time I make a small purchase.

In this country I try to keep at least 4 quarter with me, and that weighs an ounce.

The EU's DG for translation is only a guideline for EU translators - neither official nor necessarily correct. At one time the website of the European Central Bank, which invented, issues, and controls the euro, specifically stated that the plural of euro is euro (probably because many EU languages do not use 's' to make a plural). I no longer see that statement, but they never use "euros" on the website. Actually they are very careful to avoid the need, referring instead to "euro coins" and "euro banknotes" or the collective singular "the euro". I've only found one paragraph where they need to use a plural, and they say, "It therefore becomes more expensive, on average, for those who want to exchange foreign currency for euro".

I tend to capitalize all nouns when referring to Europe because anything European tends to go through the German compartment in my brain. In German all nouns are capitalized. I'll stop capitalizing euro if you'll stop adding an 's'.

The most important organization tip -- make sure to have a bunch of 50-cent coins (or as we call them "pee money") handy for toilets.

A great way to get rid of small change (5 - 20 cents) is to use them in automatic public transit machines to buy tickets (provided there's not a ton of people waiting behind you). I very rarely have much small change these days since I started doing this. 50 cent coins you save for toilets, 1-2 are easy to spend anywhere.

Hi There,

Spare a thought for visitors to the USA.

Most countries now have got rid of 1 and 2 cent coins and round up or down to the nearest 5 cents.

There aren’t many countries with a 25 cent coin.

Most countries now have 1 and 2 dollar/euro coins in lieu of notes. I ended up with a wallet full of small denomination notes.

And the most confusing I found was having all your notes the same size with very little colour difference between them – makes life interesting having to check every note before presenting them.