Cashing in Canadian Qtrs. at banks in Vancouver, BC

[Recyclersteve]

I may be able to get approximately $1,000 in face value of Canadian quarters (4,000 Canadian quarters) from a friend locally. He's going to give them to me for approx. $737 U.S. minus $100 for my trouble, so I'll pay approx. $637 U.S. for them. I'm planning on being in the Vancouver area some time this summer anyway, where I will exchange them at one or more banks and use the currency to pay for my expenses on the trip.

I hope I can find banks in Vancouver that will take quarters and give me dollar bills in exchange without charging a fee for the exchange. I don't have any bank accounts in Canada. Can this be done or am I dreaming?

Do the coins need to be rolled or do they have coin counters in the banks?

Also, I'm assuming there will be no problem driving a rental car across the border with $1,000 in Canadian quarters. Note that there are no silvers in the lot.

Are there any loopholes that I am missing or is this a fairly easy $100 profit?

[JadeDragon]

I live in the Vancouver area. Coin cointers are pretty rare in this area. TD took them all back out. Envision Credit Union is the only place I know that has some coin counters. I'd plan on rolling them. Get some free wrappers at your local bank.

You have nothing to talk about at border unless you have over $10,000 Canadian equivalent in any combination of currency (US, CDN etc). Over that you need to declare it. I even managed to take over $25,000 in Canadian coin across border once, though it took a while tonverify the source.

A grand in quarters is no big deal to trade for folding cash. You may or may not be asked if you have an account, and so long as the coins are rolled properly they should trade easily. $10 rolls, grouped in bundles of 10 rolls or fill a couple quarter boxes. In the unlikely event you have an issue at one bank, go to another, there are many many branches often within sight of other banks.

I've never paid a fee to buy or sell rolled coin in Canada and I've done large amounts at nearly every bank and credit union in the region. The one bank I'd avoid is CIBC because they seem to handle less coin and each teller is responsible for their coin in their own drawer, plus a poll of coin in the safe. A larger RBC branch with a business window would be awesome. They go through coin like crazy and might thank you for bringing in the quarters. But seriously, go to the first bank you see and you will be fine.

[Changechecker]

I took about $400.00 Canadian change from sorting back last year. Rolling was the best way. The banks were easy to deal with. Some businesses were o.k. with accepting it as payment for meals and attractions.

[Saabman]

No issue at the casino in Windsor I visited a couple of weeks ago but that was a much smaller amount (approx. $100).

[Recyclersteve]

Thanks for all the answers. I do sincerely appreciate the comments.

[wolvesdad]

I went into Ontario late last year and no bank would accept coin unless I had an account. 2 banks and a credit union all turned me down. I was able to spend about $45 worth.

[JadeDragon]

Yes you should be able to use them at stores and restaurants too to a point. If a bank is reluctant to buy, just say straight up you collect coins and saved these to fund your vacation in Vancouver. The other day I sold $350 in halves to a US bank. They didn't ask if I had an account (I do actually), and offered to give me cash straight off.

[fasteddy]

Any pink ribbon quarters in your stash?

[Recyclersteve]

They made 30 million of the pink ribbon quarters- how much can they be worth and would it be easy to sell them anywhere near retail?

[JadeDragon]

They made 30 million of the pink ribbon quarters- how much can they be worth and would it be easy to sell them anywhere near retail?

I just searched a $500 box. No silver, a few pink ribbons and other colored coins. I've never heard they are worth anything extra... where is this market?

[fasteddy]

I will trade you those pink ribbon quarters...stock them up and let me know when you want to trade and what.

[JadeDragon]

Ok, if you want them I'll put them aside. How many you want?

[fasteddy]

How about 10 rolls. Thanks for asking and picking them out.

[hobo finds]

No issue at the casino in Windsor I visited a couple of weeks ago but that was a much smaller amount (approx. $100).

I have been to the casino in Winsor and then the strip club close buy good thing I had a few dollars left after the casino cause the girls took the rest

[fasteddy]

They made 30 million of the pink ribbon quarters- how much can they be worth and would it be easy to sell them anywhere near retail?

I have no idea about the retail market...we are involved with the AVON walk for breast cancer research and I want to provide them to the survivors during their walk in Houston.

I will trade a nickel premium for each one....up to 1000 pink ribbon quarters.

[JadeDragon]

ok I'll start collecting them. I don't look at too many quarters these days though. Nearly impossible to find silver or even USD

[Recyclersteve]

A big hearty thank you to JadeDragon for his tip on RBC!!! First I went to a small credit union type place in White Rock (south of Vancouver) and was told I'd need to have an account.

I saw an RBC branch across the street and figured I'd try it after reading what JD said above. I started with $300 face in Canadian quarters. I was in line for the merchant teller and the one next to her said she'd help me. I told her I had $300 in quarters and she said that was fine.

After I turned in the $300 I asked what would happen if I had more. And she said they'd take them and it would be no problem. So I gave her another $465 in quarters ($765 total). She was polite the whole time and things turned out extremely well!

Just one cautionary note for those traveling across the border. Don't wrap your coins ahead of time. Thankfully I didn't wrap mine. The airport personnel will likely want to see all the coins in Ziplock type baggies. Possible ditto for border personnel if they get suspicious for any reason. So it did take me a full three hours to count and hand wrap over 3,000 quarters. Glad the wife wasn't sitting and waiting for me.

I came back from BC a week ago today. JadeDragon, I wish I could have met you while up there, but I was on a tight schedule.

Really enjoyed the Vancouver area. Stayed in North Vancouver and took the "seabus" into the city. Fantastic way to get around a beautiful place. Highly recommended.

[Recyclersteve]

I'm purposely bumping this old thread from 2017 as an example of where RC members are helpful to each other. I traveled to Canada in 2017 and, after posting on this site, was confident enough to buy over 3,000 Canadian quarters from a single U.S. coin dealer. This worked out great for the dealer. I had an extra $100 or so for my Canadian trip and was doing something fun in the meantime.

Oh yeah, one branch of one bank (RBC) gladly accepted all 3,060 quarters, so I assume it benefited them as well.

This was one of my fonder experiences on this fine site.