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He might be one of the only professional money-washers left at a private business, but some of the people who rank very highly on the currency tracking site www
by gorkish 7y ago
He might be one of the only professional money-washers left at a private business, but some of the people who rank very highly on the currency tracking site www.wheresgeorge.com are known to wash, dry, and iron hundreds to thousands of paper banknotes every day. Wattsburg Gary, one of the sites top ranked users attributes his high "hit rate" to this practice which is about as straightforward as it sounds. He runs the money through a regular washer and dryer, then irons it, puts his wheresgeorge stamp on it, then sends it on its way.
- dan-robertson 7y agoSounds like money laundering but I guess it’s legal in his case.
- kevin_thibedeau 7y agoDefacing US currency isn't legal.
- LyndsySimon 7y agoModification isn't "defacement", though.
- brewdad 7y agoModification that doesn't alter the denomination or attempt to decieve is legal. A crucial difference.
- raverbashing 7y agoI'd argue cleaning notes and coins isn't even "modification" it's just that, cleaning Modification would be writing with a ball-point pen on it.
- daveslash 7y agoMy wife recently got me a colored & decorated $2 bill. It's decorated with Chinese graphics to celebrate the year of the tiger. https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/91hUwSD3ImL._AC_SX679_.jpg https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/91hUwSD3ImL... I was very surprised to learn that this is not only legal, but apparently is still considered legal tender. They're produced by a company called "The Merrick Mint" - which is not actually a mint, just a company with "mint" in the name. They specialize in taking real U.S. currently and decorating/coloring it. https://www.merrickmint.com/ https://www.merrickmint.com/
- gorkish 7y agoWhile wheresgeorge hasn't been entirely "cleared," they have been directly investigated by the secret service and the only fallout was that they were prohibited from selling stamps directly. It is not permitted to advertise on currency, and they considered this to be promoting the practice. Individuals marking their own bills for the purpose of tracking them however was considered a separate and fully permissible action. The legal standard for defacing or destroying requires that the banknote be made unfit for circulation -- though that is about as clear as mud, it has been a pretty tall standard to meet.