DH dropped a twenty while he was mowing. Lawnmower chewed it up quite nicely :(
Before I make an idiot of myself at the bank (we are rather fond of counting our pennies), does anyone know if there are "rules" about how much of a bill makes it still meaningful?
Dea
I was under the impression it couldn't be missing more than one corner.
I've never shredded anything, though. Maybe if you tape all the pieces together, like a puzzle?
Good luck.
I could be wrong, but I was thinking you just have to present more than 50% of the bill to exchange it.
Found this elsewhere:
"A U.S. bill must have at least 1 and one half of the 2 serial numbers to still be considered legal tender. So, more than 1/4 of the bill missing (on one side) will make it no longer viable.
When it comes to mutilated money- not just torn or missing but severely damaged most banks/treasuries will require at least 50% of the bill intact and a good reason for the bills condition. Most mutilated money will need to be thoroughly inspected by a representative of the treasury and it will be left to their discretion. "
This message was edited Jul 21, 2006 6:23 PM
Calling all numismatists!
I think you need the two ends with the serial numbers on them (which your picture shows that you do have), and you should be fine. Otherwise, someone might try to make that "change" twice.
Are you sure you don't want to just frame it as a reminder (in case the DH decides to go out and mow after winning the lottery)?
Ha!! Off to the bank I shall trot tomorrow morning and argue my point :)
I'll let y'all know the results and thanks - DH says it's like Terry says, 50%, but VV's statement seems sound too!
Dea
Dea, send a little kid in with a sob story. LOL I have seen banks exchange new bills to people before when they had overly laundred, accidentally mutilated or had puppies chew it up. I'll be interested to hear your answer.
If the bank doesn't replace it, you may have to go through the Bureau of Engraving and Printing.
http://www.moneyfactory.gov/section.cfm/8
DH just called from the bank :) They accepted the taped together bill but would only credit our account rather than handing him a twenty. He made it just in time - our bank in the grocery store closes at 4:30 on Saturdays. They did tell him that VV was correct - must have both serial numbers intact.
So happy the tractor was judicious ;)
Dea
ROTFLOL Are you gonna make hubby empty his pockets before he goes out to play now? LOL Kind of like doing the laundry search before you wash clothes. ;)
You don't want to see the $5 spot....not a chance of any value. LOL - that was his Home Depot fun money too, so he'll just have to stretch $25 down to $20 ;)
Wait a second.....how about those old elastic thingees that went on top of your clothes but under your coat with clips for your mittens....I can see it now.... clipped to the papers and bills in his pockets :)
lol
I thought this was going to be a discussion about inflation...lol
I thought it was going to be a philosophy discussion on the evils of consumerism. It turned out to be very interesting though.
Very interesting thread. Enjoyed reading it. LOL.
Based on the subject line, I assumed it would be a discussion
of what is truly important in life.
Like emptying your pockets before mowing. (snort) ;-)
I have a good one along these lines too. When my DH's great grandfather was moving into a nursing home and they cleaned out his house, they found maps for underneath his house in his crawlspaces for where he had buried his life savings. He went thru the Great Depression so refused to put any money in the bank. Instead, all was put into several mason jars and buried, so DH was equipped with a flashlight, a hand trowel, and the map and sent under the house. About 30 jars were recovered and the money had been in them for so long that some of it was rotting and fell to pieces when you tried to unroll it. They sent it to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and estimated that they got back less than 50% of the actual value after it was all gone thru. He lost about $20,000.
Now that is a sad story.
Dea
You know, that is such a neat post, it reminds me of something I once thought
about doing.
The movie "Double Jeopardy" featured a young lady in need of financial assistance.
When she approached her mother, she was led to the garden where her mother
proceeded to dig up a cash box of money, buried in her tomato patch.
I once entertained the thought of doing this, but was afraid my husband might
forget, or we would have a flood, any number of reasons for the money to go
unknown, then later discovered by strangers.
An odd note, we used to live in a two story house. There were always rumors
the old man who once owned it had buried his money somewhere on the
property. We sold the house to someone else, never finding the money. A few
other couples purchased the home over time. Recently, a young woman, a
few kids and her mother moved into the home. Unless they won the
lottery, they seem to have come into some cash. The house is suddenly getting
a complete makeover, an addition put on, a swimming pool, the whole shebang.
Now certainly we cannot assume they found the cash, but we sure wonder.
:-)
