You have three main paths for what to do with old coins: find out if they’re valuable, turn them into cash, or get creative and sentimental with them.

What To Do With Old Coins

Quick Scoop

1. First step: are they worth anything?

Before you glue or drill anything, check whether any coin is actually valuable.

  • Sort by country, metal, and decade or exact year.
  • Pull out anything that looks unusual (silver color, big size, odd dates, errors).
  • Look up common values using beginner guides or coin-collector books like general price guides.
  • For inherited or large collections, consider a reputable coin dealer or club for an informal review instead of selling immediately.

If you are unsure, keep the potentially rare ones separate and avoid cleaning them, since cleaning can reduce collector value.

2. If you want to turn them into money

Once you know they’re not rare treasures, there are several ways to convert them into actual cash.

  • Use them as regular money if they’re still legal tender and in the same country.
  • Take big jars of mixed change to a bank or coin-counting machine, where they can be counted and turned into a deposit or notes.
  • Sell better pieces (even mid-range ones) to a local coin dealer, at shows, or through online platforms and auctions.
  • Offload “low‑value” bulk lots as mixed bundles for crafters or hobbyists online; people buy bags of old coins for art or decoration.
  • For truly negligible stuff, some collectors simply donate or even discard the least interesting pieces rather than storing “low‑value junk” forever.

A simple approach: keep the few nicest coins, sell or donate the rest, and enjoy the freed-up space.

3. If you like crafts and decor

If the coins are worn, common, or foreign with little resale value, they make great raw material for projects.

Some popular ideas:

  • Jewelry and accessories
    • Necklaces, earrings, bracelets, rings, and keychains using drilled or framed coins.
* Bag charms, zipper pulls, or phone charms made from interesting designs.
  • Home decor
    • Coin tabletops, bar tops, or counters sealed in clear resin or epoxy (similar to “penny floors”).
* Vases, trays, or picture frames decorated with rows of coins for a textured metallic look.

* Wall art or collages that spell out words, maps, or shapes using different colors and sizes.
  • Everyday hacks
    • Use single coins as improvised flat‑head “screwdrivers,” weights, or markers in games and projects.
* Turn coins into wind chimes or simple musical rattles by stringing them together.

These projects work particularly well with “worthless” coins that are attractive but not collectible.

4. Fun, sentimental, or educational uses

Old coins can be a way to tell stories, teach kids, or create memories, not just make money.

  • Memory keepsakes
    • Choose a few coins tied to a person or place and turn them into gifts: a keychain, pendant, or framed display for family members.
* Create a small labeled shadow box that explains who collected them and when.
  • Games and activities
    • Save a jar for rainy‑day coin sorting, counting, and research with kids or grandkids.
* Use them for scavenger hunts, treasure maps, geocache “treasures,” or buried “time capsules” in the backyard or woods.
  • Donations and sharing
    • Donate interesting but low‑value coins to schools, museums, or libraries for educational displays or cheap souvenir packs.
* Leave a few in places where people expect “treasure” or wishes, like fountains or hidden caches.

These ideas are especially good if the coins came from a relative and you want to keep their story alive without storing boxes forever.

5. When you truly don’t want to keep them

Sometimes you just need them gone.

  • Give them away to hobbyists, crafters, or coin‑club beginners as “practice” coins.
  • Donate bulk coins to charity events, school projects, or fundraisers as a quirky extra.
  • As a true last resort, discard the least interesting damaged pieces, especially if they’re not legal tender and have no metal or collector value.

If you’re overwhelmed, start small: pull out any clearly interesting or sentimental pieces, then decide whether to sell, craft, donate, or dump the remaining bulk.

TL;DR:
Check for any valuable or sentimental coins, sell or deposit the standard stuff, and repurpose the truly common ones into jewelry, decor, or fun “treasure” for others to find.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.