finding a large sum of money on the ground

what should one do in this situation, assuming that looking around and holding up the money and asking, "hey did anyone just drop this?" isn't a good option, and you're unlikely to figure out who actually did lose it? take it to the police?

Keep it! Totally classic.

that does seem to be the only real choice

how much $?

No brainer. Look casual, stuff it into your jacket, walk away purposefully.

Whenever I find money, I always wonder if there is a psychology student hiding in the bushes, taking notes.

somewhere around $500

i always thought there was some kind of official method of doing this, like you turn it in to the cops and they're supposed to hang onto it for 60 days or something? and if nobody claims it then it's yours.

unless there's coke or whatever on the bills and then they arrest you right off.

this is probably a total urban legend though isn't it.

Cops will obviously keep it if you turn it in duh

i always thought there was some kind of official method of doing this, like you turn it in to the cops and they're supposed to hang onto it for 60 days or something? and if nobody claims it then it's yours. the closest bar to the station is full of drunk cops laughing at you.

xpost yep

i found it on a sidewalk at night. it wasn't crowded, and in fact was almost deserted, but the street is normally busy. i ate at a restaurant right there and kept going outside to see if anyone was running around freaking out about lost cash.

i just filed my taxes which was like finding $1300 on the ground

it happened to me and some friends when were were teens. we were on our way to have a good time in the closest big city too, for the first time, so that money would have been really easy to spend. we wrestled about what to do: it was a wallet with name and all that and, like 1000$ cash ... we ended up giving it at a police station and the police at the reception was sort of rude about it, couldn't care less. anyway i learned later that the money was returned to the man, a slightly mentally handicapped man in his 60s but some local con man stole it all from him in like 20 transactions, where he went over the guy's apartment to unplug the cable of his tv , get back to his own place to wait for a phone call of the poor mugu asking him to fix his tv, goes back to the guy's appartment and makes some brouhaha behind the tv to make it looks like he's working then plugs back the wire and voilà the tv is repaired you get all that for the bargain price of 50$

xpost wow was it in a paper bag? or like a scrooge mcduck canvas bag?

Even if it were a unique item like a nice watch or pendant I might trust the cops but with cash NO WAY

this money was just lying there on the ground, 2 $100 dollar bills and the rest in $20s

I found £100 a couple of years back and handed it in to the police, then the owner came and claimed it the next day so everything turned out well because that's how it works ... or so I thought 'til I read this thread, thanks guys

i feel like i read a sappy ass heartwarming story in the newspaper about some kid who found like 25k in a bag and turned it in. lo and behold whatever drug dealer or terrorist or white slaver dropped it did not call to inquire and so on the appointed day & time the cops handed the kid his $$ with cameras at the ready.

maybe the amount has to be over a certain amount and your age has to be below a certain amount tho, legally.

xps good story, sebastien

one more time, amount

I have two relatives who haven't spoken to one another in 25 years because one found a hundred-dollar bill in his driveway and the other one says that it probably fell out of his car when he opened the door during a visit.

There's a little more background to it all, but the whole silent treatment is pretty much based on that incident.

I once found a wallet in a supermarket parking lot and it had about $1000 in various loose bills. It looked like the guy it belonged to had somehow accumulated this cash in small bills over a long time and just never bothered to do anything with it. I ended up calling him and arranging for him to get it at the same parking lot, but I still wonder how the heck you carelessly end up carrying around that much money.

go partying in AC and then get pissed off while you're trying to renovate your massage parlour and then punch out the korean guy who staked you on it and then kill phil leotardo's brother and then go hang out in a farmhouse and give a hooker a massage and then wait for your cousin to come kill you.

was there a hipster in a trucker hat or a white couch nearby

$500? Why that's CHICKEN FEED.

$500? Why that's CHICKEN FEED in this economic climate.

Buy drinks for all your computer friends.

the story isn't very exciting, harry : /

http://www.mtv.com/news/photos/f/fat_joe_make_rain_060912/a.jpg

I walked up to a cash machine once to get some money out (as you do) and there was £50 sticking out of it with no one around. I took it, stuck it in my pocket and went back to work with some chocolates for my team. I spent the rest on a night out.

Bargain!

I lost £20 the other night, that wasn’t a bargain. I’m sure it made someone’s evening though.

yah, you really should have just left it to be retracted by the machine. as an absentminded someone who has forgotten to remove cash from the machine at least twice, i think you're a bit of a cock.

lol

i mean, in general you're probably not, but that's pretty much straight up stealing fifty quid.

look i'm absentminded as hell but there has to be some kind of stupid tax on leaving your cash in the cash machine

yalls machines don't just spit the bills into like a little tray?

meh, i've been called worse.

not sure all machines take back the cash anyway

this one should have, but it didn't.
not sure how long it had been there either.

in which case someone else would only have taken it and i withdraw my "cock" and hope you had a pleasant evening.

i'm generally a "keep the money" guy, really.

i withdraw my "cock"

username, somebody, come on

surely "i withdraw my "cock" and hope you had a pleasant evening." is even better username fodder.

in which case someone else would only have taken it and i withdraw my "cock" and hope you had a pleasant evening.

i'm generally a "keep the money" guy, really.

― more private than a bar stool (Upt0eleven), Thursday, 19 February 2009 23:49 (7 minutes ago) Bookmark

Why thank you, i had a pleasant enough evening.

Whenever I find money, I always wonder if there is a psychology student hiding in the bushes, taking notes

... as a psychology student (and all-round suspicious bastard) I'm convinced there's something fishy about this. this money was just lying there on the ground, 2 $100 dollar bills and the rest in $20s ... how the fuck would that happen so neatly?

Why thank you, i had a pleasant enough evening

Just think of the difference a non-withdrawn "cock" could have made.

how the fuck would that happen so neatly?

Almost certainly a dropped cash float.

the other day i was crowing about how i found a free bonus bag of chips in the tray of the snack machine when the soda i was trying to buy got caught in the drink machine.

finding a large sum of money on the ground: C

Two days ago I was next in the queue after a guy who left £50 in the cashpoint. He walked off and I took the money out but in a 'dude, wake up, you forgot!' kind of way.

you could put a sign up nearby saying you found something valuable, make 'em name the exact amount + location. nobody would actually do this, just saying...

does the 5 second rule apply here?

Problem with the ATM situation is that afterwards I'd be paranoid cos of the cameras (and time code for transaction etc)...if the person came back and reported it to the bank. Stealing 50 not worth the anxiety.

i've not been to prison yet and it was about 4 years ago, when £50 was a lot of money.

erm not stealing btw, f i n d i n g...

Two days ago I was next in the queue after a guy who left £50 in the cashpoint. He walked off and I took the money out but in a 'dude, wake up, you forgot!' kind of way.

― Choom Gang Gang Dance (suzy), Friday, February 20, 2009 12:43 AM (18 hours ago) Bookmark

that's what i would do and this is why: recently i was the dozy fucker who left £20 in the machine and some generous guy literally RAN after me halfway up the street to give me the money

I tried to do that once, at a cash machine, and the woman whose money it was got all alarmed -- "leave me alone, that's not my money," like she thought it was part of some sort of trap or scam on my part -- so then I went and had a pretty nice dinner.

i've not been to prison yet and it was about 4 years ago, when £50 was a lot of money.

erm not stealing btw, f i n d i n g...

― not_goodwin, Friday, February 20, 2009 1:29 PM (20 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

http://www.bairey.com/journal/katrina1.jpg

I found 7$ once at the movie theaters as I was leaving and I looked up to see the most possible candidate and asked them if they dropped money and they said no. So I kept it. I mean, you could have asked someone about losing money if they were nearby, and then asked about how much... If and only if they said $500 and were really upset and looked honest should you give it to them.

Otherwise, of course you should keep it. And I wish I was you right now.

i knew that whenever captain lorax weighed in on this thread his story would be about finding less than ten bucks

I tried to do that once, at a cash machine, and the woman whose money it was got all alarmed -- "leave me alone, that's not my money," like she thought it was part of some sort of trap or scam on my part -- so then I went and had a pretty nice dinner.

― nabisco, Friday, February 20, 2009 1:50 PM (5 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

haha this is the best possible scenario, keep the money with no associated guilt

you cant trust cops. if the money had a wallet and license, than obviously you try to get it back, but if you find it on its own - keep it.

Yeah, I admit, I ate that dinner with the smug turned up to the max, imagining the moment when she couldn't find her cash and realized the kid she was all scared/bitchy toward was actually helping

"You can't trust cops." - Captain Lorax

he's still bitter he was busted down to captain

you're a loose cannon, lorax!

and what, i wasn't wearing a yellow t-shirt at the time.
Also, i'm white so that means i found it.

Returning things to their owner is U&K, but cash is problematic; it could belong to anyone and almost everyone would try to claim it. The fact that it was sitting on the ground and you have no clue who might have left it there makes it even more difficult.

Taking the cash to the police is an idea, but as others have pointed out, the police are no more likely to be trustworthy in the presence of unclaimed cash than other people.

Just in case something turns up that puts you onto the owner, I would put it aside in a safe place and wait for 30 days. If at the end of that time you have no more idea of who owns it than at present, I would keep it, without a bad conscience.

Hahaha I like how you don't mention actually doing anything in those 30 days that might lead to any clue whose money it was

What exactly would you suggest he do? Place an announcement on Craigslist saying, "If you lost a sum of money in a bag in ther vicinity of XXX, get in touch with me at this phone # and I will return it"?

I'd like to know what sounds reasonable, other than keeping one's eyes and ears open, and maintaining a willingness to return the money if a clue turns up?

Kind of a long shot, but if someone comes forward to claim it saying that they just got the money from the bank, then the bank might back up their story with serial numbers.

I'm all for returning the money to its rightful owner, but the burden of proof is most definitely on the owner at this point.

I think it might work to leave a cryptic note at where you found it, saying something like (oh, if your wondering where it is, email me here) and then make sure whoever responds knows exactly (quantity wise etc.) then email me here. . .

tough part is i found it 100 miles from where i live

I found £100 a couple of years back and handed it in to the police, then the owner came and claimed it the next day so everything turned out well because that's how it works ... or so I thought 'til I read this thread, thanks guys

― Ismael Klata, Thursday, February 19, 2009 5:16 PM (Yesterday)

how exactly does one "claim" ownership of money, provided it's not inside a wallet with identification?

Shit, I might try that: wandering into random police stations and asking if anyone handed in £100. Gotta hit paydirt eventually, no?

My father went to the nearest police officer and handed the wallet. Later we discovered he was into stealing shit. So we're pretty sure the dude also collected the money for himself. hahahah

Someone lost a lot of money. That's sad. But you can't do anything about it. This has happened to me a few times, and I usually give a some or all of it to charity or drop it in the church collection box as a sort of karmic act.

nowadays i'd try to return it if i could -- in the past when i was dead broke, though, i'd have been tempted to just take it.