Hello everyone. I have always been curious if your country can send paper currency or coins to other countries. I am a coin collector, so I can receive coins sent from all over the world. But in some countries, coins are prohibited from being shipped and cannot be mailed. In China, coins are prohibited from being shipped. Is it possible to send coins or paper currency in your country?
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This is an international agreement
Look at page 5, therefore all goods must be sent as (small) packet. Only documents are allowed to be sent as letter / postcard.
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In Germany, coins are allowed to be mailed only as “Einschreiben Wert”, registered letter for precious goods, like money in cash, or jewellery. The additional postage for this kind of letter is 4,45€. And it’s not allowed to send money in cash internationally, only nationally.
The automatic sorting machines have problems with letters that aren’t sufficiently bendable or bumpy because there’s a coin attached inside - that’s why it isn’t allowed anymore to put other things than paper in letters. It puts the machines at risk.
There are Postcrossers who wrote in the forum that they attached coins to postcards with duct tape and that this bricolage arrived at the destination. But honestly, as I don’t want to cause harm to the sorting machines, I don’t do such a thing.
And the safe way, the smallest parcel, costs a lot of postage, for China for example it’s 12€… So I never send coins, fridge magnets or other things, it’s much too expensive.
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Here in the US, you can’t send coins through the mail because it clogs up the machine, and they like your mail to be completely flat, and not bumpy or too thick.
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I will include beer mats (coasters) if mentioned in a profile as they are thin enough to go through the sorting machines. I once sent a bookmark also.
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It took 20 minutes of searching, but apparently, USPS says we can ship coins within the US. As for shipping them to other countries, for the most part, it depends on the country, other than that
- USPS doesn’t ship to various countries for various reasons (check Postcrossing Postal Monitor)
- US Government restrictions (such as regarding North Korea)
for the rest of the world, we can send coins if the receiver’s country allows it, and USPS has a webpage for that:
Index of Countries and Localities | Postal Explorer (usps.com)
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It is not allowed to send banknotes or coins that are in circulation in Brazil by mail, which apparently does not stop some collectors from trying. Old coins and banknotes have no restrictions, though.
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Here in the states, you CAN mail coins but should definitely not mail them loosely because they can fall out by tearing holes in the envelopes while moving in the sorting machines. If you just tape them to a piece of thick paper they should be fine. If you don’t wish to tape them directly to paper, you can also find a small plastic pouch, place the coin inside it, and then tape the pouch to some heavy paper to keep it safely inside the envelope.
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Thank you for your reply. As long as it is not in circulation, it can be mailed in China.
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It’s amazing that I finally understand why some people stick coins on cardboard
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I don’t understand this well. This seemed to be for the postal staff, not to senders, is it?
I thought “goods” means the items that are sold.
So if you send a personal letter written to paper, it’s a letter.
If you send letter set, it’s goods, even when it’s only paper.
This is how I understand the difference, and different treatment.
I’m wondering this also because we can send even a phone in mail, in a letter.
We are also member of UPU, but we don’t have such differences. Just a reminder to check what is allowed to send and what not, not to send dangerous items or prohibited items, like pirated products or counterfeits. But if I can, it can go in a letter. Sometimes, just to be sure, I include a customs form (outside from EU), to write what is inside, I don’t have to pay more or anything, but maybe receiving country has different sorting machine for those?
So, does Germany for example have different machines for mail in Germany, mail out from Germany, and incoming mail?
There is no direction told that for example a fridge magnet is not allowed to Germany, or that is should be sent as parcel there. I can send it as a letter. I wonder what happens to it in Germany? Somehow they must evaluate it’s not suitable for the machines? Really strange.
But, from Finland I can send money legally. Depending on the receiving country some don’t allow it, some have amount limits or it must be sent with insurance. Even money that is used now is allowed, when it’s collectible, like some collect only few coins, or commemorative 2 Euro coins.
To Germany we aren’t allowed to send money. To Ireland we are, with insurance (to protect from stealing I guess), to Norway we can send money.
So I don’t know if the German money-restriction is because it’s not paper (coin), or because some other reason? I think it has to do with money laundering too.
For us there is no information that letter to Germany can only have paper in it. So there must be different sorting machines to the mail sent there. I have done so many swaps there, and I really hope I don’t ruin some machines!
Maybe it will change here too, but nowadays I can send so many things in a letter, not only paper. Also here it’s told to tape it, like if you send a key, don’t put it loose to your letter, but stick to something.
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And so I answer myself 
of course mail arrives in different place than from where it leaves. So maybe there are different style machines and there is no worries that something is destroyed as long as I follow the rules for each country as told in my post information page.
(And yes, the linked file was for postal staff:
“The guide is an information source for postal staff dealing with postal transport and transit.1 It deals with all
modes of international postal transport: air, maritime, road and rail.
It is intended as a means by which staff can become acquainted with the various aspects of postal transport
and transit.”
it also tells about taking in consideration flight schedules, aircraft capacities etc, we don’t need to, as normal sender, those are told somewhere and these are looked already for us, I don’t need to think or ring anywhere to check will my postcard fit to the next plane etc.)
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@LiaoZiqi
I moved your topic now for the 2nd time to the right category - please leave it now here, because it is not a postcard chat.
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You are not supposed to mail money in France. When I do, I try to put it I side a small cardboard…
I don’t understand why it’s forbidden. It’s a shame not to be able to share it.