Foreign currency for cruise to multiple countries

[Bob++]

The Scottish/English note controversy may depend on where you shop. Cruisers tend to shop in tourist areas. The people who will have a problem are either those in places where such notes are very rare, and places with staff who just like to be difficult. 

 

I read a story recently where an American in America tried to buy a burger with a $2 note and the police were called.

Quote

Danesiah Neal, an eighth grader at Fort Bend Independent School District's Christa McAuliffe Middle School outside of Houston, Texas, attempted to pay for lunch with a $2 bill given to her by her grandmother, Sharon Kay Joseph. However, cafeteria workers at the school didn't believe that it was real - they never see $2 bills, apparently - and she was sent to what Neal called "the police office."

https://www.forbes.com/sites/kellyphillipserb/2016/05/04/police-called-after-student-tries-to-buy-lunch-with-2-bill/#600ca179f1a2

Edited August 27, 2019 by Bob++

[ducklite]

6 hours ago, Cotswold Eagle said:

 

If you care to enter “Scottish notes refused” in your favourite search engine, you will find plenty of examples. There was a fuss in the newspapers just this weekend because it happened to a celebrity chef and earlier this year to the mother of tennis player Andy Murray.

 

I saw a notice recently in a London coffee shop that they would not accept Scottish notes or Bank of England £50 notes. And I’m pretty sure bartering would not be on their menu either....

 

I had a NI fiver refused at a pub just outside of London.  It wasn't even an old dodgy one, which I would have understood.  

[Cotswold Eagle]

2 hours ago, ducklite said:

I had a NI fiver refused at a pub just outside of London.  It wasn't even an old dodgy one, which I would have understood.  

 

Use of new NI and Scottish notes is even more of a red flag for some retailers and financial institutions 😉

[Cotswold Eagle]

2 hours ago, Bob++ said:

The Scottish/English note controversy may depend on where you shop. Cruisers tend to shop in tourist areas. The people who will have a problem are either those in places where such notes are very rare, and places with staff who just like to be difficult. 

 

 

 

This is a little unfair. Some retailers and even financial institutions have clear policies on this, it’s not always a question of staff being “difficult” or even just unfamiliar with the different notes. 

[FionaMG]

15 hours ago, Host Bonjour said:

I brought back bank notes that had been issued from one of the designated Scottish banks back with me to spend in England and as it was still equivalent in value to what bank notes issued by the Bank of England were worth (and I was assured they'd be accepted) I kept them and indeed, they were accepted when I paid for whatever it was that I purchased.

 

I'm an ex-pat Scot. In my younger days, whenever we had to go south of the border we always did our very best to ensure we had English banknotes because, in those days at least, you could absolutely guarantee that at some point during the trip a Scottish note would be refused.

It's perfectly possible that things may be better nowadays since travel has become so much more common.

[Host Hattie]

Or maybe not ....

https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/celebrity-chef-nick-nairns-scottish-19001983

[Host Bonjour]

Could this be a renewed problem now, with Brexit (sorry to bring it up as we rarely if ever get political here) and the two places issuing their own notes, Scotland and Northern Ireland, also were in favor (not unanimously, I know) of remaining, thereby raising a feeling of, well, feelings that are understandable presently, that would arise in transactions involving these notes from Scotland or N.I. An issue of separation that is not new is once again at the forefront. An easy way to express one's feelings is through the cash transactions. 

 

Or, is it happening more to citizens than visitors? Is that a thing? Because I wonder if it's worth troubling visitors with the obligation to switch all their notes, something we've heard little about (I have no accounts of it from frequent visitors) here, though it makes sense it could be a thing for folks from within the U.K. or maybe the continent? Just wondering....October 31 looms and there's a new PM....

Edited August 27, 2019 by Host Bonjour

[Host Hattie]

The newspaper article mentions Brexit but I don't think so, as Fiona mentioned above she had problems growing up.

I think you were just lucky in the past, I wouldn't risk Scottish notes in England or Wales unless in a tourist destination.

[FionaMG]

I agree with @Host Hattie. I would say it's mostly a case of lack of familiarity with Scottish (and NI) notes rather than any deliberate antagonism, in much the same way as the incident mentioned by @Bob++.

For me, growing up, it was just a somewhat irritating fact of life; if you went to England, you availed yourself of English banknotes because it wasn't worth the hassle of trying to pay with Scottish ones and getting them refused.  

[scottbee]

Always one of those interesting points. 

 

Technically (as their not issued by the central bank), they're not legal tender (Scottish people are now really mad at me). They are promissory notes drawn on the few banks allowed to issue them, like a cashier's cheque.  As such, I think it's still actually legal to refuse them as a currency.

It's one of those fun regional things that Scotland and Northern Ireland hang on to for local 'independence'.

 

The Wikipedia article "Banknotes of Scotland" goes into more details.

 

And given we've probably already made the Scots mad, Scotland is technically not a country in the international sense.

While it holds divulged powers, they are similar to those held by Canadian provinces, or Austalian (or US) states.  The only people that consider them a separate country are some sporting organizations (like FIFA), and the people that live there. 

 

In Scotland you're still issued a "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland" passport.

[Cotswold Eagle]

1 hour ago, Host Bonjour said:

Could this be a renewed problem now, with Brexit

 

No.

Edited August 27, 2019 by Cotswold Eagle

[gnome12]

Here in Canada I know (I'm not sure about elsewhere) even if it is legal tender it isn't required to be accepted. Before we changed to polymer currency, our $100 bills were regularly not accepted; even though the new ones are more secure many establishments will still not accept them, and it is perfectly legal.

 

[FionaMG]

13 minutes ago, scottbee said:

Always one of those interesting points. 

 

The only people that consider them a separate country are some sporting organizations (like FIFA), and the people that live there. 

 

In Scotland you're still issued a "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland" passport.

Yup. I think most Brits, when asked about their nationality, will be inclined to say they're "Scottish" or "English" or whatever, as opposed to "British", although that's obviously what our passports say we are. My nephews, who were born and raised in Wales consider themselves to be Welsh even though they're half Scottish. And my kids, who were born and raised in Portugal to a Portuguese dad consider themselves to be "half Portuguese and half Scottish". How's that for a mish-mash?! 

[Host Bonjour]

6 hours ago, Host Hattie said:

The newspaper article mentions Brexit but I don't think so, as Fiona mentioned above she had problems growing up.

I think you were just lucky in the past, I wouldn't risk Scottish notes in England or Wales unless in a tourist destination.

 

Could be, but it hasn't just been me although I definitely get the point. It was explained to me, in Scotland, although not with as much detail or specificity. It's things like this I like to learn/experience from traveling because it increases understanding (or one's curiosity) of the history and people. I am still trying to figure out my own country and we of course do not have as long and rich a history as these parts of the United Kingdom or Commonwealth. There's always more to learn, know, understand.

 

6 hours ago, FionaMG said:

I agree with @Host Hattie. I would say it's mostly a case of lack of familiarity with Scottish (and NI) notes rather than any deliberate antagonism, in much the same way as the incident mentioned by @Bob++.

For me, growing up, it was just a somewhat irritating fact of life; if you went to England, you availed yourself of English banknotes because it wasn't worth the hassle of trying to pay with Scottish ones and getting them refused.  

 

The nationalism I'm used to...though I don't know what term to use anymore. Growing up in New York City, in Queens, probably one of the most diverse counties in the U.S., kids (and adults) would identify themselves as where they come from, like how you are referencing, Fiona. I can say it was almost always more along the lines of how, someone mentioned FIFA, a sports rivalry - Portugal vs Scotland let's say - sans the negativity we see in governments today. With the exception of Native/Indigenous people, we all here have a line back to somewhere else. Maybe that's why, again, in spite of the divisiveness being spewed by some, coming from a place where everyone is from somewhere else living in one country, it's an apportioning (but not) that is historic and not so simple. 

 

Maybe the only thing that comes close here is the South, but they only had their own money once. Not trying to compare...it's definitely feels like a different country sometimes. Texas sure does. But they are not. 

 

Businesses here decline large bills but I think as individual business owners, they have a right to protect their businesses against risk/losses. Large corporations probably are harder pressed at refusing them, but so few people are using cash lately and it's become harder and harder to attempt counterfeiting. It became easier to make the bills LOOK good; they were never good at replicating texture and feel. It also costs a lot to make fake money. Still, they try. It made more sense to stop making large euro notes, for whatever reason they did so. Polymer money sounds interesting. Aussie had money that had something like cellophane in it years ago, the A$20. I thought it was one of the coolest notes I ever saw. After the US$500. 

 

In any event...problem solving while traveling. Always interesting, challenging but worth it. Little easier than lots of currencies on the continent, at least. They sorted it, kind of....mostly. 

Edited August 27, 2019 by Host Bonjour

[Cotswold Eagle]

6 hours ago, scottbee said:

And given we've probably already made the Scots mad, Scotland is technically not a country in the international sense.

 

Of course Scotland is a country. It’s one of the constituent countries of the United Kingdom. 

 

It is is not a sovereign state. 

[cwsdks48]

On August 27, 2019 at 12:36 PM, gnome12 said:

Here in Canada I know (I'm not sure about elsewhere) even if it is legal tender it isn't required to be accepted. Before we changed to polymer currency, our $100 bills were regularly not accepted; even though the new ones are more secure many establishments will still not accept them, and it is perfectly legal.

 

Had that happen on our last trip to Toronto. Was trying to pay for lunch with a Canadian $20 that I had saved from a trip to Montreal in the '90's. Restaurant suggested I go to the bank and exchange for 'new' bank notes. Bank was happy to oblige.

[JenGi]

On 7/25/2019 at 3:01 PM, Joanandjoe said:

Our northern route cruise from Amsterdam to New York next month will go to multiple countries, involving four different foreign currencies other than the Euro (and we have plenty of Euros):  UK pound (1 stop in Scotland), Danish krone (1 stop in Faeroe Islands and two in Greenland), Icelandic krona (3 stops in Iceland), and Canadian dollar (two stops in Canada).  We’ll want to give tips, and possibly buy stuff, at all of our stops.

 

Do we need to buy small amounts of each of the four currencies, or is it your experience that tour guides and drivers are happy to accept dollars or euros in these places?  Thanks.

I live in Canada and we accept American dollars everywhere although you might not get as much on exchange as you would at a bank but you don't really need to bring Cdn dollars.  Where are your stops in Canada? Just curious. 

[Joanandjoe]

Our trip ended on Sept. 3.  We bought currency for each of the four countries, and used some of our C$ for a fish and chips lunch in Halifax.  Our first stop in Canada was St. John's, NF.  The funniest part of our stop in Newfoundland was that the people putting out the ship's daily newspaper (Passages) goofed in the port description, which described the tides in the bay of Fundy.  No, we were in St. John's, NF, not St. John, NB.

 

Edited October 24, 2019 by Joanandjoe

[JenGi]

😂😂happens all the time. I'm in New Brunswick about an hour away from Saint John.  Sounds like you had a great time.  

[Issyalex]

On 8/8/2019 at 11:55 PM, Cotswold Eagle said:

 

You are at risk of conflating currency and banknotes 🙂

 

The pound sterling is the official currency of the United Kingdom. Sterling denominated banknotes are issued by the Bank of England and by private banks in Scotland and Northern Ireland, under regulation by the Bank of England. Same currency, different banknotes. 

If they are all the same tell me why some places in England either scrutinise our Scottish notes or refuse to accept them? 

[Issyalex]

On 8/11/2019 at 11:56 PM, Host Bonjour said:

 

Ah, tiny detail, great catch.

 

The banknotes look different in Scotland but you can use them anywhere in Great Britain, aka United Kingdom, or: England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, because the value, the worth of the notes is exactly the same. I wasn't too concerned about semantics and assumed I'd conveyed my meaning adequately but thank you for pointing it all out. It didn't seem to puzzle anyone, no inquiries, no historical concerns and money is money. I am happy 🙂 to clarify. 

 

https://www1.oanda.com/currency/converter/

 

Currency...sort of interchangeable with the words cash, banknotes, money, although it gets used in a commodified way when it comes to larger quantities in investments/trading, or even when one is just looking for someplace to obtain the local when they arrive in country. Or sometimes that gets referred to as Foreign Exchange counter = Forex, which can imply the currency trading exchange; it goes on and on. Various terms, jargon, understood to be interchangeable, especially in the financial services industry. And in everyday use. 

 

So for example, at the above site, OANDA, at this moment, US$1 = £1.20198 and that's what your Sterling are worth anywhere in the Kingdom, no matter what the notes look like. (Please note, that's the spot rate (economic value) not the rate one would get buying £ or selling excess currency/money/notes/coins. 

 

As a matter of Scottish pride and indeed, won't even go into it with regards to Northern Ireland, permission was granted for unique notes to be issued. Of course not just anyone could create their own Scottish cash, I don't think any individual in any country is permitted to make paper money legally, though we all know some try. ;0 Parliament (obviously the one in Westminster, not in Edinburgh - yes Scotland has their own, sort of, more like a branch of Westminster in Edinburgh) acquiesced, thus the Scottish notes/currency worth the same anywhere you go in Britain same as Bank of England issue notes and/or Northern Ireland notes.

 

I am sorry if my earlier post was unclear or misleading in anyway, if it implied that the value of Scottish £ would be different than £ in England or Wales or Northern Ireland, I apologize for any confusion. As it goes in the title, the Kingdom is indeed, United.

 

And it's absolutely wonderful in so many glorious and astounding ways. Scotland is mystical and I can identify it anytime I see it on screen in television or a movie; no place else looks as distinctively marvelous and mystical as Scotland. It's spectacular. Just bring money/cash/notes/currency, whatever £ you have, for maximum enjoyment of the land and people. I arrived on Robbie Burns birthday....it was kind of like Thanksgiving, except that doesn't compare. Just big. 

 

Great to have this cleared up, thank you. 🙂

At one time in England our Scottish notes WERE worth less than ‘English’ notes  and even now some places south of the border won’t accept our Scottish money.

 

Yes we have our own parliament (as does Wales) and we have our own laws. its not a ‘branch’ of Westminster. 

 

I do live in a beautiful country with very friendly people. 

 

Yes I am one proud Scot. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 😀

 

 

[jocap]

I think it's just familiarity- we live close to the border with Scotland, and there's often a Scottish banknote in our change- no problems- but I had to scrutinise the NI one which I received because I wasn't familiar with it. Also- there's the feel of paper when you're used to the polymer of notes, which might stop some people.

I think that many  English are more familiar with the euro!  🤔

[Host Bonjour]

On 10/24/2019 at 4:10 PM, Issyalex said:

At one time in England our Scottish notes WERE worth less than ‘English’ notes  and even now some places south of the border won’t accept our Scottish money.

 

Yes we have our own parliament (as does Wales) and we have our own laws. its not a ‘branch’ of Westminster. 

 

I do live in a beautiful country with very friendly people. 

 

Yes I am one proud Scot. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 😀

 

Oh that's interesting, what period was it? I love learning more and more.

 

I follow, as much as I can, still learning, about the Scottish politics, apart from Westminster, closely watching the most recent referendum which was quite close. Tried to read up on SNP, Nicola, but I need now to get more informed on Wales, is it me or they seem to keep rather quiet? I suppose that's not a bad thing. It's likely I've family scattered about that I've yet to find, as I know many of us left Ireland 🇮🇪, few came to America. Seems there's been much border crossing for centuries, though.

 

It's spectacularly beautiful land, creatures, and people. I can recognize the terrain, almost anytime I see a panoramic shot overland of Scotland. It looks like no other place I've seen thus far, on four continents. Can rule out Antarctica w/o needing to verify w/my eyes. 

 

And if there's a flag emoji for it, which I've already used before, when there aren't flag emojis for countries that are independent, well, that speaks volumes right there. Scotland. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

 

 

Hey Jo!! 

Isn't that currently the problem, familiarity with the euro 😉 

[Cotswold Eagle]

On 10/24/2019 at 9:10 PM, Issyalex said:

At one time in England our Scottish notes WERE worth less than ‘English’ notes

 

When? If you are talking about the Pound Scots, pre-1707, that was a different currency that became heavily debased compared to the Pound Sterling, which replaced it after union. But there would have been no notes then, as far as I am aware, just coinage.

Edited October 26, 2019 by Cotswold Eagle

[Issyalex]

On 10/26/2019 at 8:14 PM, Cotswold Eagle said:

 

When? If you are talking about the Pound Scots, pre-1707, that was a different currency that became heavily debased compared to the Pound Sterling, which replaced it after union. But there would have been no notes then, as far as I am aware, just coinage.

In the 60’s and 70’s. Scottish notes were worth 19/6 ( 19s and 6d or 98p)  in a lot of places south of the border.