Growing up as the youngest child and the only son in my family, I had a deep passion for collecting things. While kids in some households were asked to sing songs or recite poems when guests came over, my parents would always ask me to bring out my collections. I would lay out my toys, sea shells, and coins to show and share with the guests' children. Seeing how much I loved collecting, some of those guests would kindly gift me unique coins and foreign notes to support my hobby.
Over the years, my largest passion project was my Pokémon card collection. Eventually, I passed those cards along to my sister, who now uses them at her school to reward her students when they answer questions correctly or score well on tests. I gave the rest away to people who needed a bit of extra joy, hoping to bring some color into their lives.
Lately, my foreign currency collection has been meeting a similar fate. My nieces love opening my drawers to explore, and every now and then, a collector item goes missing. I used to feel protective over these items, but as time goes on, I realize I no longer hold that kind of rigid material attachment. The genuine smiles and happiness on those kids' faces are worth far more than any rare collectible could ever be.
Still, before every last item vanishes into thin air, I decided to document what remains of my currency stash, estimate its value, and share it here while I decide whether to keep or sell it.
QATAR (Total = 5.78$)
My father worked in Qatar back in the day, and he gifted these Qatari notes and coins to me when he returned.
TWO 10 RIYAL (Front/Back), 2.74$ Each = $5.49 USD
50 Dirhams (Front/Back), 0.137$
25 Dirhams Eastern Digits (Front/Back), 0.07$
25 Dirhams Wastern Digits (Front/Back), 0.07$
Pakistan (Total = 3$+, Vintage Collector Item)
1 Rupee Note. Nowadays only 1 Rupee coins exist in circulation. This is a vintage collector item from before I was born.
There is actually a very wild story behind how I acquired this note. One of my Pakistani cousins, who used to play online poker, struck up an online friendship with an Indian-American player. Fast forward a bit, and that online gaming friendship turned into marriage! On one occasion, my cousin gifted a 1 Dollar bill to a guy, and that guy also ended up getting married in America. So as a running joke and a supposed lucky charm, my cousin handed me a 1 Dollar bill and told me that whoever keeps this bill in their wallet ends up getting married in America.
Sometime later, I happened to spot someone holding a rare 1 Rupee paper note. I told him the story about the lucky American marriage dollar bill, and he was so intrigued that he traded his vintage 1 Rupee note for my lucky 1 Dollar bill on the spot. Fast forward to today, that guy is over 35 years old and, as far as I know, still unmarried. Honestly, I hope no woman ever marries him; he belongs to the streets. He is a manipulative psychopath with endless bad habits, and I truly hope women stay safe and far away from him. Apologies for taking a moment to rant, but if Pakistan had a proper functioning legal system, he should be behind bars for at least 10 years. Ladies, someone who legally deserves prison time is walking around free, so please be extremely careful about the charm offensive someone puts on. Not everything that glitters is gold.
Saudi Arabia (Total = 0.27$)
My father gifted this note to me when he traveled by road from Qatar to Saudi Arabia to perform Umrah.
1 Rial (Front/Back), 0.27$
Kuwait (Total = 0.274$)
My uncle (my mother's sister's husband) worked as a nurse in Kuwait for a long time, and he gave these coins to me as a gift. To be honest, I only knew that Kuwaiti currency held immense value, so my expectations were sky-high. Only later did I discover that Kuwaiti Dinars are divided into smaller units called Fils!
50 Fils (Front/Back), 0.16$
20 Fils (Front/Back), 0.065$
10 Fils (Front/Back), 0.0325$
5 Fils (Front/Back), 0.0162$
Whether I end up selling what remains or keeping it tucked away safely, revisiting these pieces brought back so many great childhood memories. Physical items may eventually vanish, but the nostalgic stories attached to them remain forever.
