# Germany Finds 55bn Euros Down Back of Sofa

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/germany-finds-55bn-euros-down-back-of-sofa/601181>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [October 29, 2011, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/germany-finds-55bn-euros-down-back-of-sofa/601181 "2011-10-29T13:53:14Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Alka\_Seltzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@Alka\_Seltzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alka_Seltzer)\
**Post date:** [October 29, 2011, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/germany-finds-55bn-euros-down-back-of-sofa/601181/1 "2011-10-29T13:53:14Z")

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I’m absolutely gobsmacked. How on earth can someone make a [55 billion euro](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-15503097)accounting error?

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**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\
**Post date:** [October 29, 2011, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/germany-finds-55bn-euros-down-back-of-sofa/601181/2 "2011-10-29T16:09:19Z")

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Hum, what would have happened if the error had been in the other direction, and hadn’t been discovered? I.e. if we believed ourselves to be €55bn richer than we actually are? Would the economy have gone on, believing the reported value to be the actual one, or would there have been any sort of trouble down the line?

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**Author:** ![JustinC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justinc/32/8083_2.png) [@JustinC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JustinC)\
**Post date:** [October 29, 2011, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/germany-finds-55bn-euros-down-back-of-sofa/601181/3 "2011-10-29T18:03:41Z")

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Wow, I get excited finding a fiver in my pocket.

Apparently this wasn’t actual cash, just lots of ones and zeros; money out of thin air.

Now where have I heard of this before?

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**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\
**Post date:** [October 30, 2011, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/germany-finds-55bn-euros-down-back-of-sofa/601181/4 "2011-10-30T00:48:08Z")

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> [@Alka\_Seltzer](#):
>
> I’m absolutely gobsmacked. How on earth can someone make a [55 billion euro](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-15503097)accounting error?

Ah, actually…that’s _mine_.

I had it in my back pocket when I sat down on the couch, and I was \*going \*to spring for pizzas, & if you’ll give it back now, I’ll be ordering the pizzas.

With the 55bn Euros.

From the sofa.

That actually belong to me.

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**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\
**Post date:** [October 30, 2011, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/germany-finds-55bn-euros-down-back-of-sofa/601181/5 "2011-10-30T02:44:06Z")

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> [@JustinC](#):
>
> Apparently this wasn’t actual cash, just lots of ones and zeros; money out of thin air.

The vast majority of the money in the economy is just ones and zeroes. Printing bills and minting coins is expensive; sometimes, more expensive than the bills and coins are actually worth. Also, currency doesn’t accumulate interest. It either sits somewhere in a drawer or under a mattress, not doing jack for the economy, or it gets used, worn out, and thrown away when a bank decides it’s too damaged to insert back into the economy.