Old pennies, francs, and Thai baht are just some of the currencies handed to the Hastings Resene collection point during the past 18 months as part of the Heads Up For Kids initiative.
The scheme is a nationwide Lions Clubs of New Zealand project in which people can donate oldcurrency to be sent away to the Reserve Bank. The Hastings delivery of 50kg of old currency will be the finishing touch to a total of 10 tonnes nationwide.
Hastings Resene store manager Jane Shearman said it was initially only going to run for a month, but was extended due to its popularity.
"Everyone is really keen to dig out their old coins and tell us a story about them," she said.
Among the currencies handed over were pennies from the early 1900s, American and Australian currency and "lots of interesting coins with holes in them from Europe".
This money will be spent on youth across the country. Recently 60 students from Naenae and Taita Colleges were able to attend a week-long course at the Sir Edmund Hilary Outdoor Pursuits Centre with the help of Heads Up for Kids donations.
Lions Clubs of New Zealand project co-ordinator Olivia Lacey said based on its weight, the donations from Hastings would be worth about $2000.
"The great thing about it is it's not actually taking any money away from other charities, because it's money that people wouldn't normally have been using," she said.
Lions Clubs of New Zealand has collected nearly 10 tonne of coins and thousands of banknotes bringing the total raised to more than $280,000. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand has estimated there is $116 million in old NZ coins and banknotes unaccounted for.
