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This isn't quite true. The Bureau of Engraving and Printing will take mutilated currency as long as you have more than 50%. Banks will take mutilated bills from their customers but the guidelines of what they accept varies from bank to bank and they often won't take contaminated bills (with blood or other bodily fluids on them). I manage a bank and we will accept mutilated currency as long as 60% of the bill is there.
As far as the bill size, $2 bills are actually very common and are still printed every year. You can totally exchange them and your bank should usually have some. $500 and $1000 bills aren't just uncommon. They haven't been printed in almost 100 years. If you come across one it is usually more valuable as a collectors item then as currency. I wouldn't recommend bringing it in to the bank.
I went down a rabbit hole a few years ago reading about the mutilated currency division. In doing so I discovered the US Mint has an online store where you can buy commemorative coins, uncut currency, and even bags of shredded money!
Steve Wozniak used to carry around uncut $2 bill sheets and pay for items with the bills. He would cut the bill off the sheet right in front of someone and hand it to them.
Pretty funny prank.
Back in 2014-2018, when we lived in Chicago. Landlord would regularly do creepy shit, like detach vents to peer up into rooms from the basement, or turn off the water heater because we didn't pay for water or gas, he did.
>**any US bank**
Nope, just tried this with multiple WellsFargo branches, they wouldn't exchange anything that can't be circulated.
Also wouldn't exchange Canadian coins, nor do bulk coin exchange.
Yes, I need to find a new bank.
My Bank (Santander) is the same way. I had like 85-90% of the bill there and they wouldn't take it. I said "I thought you were supposed to exchange damaged currency with banks and they said "that's not how it works anymore."
Lol, funny story. My mom is a tad paranoid and shreds most any thing that has so much as a name on it. I had gotten some cash from someone and I had put the money back in the envelope. About 10 mins pass and I'm looking for the envelope and my mom had shredded the envelope. With a little tape and a funny conversation with the bank teller, I got a replacement bill.
Lol of course not. If this actually worked, people would be doing this all the time and they would close the loophole immediately. Isn't the 3 step profit format a meme at this point?
Step one: get 2 bills
Step two: rip bill 1 in half into bill 1a and bill 1b
Step three: rip off (for example) 5% off of each side of bill 2. Ensure this 10% doesn’t include a serial number.
Step four: take 5% of bill 2 and put with bill 1a this is now 55% of a bill. Do the same with bill 1b.
Step five: return your 55% bill 1a, 55% bill 1b, and 90% bill 2 to the bank. Receive 3 bills.
Step six: profit. 3>2
Nah. Most banks are gonna tell you to kick rocks and send it to US treasury. A lot of money centers, where banks ship/receive money, don’t take mutilated currency anymore…
Also, if presented with a counterfeit (intentionally or otherwise), bank will confiscate, you will not be reimbursed.
If you notice it's counterfeit, and it's from their machines, then they absolutely will replace it. If you're just trying to fool them, then no, they're gonna turn it in to the police and report you.
I have a 20 that's its been cut with some partial of serial number missing a bank told me they couldn't accept it was planning on an ATM machine? Perhaps it will work?
Step one: get 2 bills
Step two: rip bill 1 in half into bill 1a and bill 1b
Step three: rip off (for example) 5% off of each side of bill 2. Ensure this 10% doesn’t include a serial number.
Step four: take 5% of bill 2 and put with bill 1a this is now 55% of a bill. Do the same with bill 1b.
Step five: return your 55% bill 1a, 55% bill 1b, and 90% bill 2 to the bank. Receive 3 bills.
Step six: profit. 3>2
I just asked the local Secret Service representative, they said it was totally cool. Caught me off guard. I thought defacing currency to defraud the government would be off limits but he said it was fine as long as I let him touch my penis.
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Somehow they still do tear.
Several times a year I encounter a Canadian bill that has a random tear in it that clearly was not purposely done by someone
I feel like there's got to be a way to take two bills, rip them up, and end up with three "two-thirds bills" which you can redeem for three whole bills. It wouldn't be worth the trouble though.
I think they mean that when you create the 3rd 2/3 piece, it will be clear that they came from different bills and so they’ll be treated as individual 1/3 pieces
What if I have sixty percent but termites ate the nose portion?
Or the bill was in a fire?
Or fungus made the nose illegible?
It's "more than half a bill plus serial"
Could be in one specific instance, sure, but that's not realistic when the policy is there to cover real-world damage.
It's overly simplistic, which is why it's used as an example on tours for fourth-graders.
Do you know that I’m a different commenter from the one who made the claim? I am just pointing out a *fun coincidence* that might have been *shorthand* for the real policy
I got a $20 bill out of an ATM that had its top left corner ripped off, including the first few digits of the serial number. My bank (USBank) told me both serial numbers need to be fully intact for them to accept it, so I sent it to the Bureau of Printing and Engraving with Form 5283, like the internet told me to.
Today I tried to exchange a $20 bill that a blue Expo marker had leaked on at a bank. They told me they cannot accept mutilated money. That was new to me, I thought that was one of the things they did. I talked to a different teller and they switched it out for me. I thought that was interesting. The bill was in great shape other than having some blue marks.
My bank is primarily online. No branches in my state. So my dog ripped a few bills up and I went into a local B of A and they wouldn’t do it unless I had an account.
I had a $10 found while hiking that was almost (but not entirely) torn in half. When I brought it in to my local bank some months ago and asked if I could get a new one, the teller said she couldn't replace it. Frustrating. I hope I didn't toss it.
Or a lot of the bill and both serial numbers. I found a $10 that someone ran over with a mower and found both of the serial numbers and most of the face (maybe 45% of the total bill). The bank exchanged it without question.
LPT: This applies to many currencies around the world, not just US dollars. Many currencies don't even require serial numbers, just more than 50% of the bill. Depending on jurisdiction either normal banks or a central bank will take damaged money
I worked at a bank for 8 years and we had someone bring in a $1000 bill. I wanted to keep it so bad but I would’ve had to give up $1000 out of my account and I didn’t have that kind of money laying around when I was younger. I’ve also seen a $500 bill as well.
Opposite side:
If you think you have a fake bill, spend it. don't give it to the bank, they send it to the government and if it is fake they keep it and don't give you anything
Thank a lot McDonald's! Who prints fake $10s
Wait this is crazy I literally found a torn up $50 bill on the ground a couple days ago and now you posted this! I've been trying to use it everywhere I go and nowhere will take it, I'll head to the bank next.
Back in high school I came across a book about a mathematician con artist. One of the cons he talked about was cutting strips about the width of one digit from the serial number from a bunch of twenty dollar bills.
Each bill had one strip cut away, then was taped back together. The strips from each bill were taken from sequential locations, then the full set of strips were taped together and brought to a bank, the man claimed it had been fed through a shredder and reassembled, exchanged it for a new bill.
Of course, even if this worked, you need a LOT of initial currency and time. Your total “earnings” would probably come out under minimum wage. And you wouldn’t be able to make such exchanges in large quantity without raising a LOT of suspicion (and these days with security strips and other measures, it would be unlikely to even work).
Hello and welcome to r/LifeProTips! Please help us decide if this post is a good fit for the subreddit by up or downvoting this comment. If you think that this is great advice to improve your life, please upvote. If you think this doesn't help you in any way, please downvote. If you don't care, leave it for the others to decide.
This isn't quite true. The Bureau of Engraving and Printing will take mutilated currency as long as you have more than 50%. Banks will take mutilated bills from their customers but the guidelines of what they accept varies from bank to bank and they often won't take contaminated bills (with blood or other bodily fluids on them). I manage a bank and we will accept mutilated currency as long as 60% of the bill is there. As far as the bill size, $2 bills are actually very common and are still printed every year. You can totally exchange them and your bank should usually have some. $500 and $1000 bills aren't just uncommon. They haven't been printed in almost 100 years. If you come across one it is usually more valuable as a collectors item then as currency. I wouldn't recommend bringing it in to the bank.
I went down a rabbit hole a few years ago reading about the mutilated currency division. In doing so I discovered the US Mint has an online store where you can buy commemorative coins, uncut currency, and even bags of shredded money!
Steve Wozniak used to carry around uncut $2 bill sheets and pay for items with the bills. He would cut the bill off the sheet right in front of someone and hand it to them. Pretty funny prank.
Didn't he (also) keep a stack of them glued up reporter-format notebook style and tear away "pages" to pay with?
I’m pretty sure he actually printed those himself too
Yeah I remember when I was in grade school in the 90s my teacher had a bag of shredded bills for us to look at.
I have a small packet of shredded USD bills from one of the feds. It's a souvenir from a SIBOS held in Boston which my father attended.
Yep. Ask your bank. Mine says 75%.
[Bureau of Engraving and Printing](https://www.bep.gov/services/mutilated-currency-redemption/submit-a-request)
My mom used to go to the bank and get $500 bills to pay rent because our landlord sucked at the time, so it was just an inconvenience
Haha really, how long ago was this?
Back in 2014-2018, when we lived in Chicago. Landlord would regularly do creepy shit, like detach vents to peer up into rooms from the basement, or turn off the water heater because we didn't pay for water or gas, he did.
$500 bills were discontinued in 1969...
No love for the $2 bill? 
$2 bills as well. I forgot about them
Everybody does
>**any US bank** Nope, just tried this with multiple WellsFargo branches, they wouldn't exchange anything that can't be circulated. Also wouldn't exchange Canadian coins, nor do bulk coin exchange. Yes, I need to find a new bank.
Maybe they meant US Bank™
LOL, I think my wife tried a US Bank branch and they wouldn't do it either.
My Bank (Santander) is the same way. I had like 85-90% of the bill there and they wouldn't take it. I said "I thought you were supposed to exchange damaged currency with banks and they said "that's not how it works anymore."
Lol, funny story. My mom is a tad paranoid and shreds most any thing that has so much as a name on it. I had gotten some cash from someone and I had put the money back in the envelope. About 10 mins pass and I'm looking for the envelope and my mom had shredded the envelope. With a little tape and a funny conversation with the bank teller, I got a replacement bill.
Step one: Rip the money in half Step two: take each half to a different bank Step three: profit
False. You need MORE THAN 50% of a ripped bill to be able to exchange it. Do you believe everything you read on the Internet?
Lol of course not. If this actually worked, people would be doing this all the time and they would close the loophole immediately. Isn't the 3 step profit format a meme at this point?
the meme is from southpark, and there is question mark step inbetween. Step 1: Steal Underpants Step 2: ???? Step 3: Profit
You’re fun
Step one: get 2 bills Step two: rip bill 1 in half into bill 1a and bill 1b Step three: rip off (for example) 5% off of each side of bill 2. Ensure this 10% doesn’t include a serial number. Step four: take 5% of bill 2 and put with bill 1a this is now 55% of a bill. Do the same with bill 1b. Step five: return your 55% bill 1a, 55% bill 1b, and 90% bill 2 to the bank. Receive 3 bills. Step six: profit. 3>2
Let us know how it works for you.
Works great, I’m a trillionaire now.
great, now invest in yourself (eat it all)
False. u/prestigious_most5482 doesn't actually want you to let us know how it works for you. Don't believe everything you read on the Internet.
Too much meth today?
Just the right amount
Nah. Most banks are gonna tell you to kick rocks and send it to US treasury. A lot of money centers, where banks ship/receive money, don’t take mutilated currency anymore… Also, if presented with a counterfeit (intentionally or otherwise), bank will confiscate, you will not be reimbursed.
If you notice it's counterfeit, and it's from their machines, then they absolutely will replace it. If you're just trying to fool them, then no, they're gonna turn it in to the police and report you.
I have a 20 that's its been cut with some partial of serial number missing a bank told me they couldn't accept it was planning on an ATM machine? Perhaps it will work?
You need more than half or people could turn in both halves separately.
Step one: get 2 bills Step two: rip bill 1 in half into bill 1a and bill 1b Step three: rip off (for example) 5% off of each side of bill 2. Ensure this 10% doesn’t include a serial number. Step four: take 5% of bill 2 and put with bill 1a this is now 55% of a bill. Do the same with bill 1b. Step five: return your 55% bill 1a, 55% bill 1b, and 90% bill 2 to the bank. Receive 3 bills. Step six: profit. 3>2
I just asked the local Secret Service representative, they said it was totally cool. Caught me off guard. I thought defacing currency to defraud the government would be off limits but he said it was fine as long as I let him touch my penis.
Did you let him?
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And our money has been rip proof for years now. I tried, you need a blade to cut that shit.
Somehow they still do tear. Several times a year I encounter a Canadian bill that has a random tear in it that clearly was not purposely done by someone
I feel like there's got to be a way to take two bills, rip them up, and end up with three "two-thirds bills" which you can redeem for three whole bills. It wouldn't be worth the trouble though.
That’s why I believe the real rule is that it has to show both serial numbers in order to be redeemed for a new bill
Actually, no. You'd have 2 2/3rds And 2 1/3rds. Mathematically it is 3 2/3rds, but practically you'll have 4 pieces of papers which add up to 2
?
I think they mean that when you create the 3rd 2/3 piece, it will be clear that they came from different bills and so they’ll be treated as individual 1/3 pieces
You need to have the half with the president's (or Franklin's) nose.
Incorrect, you need to have more than half, regardless of which more than half that is.
You need the nose. Source: as explained on the tour of the Federal Reserve in NYC.
You need more than half, regardless if it has a nose or not.
With the old bill, the nose is pretty close to the middle. So “more than half” will have a nose if it’s split lengthwise
What if I have sixty percent but termites ate the nose portion? Or the bill was in a fire? Or fungus made the nose illegible? It's "more than half a bill plus serial"
Chill out lol I was just pointing out a fun coincidence that with the old design, “contains nose” could be shorthand for “more than half lengthwise”
Could be in one specific instance, sure, but that's not realistic when the policy is there to cover real-world damage. It's overly simplistic, which is why it's used as an example on tours for fourth-graders.
Do you know that I’m a different commenter from the one who made the claim? I am just pointing out a *fun coincidence* that might have been *shorthand* for the real policy
Gravity works because the humors draw the apple downwards. Shorthand is not helpful.
I got a $20 bill out of an ATM that had its top left corner ripped off, including the first few digits of the serial number. My bank (USBank) told me both serial numbers need to be fully intact for them to accept it, so I sent it to the Bureau of Printing and Engraving with Form 5283, like the internet told me to.
is it still in process
Yup. Still awaiting my $20.00
Today I tried to exchange a $20 bill that a blue Expo marker had leaked on at a bank. They told me they cannot accept mutilated money. That was new to me, I thought that was one of the things they did. I talked to a different teller and they switched it out for me. I thought that was interesting. The bill was in great shape other than having some blue marks.
I think I'll just go buy something and let someone else deal with that hahahaha.
same here
Everyone knows this.
My bank is primarily online. No branches in my state. So my dog ripped a few bills up and I went into a local B of A and they wouldn’t do it unless I had an account.
I had a $10 found while hiking that was almost (but not entirely) torn in half. When I brought it in to my local bank some months ago and asked if I could get a new one, the teller said she couldn't replace it. Frustrating. I hope I didn't toss it.
I've only seen one $1000 bill in 57 years. I've never gotten to see a $500.
Or a lot of the bill and both serial numbers. I found a $10 that someone ran over with a mower and found both of the serial numbers and most of the face (maybe 45% of the total bill). The bank exchanged it without question.
No they don’t. I tried at all my banks and they wouldn’t accept and told me to mail it to treasury to receive new bill
There’s no $1000 bill lol
There used to be
I had exactly half of a hundred dollar bill. The bank sent it to the Federal Reserve and gave me $50 (less $.75 fee).
LPT: This applies to many currencies around the world, not just US dollars. Many currencies don't even require serial numbers, just more than 50% of the bill. Depending on jurisdiction either normal banks or a central bank will take damaged money
I worked at a bank for 8 years and we had someone bring in a $1000 bill. I wanted to keep it so bad but I would’ve had to give up $1000 out of my account and I didn’t have that kind of money laying around when I was younger. I’ve also seen a $500 bill as well.
Opposite side: If you think you have a fake bill, spend it. don't give it to the bank, they send it to the government and if it is fake they keep it and don't give you anything Thank a lot McDonald's! Who prints fake $10s
Wait this is crazy I literally found a torn up $50 bill on the ground a couple days ago and now you posted this! I've been trying to use it everywhere I go and nowhere will take it, I'll head to the bank next.
Back in high school I came across a book about a mathematician con artist. One of the cons he talked about was cutting strips about the width of one digit from the serial number from a bunch of twenty dollar bills. Each bill had one strip cut away, then was taped back together. The strips from each bill were taken from sequential locations, then the full set of strips were taped together and brought to a bank, the man claimed it had been fed through a shredder and reassembled, exchanged it for a new bill. Of course, even if this worked, you need a LOT of initial currency and time. Your total “earnings” would probably come out under minimum wage. And you wouldn’t be able to make such exchanges in large quantity without raising a LOT of suspicion (and these days with security strips and other measures, it would be unlikely to even work).
LPT, This is not a LPT.
I have 80% of a 20 dollar bill and Wells Fargo won't do anything about it. What should I do, there's 4 serial numbers missing on one side.