Can you tape a dollar bill

Typically, badly soiled, dirty, defaced, disintegrated and torn bills can be exchanged through your local bank if more than half of the original note remains. These notes would be exchanged through your bank and processed by the Federal Reserve Bank. The shop owner can simply pay it into the bank. The unfit money the Fed removes from banks is replaced with new bills, at no cost to the banks.

The Federal Reserve Bank will then store the damaged bills for destruction. When enough old bills have been collected, the Federal Reserve Banks will shred them. If you take a tour of a Federal Reserve Bank, you can sometimes take home your very own unique souvenir: a bag of shredded paper money!

And since passing counterfeit bills is illegal, you might have to answer to authorities. Under federal law, the use or attempted use of counterfeit currency is illegal if the person has the intent to defraud the recipient. Sundance, a golden retriever, found the cash in a car.

The man recovered the digested bills and took them, taped up, to a local bank, but was turned away. Money gets mangled for all sorts of reasons. Some people bury their cash in the ground and the paper currency can deteriorate in the earth, if not properly protected. Some recommend using PVC piping to keep dirt away from the cash if you bury money. Or some people hide their cash in the attic or a wall, forget about it and then see piles of cash destroyed by termites or furry critters.

The Bureau of Engraving and Printing's website says mutilated currency may be mailed or personally delivered to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing in Washington, D. How long it can take to get that money replaced varies based on the extent of the damage and the overall workload. Standard claims can take six to 36 months to process. But there are cases where less can be exchanged if the Treasury is satisfied that the missing pieces have been totally destroyed.

About 20, to 30, individuals send money each year to the bureau to get mutilated currency replaced. I waited a few months after the dog chowed down on the cash because I was not sure what to do. The BEP will examine the bills to determine original value, so it's important that heavily ripped up bills make it without any further damage. Mail the money by registered mail, requesting a return receipt. Box , Washington, D. Sophie Johnson is a freelance writer and editor of both print and film media.

A freelancer for more than 20 years, Johnson has had the opportunity to cover topics ranging from construction to music to celebrity interviews. Share It. This will help whomever is receiving the money confirm that both sides have the same serial number. You may get some extra attention for just going ahead and using your messed up cash, but at the end of the day money is money.

It would be foolish to waste it just because some cashier may find it to be a little extra trouble. Another option, for those who want to avoid any hassle, is to bring the bill to a bank to exchange it for an in-tact one.

For bills that are a little too far gone, you can make a Mutilated Currency Claim.