Travelers' checks

I%26#39;m heading to Paris in a couple of days, and wondered if there%26#39;s any hope for my old travelers%26#39; checks in French Francs.

Has anyone dealt with francs recently? Are the central banks still accepting them, and will they honor travelers%26#39; checks?

Thanks!

|||

As of October 2004 you could still change your francs at, and only at the Banque de France. They have a branch on the rue de Sevres, corner boul. Raspail. Don%26#39;t know what they%26#39;ll make of your traveler%26#39;s checks, but its worth a try. Have you contacted the bank that issued the checks to you?

|||

I%26#39;m afraid that the only place that you can exchange actual French Franc banknotes or coins for new Euros will be at a branch of Banque of France. Thethree(3) year time limit for exchanging old FF coinage expires this coming February 17, 2005. The ten(10) time limit for exchanging old FF banknotes expires on February 17, 2012. But this is only for legal national currency--actual coins and banknotes

euro.ecb.int/en/section1/timetable.FR.html

www.banque-france.fr/gb/monnaies/main.htm

As for Traveler%26#39;s Checks, these are NOT %26#39;..legal national currency..%26#39;, even if they were issued in the national currency at the time of issue--they are, in effect, commercial promissary instruments/%26#39;private currency%26#39;---as such, they%26#39;re not the Banque de France%26#39;s responsibility. Any exchange would have to be handled through the TC issuer. But I%26#39;m not even sure how this would be handled. The official rate of exchange for old French Franc coinage and banknotes was set at 6.55957 FF per new Euro (www.euro.ecb.int/en/section/conversion.html). So, your old FF TC%26#39;s would first have to be converted into Euros and then reconverted into US dollars. Given the currency fluctuations and weakening of the US dollar against the strengthening Euro since you purchased your TCs, you might even come out a little ahead on the tranaction---even allowing for any conversion fees and charges.

|||

Check with the check issuer and see if they will give you a refund or convert them to Euro.