What Would You Do if You Found a Large Bill?
By Marsha
@MarshaMusselman (38865)
Midland, Michigan
October 20, 2015 12:36am CST
Tonight while working as a cashier, a customer came up and asked me to verify that a hundred dollar bill they found was legit. We have a special marker in our drawers for such purposes, but we both figured it was legit before using the marker as it had a blue stripe down on front.
A member of their party found the bill inside a billfold that was on display in the purses and handbags section of the store. They were not concerned about whether the bill was stolen or not, but intended to keep it.
Some other customers, after I shared the incident, thought maybe someone put the bill there as a way of paying if forward. Personally, I thought possibly it was more likely that someone stole the bill and was being chased. They may have hid the bill in the billfold to return to it later on if their pursuers were catching up to them.
If you found a bill in such a place would you keep it, or tell some authority just in case it was stolen?
14 people like this
16 responses
@arthurchappell (44941)
• Preston, England
21 Oct 15
@MarshaMusselman I would certainly return found money if the owner could be found but loose money just lying round strikes me as there to salvage by the lucky finder
@wiLLmaH (8801)
• Singapore, Singapore
21 Oct 15
@MarshaMusselman Oh, that is so rude thing to do.
1 person likes this
@MarshaMusselman (38865)
• Midland, Michigan
21 Oct 15
Or leave one's name and number in case the rightful owner looked for it later. The only problem with leaving it at the location where it was found, is that someone else may keep it instead. At our store, we'd be fired for doing that, but they keep it on the books for one month and if no one returns for it, then we're allowed to keep it, if we remember to ask about it once a month has passed.
@MarshaMusselman (38865)
• Midland, Michigan
21 Oct 15
@salonga I agree. Even small amounts shouldn't be taken automatically. Unless there is no possibility of finding the owner.
In our self-check out lanes people will ask for change back and often forget to take it right then. We put it with a note in the till and usually they do come back, or call later and get it the next day. Most people that come to that lane will let us know about the money.
i had a elderly lady once that told me her grandson found a five dollar bill in the return slot and she told him he could keep it outright. I think that's teaching him the wrong thing. What if she left money there? Would she want someone else to keep it as theirs? Even if it happens, it's not right.
@arthurchappell (44941)
• Preston, England
21 Oct 15
Were the bags on display new or second hand? If second hand the bill could have been lost by a previous owner of the bag. My temptation would have been to keep / spend the money rather than report it.
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@arthurchappell (44941)
• Preston, England
21 Oct 15
@MarshaMusselman sounds a plausible explanation
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@MarshaMusselman (38865)
• Midland, Michigan
21 Oct 15
We only sell new items. My manager said probably someone returned the bag for a refund after using it and forgot to check it's contents. No one has been around to look for the money, so we don't know how or why it was there in the first place.
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@jaboUK (64346)
• United Kingdom
22 Oct 15
I'd feel uncomfortable keeping it myself, but finding the legitimate owner would be very difficult.
I found £20 note the other day in my booth on the turnstiles at the racecourse, and handed it in to the office. I reckoned that the person who worked there before me must have come up £20 short, and handing it in would keep their record clean.
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@MarshaMusselman (38865)
• Midland, Michigan
22 Oct 15
Would the office call you back if it turned out the previous person didn't lose it after all? They should if that should happen, but I'd want to get my money back if I lost it in that way, or even in the purse for whatever reason.
It's good that mylot told my the other person along with you commented as I wouldn't have traced yours down the whole page looking for it otherwise, and it would be missed for a time. It seems like you're writing more here, but I see you are not. I think it's because I'm not here as much right now as i used to be over there. I used to look a lot for something new from you and always had to wait the few days. Now, something new is there for me almost every time.
1 person likes this
@poehere (15123)
• French Polynesia
20 Oct 15
I have found a few wallets and even a backpack left on a bus before. I always turn them in and wish for the best. One time however I found out the store owner never contacted the customer. I was lucky I kept their name to call them and tell them where their wallet was. They were so happy. This store's policy was to throw it in a drawer and if someone came asking about it let them search through the drawer to see if they could find it. Wow not too nice if you ask me on this one. However, if I had found money in a store wallet I would turn it in and not keep it. But if I found it on the street or on the floor some place I would keep it I think.
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@MarshaMusselman (38865)
• Midland, Michigan
21 Oct 15
I would turn it in if i found it in a store, or at the very least I'd leave my name and number for someone to call if they came asking. If I found money of a large denomination on the street or in a public place, I'd call the cops and leave my name and number there too, but I wouldn't tell them how much I found. That way if someone did lose money, they'd have to verify how much I had before I'd just hand it over, I think.
I talked with our store director about it and she felt that someone used the wallet and returned it without remembering to check and take out all their belongings. She felt it was their loss. For one thing we can't force someone to give us the money. They would assume we'd just keep it instead of allowing them to have it back if it wasn't claimed.
I was just surprised that they weren't too concerned about anyone needing that money and looking for it before assuming the 'finder's keeper's' idea.
2 people like this
@poehere (15123)
• French Polynesia
21 Oct 15
@MarshaMusselman You're right. But then on the other hand this person didn't have to tell you about it at all. They could of said someone paid them with this money and they weren't sure of the person. They could of come up with any story in the world they wanted to. Just to have you check the bill and see if it was real or not.
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@just4him (323168)
• Green Bay, Wisconsin
23 Oct 15
In that type of situation, I would keep it. The billfold was for sale when the person was looking through it for possible purchase and found the bill. It clearly didn't belong to anyone in particular, so the finder would be the beneficiary of the money found.
2 people like this
@MarshaMusselman (38865)
• Midland, Michigan
23 Oct 15
That's how my manager looked at it too, Valerie. Some people, though, would look at it that way even if it just fell out of someone's pocket in a public place. Or if left in a change bin at a self-scan register. I don't have a problem with people keeping money found in odd places, but I don't think that answer fits each and every situation.
2 people like this
@just4him (323168)
• Green Bay, Wisconsin
23 Oct 15
@MarshaMusselman Now if it fell out of someone's pocket, I would alert that person to the money they were about to lose, and if the person had just walked away from the self-scan I would alert that person too. I guess I'm just too honest.
@Rollo1 (16676)
• Boston, Massachusetts
20 Oct 15
If the bill was in a billfold that belonged to the store, then the bill belongs to the store, not to the finder. You can't "find" things in stores and keep them. That's called theft. A smart person would buy the billfold and keep quiet about the bill inside. It's a gamble on whether it is fake or not, but it could be worth it. Chances are the thief of the bill works in the store, took it from the register and hid it in the billfold to retrieve it later. In which case, it still belongs to the store.
1 person likes this
@MarshaMusselman (38865)
• Midland, Michigan
22 Oct 15
My manager thinks someone purchased the purse, used it and brought it back for a refund. If that's the case and they forgot to empty the purse first, she said it's their loss. If that is what happened, it would have been better for them to forget about the refund and just keep the purse. No one has come forward looking the money, so we'll never know where it came from.
A young person found it, but his parents/aunts or whomever he was with gave it back to him. I hope they teach him he can't do that in all situations, but I'm sure they won't. It's unfortunate, really.
@allknowing (153529)
• India
22 Oct 15
If I definitely know the authority would never be able to trace the owners I would keep it as I know for sure the authority will keep it for them otherwise
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@MarshaMusselman (38865)
• Midland, Michigan
22 Oct 15
I wouldn't give it to the authority, unless it's at my store. If it's not picked up within thirty days they have to return it to whomever found it. But if I notified the police, I'd keep it, but have it if someone called and told me what they'd lost.
The difficulty would be in giving it back, then, especially if no one knew what denomination I found, and if they lost that same amount. But, if I went to the trouble of notifying the authorities, I'd hope that I would give it back at that time. Some people will even give a small reward.
@MarshaMusselman (38865)
• Midland, Michigan
22 Oct 15
That's why I think it's better to report the find at least even if a person chooses to keep it until and if the real owner ever comes forward.
@LadyDuck (502653)
• Italy
20 Oct 15
I would tell the the authorities, because this was an unusual place to find a bill. If I find a bill on the road is different, but inside a billfold that was on display it's weird. I think you are right, someone put the bill there with the idea to come later and recover it.
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@MarshaMusselman (38865)
• Midland, Michigan
21 Oct 15
No one ever asked about it, so we'll never know.
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@crazyhorseladycx (39503)
• United States
20 Oct 15
i dunno how one'd prove such'd been stolen? but, if'n i find any money, i always turn it o'er to customer service/'r the manager. hopefully whome'er lost it'd be askin' 'bout it'n be reunited. 'tis only occurred twice in my lifetime. one was recovered by the frantic original owner - the other not 'n was donated to the local food bank.
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@MarshaMusselman (38865)
• Midland, Michigan
21 Oct 15
That would be a good place to donate it. I think the majority of people would try to get it to the rightful owner if they could be found. Handing it over so another person could pocket it isn't what any would want, but most stores are honest and try to find the owner. If the owner can't be found, however, I'm not sure that the store would donate it, but they might give it back to the finder instead.
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@crazyhorseladycx (39503)
• United States
21 Oct 15
@MarshaMusselman the latter place offered such to me, i figured it t'weren't mine so gave it to those in need.
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@Marilynda1225 (91127)
• United States
23 Oct 15
It would depend on where I found the money if I would keep it or not. If it was just lying on the ground I'd definitely keep it. If it was in a wallet with identification I'd return it
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@MarshaMusselman (38865)
• Midland, Michigan
28 Oct 15
For me, it would depend on where I found it on the ground, and how large a denomination it was. If a fifty or hundred, I'd let the cops know I found something and approximately where in case someone happened to call in. I would tell them exactly how much I found. Someone that lost it would have to know that to get it back.
If I lost a large bill, I'd call the cops to see if possibly anyone had returned it. There are both honest folks and not so much in the world.
@blitzfrick (2890)
• United States
21 Oct 15
Me? no question about it. That bill would go straight into my pocket even as I was thanking the powers that be that caused it to put it there. I'd consider it a windfall:
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1 person likes this
@MarshaMusselman (38865)
• Midland, Michigan
21 Oct 15
One person's windfall could be another person's catastrophe, but, I guess that shows we should keep our money in a safe place and not loose in a bag or pocket.
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@totobasso (330)
• Canada
6 Dec 15
I would tell the owner of the store about it and give it to them to deal with it.
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@DeborahDiane (40848)
• Laguna Woods, California
23 Oct 15
I would report it. If no one came forward, I would hope to get it back.
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