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(Professional coin & currency nerd here) Fun fact about these — when the treasury first issued these, many people decided to cut them into odd off-center piece
by nlh 2y ago
(Professional coin & currency nerd here)
Fun fact about these — when the treasury first issued these, many people decided to cut them into odd off-center pieces and sell the resulting notes as miscut errors.
Once that started happening, the treasury (BEP to be specific) very quickly changed the serial numbers so they’re all very recognizable as having come from an uncut sheet. I didn’t check the latest for all denominations, but I know for $1 bills they all start with 99.
So if you see a “miscut dollar error” for sale on eBay or the like, always check the serial. If it starts with 99 then it’s just someone who had some fun with a pair of scissors and it’s not a real error.
For example, to wit:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/135364285098 https://www.ebay.com/itm/135364285098
- readthenotes1 2y agoMaybe that's a way to recoup paying $86 for $50?
- rufugee 2y agoI'm shocked someone would pay $500 for an erroneously cut $1 bill.
- bdcravens 2y agoPeople will pay extra for currency that has zero errors, and only an interesting serial number.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- nxobject 2y agoTo wit: the Mint will also sell you in line with Chinese numerology collectible bills with “777”s or “888”s in their SNs with a decorative envelope. Bless the marketing exec who’s finding nontraditional markets for collectible currency.
- thaumasiotes 2y ago> the Mint will also sell you in line with Chinese numerology collectible bills with “777”s or “888”s in their SNs For Chinese numerology, you'd want 666.
- indrora 2y agoSevens are a massive number in Chinese numerology: The 7 parts (yin/yang/metals), the 7 steps, 7 captures, etc. Eights are symbols of prosperity, wealth, generosity, good fortune in business, etc. Six is a kinda useless number for money -- Smoothness and whatnot are less for money and more for one's tongue. You'd name a wine after a six (I've seen "Dice Wine" referring to 6-sided dice) but not look for it in bills
- thaumasiotes 2y agoWell, https://hsbc.banklocationmaps.com/en/chn/shanghai https://hsbc.banklocationmaps.com/en/chn/shanghai only lists one branch at a street address of 666, and that one is really just sharing the address of the commercial center where it's located, but that still seems like enough for this point. 8 is heavily represented. 6 is a runner-up. 7 doesn't appear to be significant in this context. Consider the branch phone numbers: 3888 3888 3888 8468 3888 8900 3888 1200 6279 8582 3888 3111 3888 1318 3888 1188 3888 6455 3888 8618 3888 8688 3888 1218 3888 6388 There is technically one 7 in there, but it seems clear that the bank would have preferred not to have it. Counting only the second halves, 8 is overwhelmingly popular, so is 1 (for reasons I don't know), 6 is only barely ahead of what's typical, but still in third place, and 7 doesn't even exist.
- tmtvl 2y agoFor those who are interested: the Chinese character for 8 is a pair of downward lines, close together at the top, far apart at the bottom. Looks a bit like / \. The idea behind it, as far as I know, is that it represents things growing larger, which is why it is of interest where wealth is concerned.
- 2y ago
- bufferoverflow 2y agoJust because it's listed at $500, doesn't mean someone will pay that.
- tartoran 2y agoYou underestimate what people pay for. I fall into the same trap though.
- bityard 2y agoThe sold listings for "miscut dollar bill" would beg to differ. I am _always_ and _continually_ surprised at what people will pay for things. Literally _nobody_ scaled back their consumption or purchasing during post-COVID inflation. Home prices are sky-high but it's still a sellers market because buyers are scared that prices will jump again and instead of simply being a difficult purchase, maybe next year it will be an impossible one. Must be easy money being a realtor right now. Every time I have sold something on Craigslist or FB Marketplace in the last few years, I list it 25% higher than what I'd actually pay if I were buying it myself and expect to be negotiated down to something sensible. So far, excluding the low-effort moronic "what's your lowest price" texts, exactly ZERO buyers have tried to negotiate down. I have come to the conclusion that most people simply have no upper limit to what they will pay for something they want. A few will scoff and turn away. Some will complain about it on the Internet, but most will buy it anyway. I don't run a business but if I did, this would be my golden rule of pricing.
- lesuorac 2y agoI think people have an upper limit. Sure, $7 eggs might be below the limit but if you want into a grocery store because you wanted to make french toast and the eggs are $25 are you buying them or just eating something else? I would agree that the upper limit is above what the common price is though. This should really be a good thing because you want people to consume goods; that makes the economy go in a circle. For necessities like food and gas (energy) the government goes out of its way to subsidize them. I just think most people don't feel like putting in the work to figure out what a clearing price for an action would be when selling not-auctioned items. This is where things like RealPage get dangerous because it will find the best price and that best price is not what the median people can afford.
- gosub100 2y agoPeople have such a fascination with anything "rare". It's such a meme on ebay how often the word "RARE" is used.
- uneekname 2y ago...and now that Ebay listing says "477 viewed in the last 24 hours!"
- nlh 2y agoHahah up to 721 now. That guy must think he hit the jackpot! :)
- BenjiWiebe 2y agoIt said 1800 now for me. :)
- nlh 2y ago2200 now! New business idea -- use eBay listings for HN post analytics. I'm....not sure....how any of that would work. But hey! Business!
- dotancohen 2y agoUse HN to inflate eBay listing views. Make your wares seem more in demand. Twitter might do better, though ))
- black_puppydog 2y agonice touch that the ruler is inscribed "do unto others..." :D
- muhammadusman 2y agokinda off topic but since you're an expert here: what do people do with these uncut sheets? Is it mainly for collectors? also, my favorite form of getting currency is $2 bills in a 100 stack (so $200) from the bank. I used to use these for gift money on holidays :) but unfortunately my credit union doesn't order new stacks anymore, just jumbled up old $2 bills now.
- nlh 2y agoA great question - it's something the BEP offers to collectors basically for the cool factor. People frame them, give them as gifts, etc. It's just kind of fun to see real money as it comes off the press (and, thankfully, it inspires lots of collectors!) $2 bills are SUPER fun. 99.9% are not worth more than $2, but they still bring a smile to peoples' faces when you leave them as tips, etc. I always keep a stack in my cash box at coin shows to give out as change to kids, tips to the pages, etc.
- j7ake 2y agoIs there a market to buy 2 dollar bills for less than two? You say they’re worth less so maybe it’s an arbitrage opportunity
- furyofantares 2y ago> You say they’re worth less They said they're (mostly) not worth more than $2. They aren't worth less than $2 either. They are worth $2.
- TrainedMonkey 2y ago$2 bills are somewhat rare and are considered lucky. We could use math to prove that on average $2 dollar bill is worth more than $2. 1 - There exist collectable $2 dollar bills which are worth significantly more than $2. 2 - there are no $2 dollar bills which are worth less than $2 due to being legal tender. From 1 and 2 - average value of all $2 bills is above $2.
- triyambakam 2y agoIs it illegal to purposefully cut it that way?
- KETHERCORTEX 2y agoIf I recall correctly, as long as it has more than half of one bill in one piece, it's okay. Good luck trying to pay for stuff though.
- charlieyu1 2y agoPeople do the same with uncut sheets of MTG cards, but I doubt these will sell for high enough to be worthwhile
- LeoPanthera 2y agoAside: Can you report items like these? eBay doesn't seem to have a report category for "description is a lie".
- torben-friis 2y agoIsn't messing with money (destroying it, melting coins, etc) really punished by most countries? If so, why is money one can cut a thing?
- zdragnar 2y agoThere are primarily two things that those laws are concerned with: preventing fraud and preventing a shortage. Shortages aren't much of an issue anymore, as so many transactions are digital, and fabric / paper currency doesn't have any precious metal. The actual value isn't lost, and is easily replaced. Defacing currency to pretend a bill or coin is one of higher value is pretty hard to do simply by cutting. Most businesses won't take such heavily damaged currency, and banks won't exchange notes with less than half of the original present. Collectors hoping for rarity ("mistake" bills) are, like any speculator, on their own for verifying authenticity (ensuring serial numbers are right, usually). More to your point, you've answered your own question. Non-fabric currency can also easily be damaged. The convenience and cost of printed fabric / paper versus stamped metal outweighs the risk posed by weakness to damage, and replacing a certain amount of loss each year is generally expected.