I am trying to compile a list of countries and territories that use coins of the United States Dollar. I am also wanting to know what types are used. Here’s what I have found so far:
Current:
Bahamas: US and Bahamian coins
Bermuda: US and Bermudan coins
British Indian Ocean Territory: US coins
British Virgin Islands: US coins
Caribbean Netherlands: US coins
Ecuador: US and Ecuadoran coins
El Salvador: US coins
Marshall Islands: US coins
Micronesia: US coins
Palau: US coins
Panama: US and Panamanian coins
Turks and Caicos: US coins
Former:
Canada
Cuba
Dominican Republic
Ireland - 1970's
Liberia
Nicaragua
Romania - 1990's
Does anyone have firsthand experience with coins in these countries? Are there any I missed?
I look forward to your responses,
Theodore
Edit (6/17/22): Added British Indian Ocean Territory and former users.
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I am trying to compile a list of countries and territories that use coins of the United States Dollar. I am also wanting to know what types are used. Here’s what I have found so far:
Bermuda: US and Bermudan coins
Does anyone have firsthand experience with coins in these countries? Are there any I missed?
I look forward to your responses,
Theodore
I have been in Bermuda, and they use mainly their own coins (5c. to 50c.) as change and tips, and they use mostly US banknotes.
There are a lot of US coins in fountains, implying that tourists use USD.
I have almost never seen Bermudan pannies or Bermudan 1 dollar coins except in Hamilton, and when I was there there were rumours of demonteization of 1c. coins.
Overall, they tend to use their own currency, but this information could be outdates as I was there in 2019.
Curious. I've heard from several sources that US coins were usable in Bermuda. This wouldn't be completely unrealistic, seeing that the Bermudan coins have the same specifications as American coins. Looks like I need to investigate further.
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While East Timor uses the USD, they supposedly use their own coins. I don't have any recent reports about the use of coins, I will be looking into it further.
Coins of all kinds are a rarity in Zimbabwe, be it American, South African, or Zimbabwean. The same is true for Cambodia.
Coinman48
Do you want to include the American territories?
Puerto Rico, Guam, Virgin Islands of the US, American Samoa, Northern Marianas
British Indian Ocean Territory (US dollar is de facto currency)
For the sake of this discussion, I will be counting American territories as part of the United States. I don't believe that their use of coins is any different then the mainland.
I completely overlooked the British Indian Ocean Territory. I will edit my original post.
Peter M. Graham
You might add Canada. Quite common to get 5C and 25C in change. I've never had any vendor pick one out and say we only accept Canadian coins.
Thanks for the Canadian perspective. I wonder, would it be possible to bring a roll of quarters north and spend them? Of course you would be losing money, but I wonder if it would be possible to do so.
As a final note, while I appreciate the information, I am looking for firsthand experience with American coins. Articles can be useful, but personal accounts are much more valuable.
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Thanks for the Canadian perspective. I wonder, would it be possible to bring a roll of quarters north and spend them? Of course you would be losing money, but I wonder if it would be possible to do so.
Oh, I can't speak for all businesses, but if you brought them to me, I would take the roll and then get you to shake out your pockets for more! ;)
I think at some point in the last few years, the USD was commonly used in Argentina as the peso was really unstable. This may not be the case anymore though. Last time I went I ended up using the local currency but the stores were still accepting USD.
I think at some point in the last few years, the USD was commonly used in Argentina as the peso was really unstable. This may not be the case anymore though. Last time I went I ended up using the local currency but the stores were still accepting USD.
Interesting, were American coins used?
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It was fairly common to use US dollars until the early 2000s were they ceased to be accepted officially. But due to the ongoing crisis there I wouldn't be surprised if the dollar is being used in secret.
Hi to whoever is reading this. Did you know that TYPEWRITER (on a QWERTY keyboard) is the longest word you can type using only the letters on one row of the keyboard.
I was there in 2002. As alluded above, there were 3 types of currency in normal use: the US dollar bill (no coins, just bills), the Cuban peso bills and coins, and the Convertible peso bills and coins (AKA the “tourist peso”). All businesses accepted all 3 currencies but there was a dual-price scheme in effect: tourist prices and resident prices. As tourists we could use US dollar bills and get change in tourist pesos (coins and bills). In fact, some businesses had separate lines depending on the unit of currency we used. As tourists we were not supposed to hold the normal Cuban peso because then we could make purchases at resident prices (about 90% less than tourist prices).
For example, we went to an ice cream stand in Havana and the line was LONG, at least 100 people ahead of us. After a few minutes, a police officer directed us to the tourist line where there was nobody ahead of us (we thought the counter was closed because there was no one there!). We paid one convertible peso for an ice cream (the peso was pegged 1:1 for the US dollar) while the residents in the next line paid 15 centavos. A few days later we took the ferry across the bay and paid with a US dollar but the operator gave us normal Cuban peso coins in exchange. It was the only time we got them. We got many of the convertible coins but never the normal Cuban peso coins… At one farm stand in Pinar del Rio we bought several pounds of bananas, pineapple etc but the clerk could not make change for our US one-dollar bill. So she gave us more fruit till we could barely carry it all.
As for US coins in Cuba - they were not used at all. Not at all. But many tourists tip in their own currency so workers have bags of foreign coins they can never use. We toured a cigar factory floor where dozens of women sat at wooden tables cutting tobacco and rolling the leaves. (Smelled wonderful and I don't even smoke!) One worker tugged on my sleeve and said “Cambio, cambio?” meaning “change, change”. I thought she was asking for a tip which is very common. But she held out a bag of US coins, then I realized she wanted to exchange them. We swapped about 10 US dollar bills and left with a hefty bag of US coins. Turns out that ALL of the workers had bags of foreign coins to swap but we could only swap so much because there were no US ATMs in Cuba and we had to conserve cash for our trip.
I've seen this in other countries too (Egypt, Morocco, etc) where tourists tip in foreign coins but the workers can never use them. Instead they save them and hope to swap them with tourists at a later date. I made the same mistake on our first night in Egypt. We had just flown in from London and had no Egyptian pounds. I didn't want to tip GBP 5 pounds (the smallest paper I had) so I tipped the bellhop with a GBP 2-pound coin. How dumb of me!! In Abu Simbel, Egypt a merchant asked where I was from. I said Ireland (I'm not but we go there a lot) so he asked if we could exchange some Euro coins from him. Soon the other vendors formed a line for exchanging their coins with me! I exchanged bags and bags of Euro coins till I had no more Egyptian pounds to give!
Long story, short: US coins are not usable in Cuba (or Egypt or Morocco) but workers often get them from tourists. Please bring small bills with you when you travel to tip workers, and if you can, offer to swap their coins for bills. They will LOVE you for it.
PS: a few years after my trip to Cuba, Castro retaliated against George Bush's anti-Castro policies. Castro pegged the peso to the Euro instead of the dollar. Tourists could still use the US dollar but there was a 10% exchange fee added.
Is it current use only or historical use, 1990s for example that you are interested in experience of?
Former use is also appreciated. To this end, I added Canada, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Liberia, and Nicaragua to the list (although I am sure I am missing quite a few more).
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Thank you for the story. I do have a follow up question: would it be appropriate to exchange local coins for foreign coins? For example, could I bring Moroccan coins and exchange them for Euro coins?
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Hi to whoever is reading this. Did you know that TYPEWRITER (on a QWERTY keyboard) is the longest word you can type using only the letters on one row of the keyboard.
Thank you for the story. I do have a follow up question: would it be appropriate to exchange local coins for foreign coins? For example, could I bring Moroccan coins and exchange them for Euro coins?
Yes, you can exchange local coinage for foreign coinage in most countries - but not in a bank or large store. Instead, you'll meet hotel workers and vendors and small merchants and beggars who are happy to swap coins for coins. But I'm sure most would prefer banknotes in their local currency.
However, in many poor countries, the local currency has very little value so you will rarely see that country's coinage!
For example, when I was in Mongolia some years ago, the exchange rate between the Tugrug and US Dollar was about 1,000 to 1. I was able to get some coins at a large grocery store (20, 50, 100, and 200 tugrug) and I took them home with me. But otherwise I never saw the local coinage.
In Egypt, I received some 1-pound coins at a large metro station in Cairo (the fare was 1-pound). I used some of the coins in other towns (Luxor, Aswan), where the merchants had NEVER even seen the coins before! The exchange rate then was about 7 pounds to the dollar so the coin was worth about 14 cents. Most merchants RARELY had any bills less than 5 pounds and even those were very rare and always ripped and dirty. Most merchants, taxi drivers, etc round up to the nearest 10- or 20-pound increment. Sometimes they do this to pad their pockets, but sometimes they just can't get small bills and NEVER coins. This is true in many poor countries.
So, again, long story short, when you travel to poor countries, always request small bills when you exchange currency at a bank or airport. Make sure they have no rips or bent corners too. Use the small bills at a small shops (where the owner may really not have change!) and pay with large bills at department stores, hotels, etc. If and when you do see local coinage, hold on to some for your collection and use the others with small vendors. Always tip in local currency and if someone asks to swap their foreign coins (US, etc) with you, please do.
PS: One store in Hurghada, Egypgt gave change in bubblegum. True story!
Interesting! And the second link does say that tourists can use some Euro coins (one- or two-euro) in North Korea. I haven't been so I wonder if you'd find merchants who want to exchange their euro coins for euro notes? It's a strict regime and I understand that all tourists are accompanied at all times by a guide so I'm not sure if there's even a need or opportunity to make such exchange?
But, no mention in either link about using US Coins there. Banknotes, yes, but coins, no.
Yes, you can exchange local coinage for foreign coinage in most countries - but not in a bank or large store. Instead, you'll meet hotel workers and vendors and small merchants and beggars who are happy to swap coins for coins. But I'm sure most would prefer banknotes in their local currency.
However, in many poor countries, the local currency has very little value so you will rarely see that country's coinage!
In Egypt, I received some 1-pound coins at a large metro station in Cairo (the fare was 1-pound). I used some of the coins in other towns (Luxor, Aswan), where the merchants had NEVER even seen the coins before! The exchange rate then was about 7 pounds to the dollar so the coin was worth about 14 cents. Most merchants RARELY had any bills less than 5 pounds and even those were very rare and always ripped and dirty. Most merchants, taxi drivers, etc round up to the nearest 10- or 20-pound increment. Sometimes they do this to pad their pockets, but sometimes they just can't get small bills and NEVER coins. This is true in many poor countries.
So, again, long story short, when you travel to poor countries, always request small bills when you exchange currency at a bank or airport. Make sure they have no rips or bent corners too. Use the small bills at a small shops (where the owner may really not have change!) and pay with large bills at department stores, hotels, etc. If and when you do see local coinage, hold on to some for your collection and use the others with small vendors. Always tip in local currency and if someone asks to swap their foreign coins (US, etc) with you, please do.
So happy you posted this as we have booked a trip to Egypt and UAE in November.. (recent health issues might keep us from keeping it, but fingers crossed…)
My experience of US currency in use was in Easter Europe, during a trip I made to Romania in Summer 1990, shortly after the end of the Ceausescu administration. I had friends in Cluj and I went to say with them for a month. I traveled around much of the country.
My friends told me to bring small denomination US currency, and I also brought Sterling with me.
I was able to spend the US currency in many non-state owned business (ie, not at railway stations etc), at the central market for example. I received my change in US coin and notes, or in other western coin, at a proper exchange rate.
Also, western goods were quite widely available, but had to be paid for in western currency as they were imported - prices were the same as back home.
Everyone I knew had a stash of hard currency! Perhaps its use had been widespread for some time.
Romanian currency was also always perfectly acceptable, but the two did not intermix in transactions, probably due to the two exchange rates: The official exchange rate was 36 Lei to the Dollar, the Hotel Napoca (in Cluj) rest room rate was 100 Lei to the Dollar!
Also, the foreign exchange shop, accepted only foreign currency, and gave change in the currency of purchase.
I had the impression that there were two economies operating in parallel - one in Lei, the other in hard currency, and a third if you count the hard currency shops.
The other instance of US currency circulating that I came across was in Ireland in the 1970s, in the tourist trade.
US dollars were accepted by businesses in Killarney from tourists. Coin was also in use, as I recall US quarters and other change being quite commonly seen. My grandparents were involved in tourism, sometimes I even got to man the till - I got my first US currency notes from this era, which started me off collecting US notes!
Hi to whoever is reading this. Did you know that TYPEWRITER (on a QWERTY keyboard) is the longest word you can type using only the letters on one row of the keyboard.
Yes, you can exchange local coinage for foreign coinage in most countries - but not in a bank or large store. Instead, you'll meet hotel workers and vendors and small merchants and beggars who are happy to swap coins for coins. But I'm sure most would prefer banknotes in their local currency.
However, in many poor countries, the local currency has very little value so you will rarely see that country's coinage!
For example, when I was in Mongolia some years ago, the exchange rate between the Tugrug and US Dollar was about 1,000 to 1. I was able to get some coins at a large grocery store (20, 50, 100, and 200 tugrug) and I took them home with me. But otherwise I never saw the local coinage.
In Egypt, I received some 1-pound coins at a large metro station in Cairo (the fare was 1-pound). I used some of the coins in other towns (Luxor, Aswan), where the merchants had NEVER even seen the coins before! The exchange rate then was about 7 pounds to the dollar so the coin was worth about 14 cents. Most merchants RARELY had any bills less than 5 pounds and even those were very rare and always ripped and dirty. Most merchants, taxi drivers, etc round up to the nearest 10- or 20-pound increment. Sometimes they do this to pad their pockets, but sometimes they just can't get small bills and NEVER coins. This is true in many poor countries.
So, again, long story short, when you travel to poor countries, always request small bills when you exchange currency at a bank or airport. Make sure they have no rips or bent corners too. Use the small bills at a small shops (where the owner may really not have change!) and pay with large bills at department stores, hotels, etc. If and when you do see local coinage, hold on to some for your collection and use the others with small vendors. Always tip in local currency and if someone asks to swap their foreign coins (US, etc) with you, please do.
PS: One store in Hurghada, Egypgt gave change in bubblegum. True story!
Thanks for the advice!
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My experience of US currency in use was in Easter Europe, during a trip I made to Romania in Summer 1990, shortly after the end of the Ceausescu administration. I had friends in Cluj and I went to say with them for a month. I traveled around much of the country.
My friends told me to bring small denomination US currency, and I also brought Sterling with me.
I was able to spend the US currency in many non-state owned business (ie, not at railway stations etc), at the central market for example. I received my change in US coin and notes, or in other western coin, at a proper exchange rate.
Also, western goods were quite widely available, but had to be paid for in western currency as they were imported - prices were the same as back home.
Everyone I knew had a stash of hard currency! Perhaps its use had been widespread for some time.
Romanian currency was also always perfectly acceptable, but the two did not intermix in transactions, probably due to the two exchange rates: The official exchange rate was 36 Lei to the Dollar, the Hotel Napoca (in Cluj) rest room rate was 100 Lei to the Dollar!
Also, the foreign exchange shop, accepted only foreign currency, and gave change in the currency of purchase.
I had the impression that there were two economies operating in parallel - one in Lei, the other in hard currency, and a third if you count the hard currency shops.
The other instance of US currency circulating that I came across was in Ireland in the 1970s, in the tourist trade.
US dollars were accepted by businesses in Killarney from tourists. Coin was also in use, as I recall US quarters and other change being quite commonly seen. My grandparents were involved in tourism, sometimes I even got to man the till - I got my first US currency notes from this era, which started me off collecting US notes!
Thanks for the information! I will add it to my list.
Master Coin Referee
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So happy you posted this as we have booked a trip to Egypt and UAE in November.. (recent health issues might keep us from keeping it, but fingers crossed…)
@darcyrmt - good luck with your trip to Egypt. It's an amazing country with so much to see. Not gonna lie - it was a tough trip for us at times (heat, Ramadan, limited services after the revolution), but again very very happy we went. I even wrote a book about our trip! If you have any questions or want some tips, get back to me by PM.
Here in Tijuana, US coins CAN be used but it's typically bad manners except for quarters maybe. You can find them in tip jars all the time from Americans who don't know any better. I'd imagine its the same in other border cities like Juarez. However, US coins cannot be used in the rest of the country and are seldom seen. In CDMX exchange/coin shops pay MX16 per US1 in quarters, so 80-85%, which is excellent if you happen to have them there… not so great if you're taking them back to the US where they'd otherwise be much cheaper to buy in other countries.
Kenny
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At Cuba US. Dollars were never an official currency, even at a time, use and own of US Dollars were prohibited; this is why they created the Foreign Exchange Certificates (FEX) on 1985, and the Convertible Peso (CUC) on 1994. Today US Dollars are accepted as common currency, but not by government. Also there is a tax for currency exchange on Dollars only.
Uruguay:
At Uruguay, US Dollars are not and never was official currency, but it is widely used as a second currency, many stores have price lists expressed in US. Dollars, and if you pay in national currency they calculate exchange rate. Even Central Bank has a price list in Dollars for sale of numismatic material (former Uruguayan coins and banknotes), and on import trading, some taxes are based on Dollars, but when you must pay are converted to Uruguayan Peso.
Just 10 options: you understand binary, or you don't.
Catalog Referee Coins, Banknotes & Exonumia: Uruguay, Cuba, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Paraguay, Costa Rica, Venezuela, Panama, Ecuador, Zamunda, Parva Domus and more.
Caribbean Netherlands - these are Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba that replaced the Netherlands Antilles gulden with US dollar in 2011. But also there are Sint Maarten and Curaçao that are still using the gulden. I visited both islands and I found that gulden coins and banknotes are in a limited use there. The dominating currency is the US dollar, including both coins and notes. It is much easier to get US coins for change than gulden coins.
Also I visited all 3 Latin American countries that officially use the US dollar. It was several years ago, but I don´t think that something has changed.
Ecuador
1 cent/centavo - almost all coins are from the US (though 10 years ago about 10-20% were local centavos)
5, 10, 25 cents/centavos - a mixture of US and local coins
50 centavos - only local coins (very common), I haven´t seen any Kennedy half dollar there
1 dollar - all coins are from the US, mostly Sacagawea 2000 and 2001, and the first presidential dollars. The coin is very common, and more popular than 1 dollar bill
El Salvador
All denominations are from the US. No half dollars, but lots of 1 dollar coins (also Sacagawea and presidential ones)
Panama
1, 5, 10, 25 cents/centésimos - a mixture of US and local coins
50 cents/centésimos - nowhere to be seen, except for the central bank where you can get local 50 centésimos for the face value
1 dollar coins were withdrawn from circulation long ago and replaced with local bimetallic 1 balboa
