See, Dweezil has seen a lot of ads for the movie National Treasure. We haven’t yet seen it, but will probably take him soon.
In the meantime, this is all he can talk about.
He asked Santa for a hundred dollar bill (I gather one of the “clues” in the movie is supposedly hidden on the back of a hundred-dollar bill).
Uh, Santa doesn’t carry that kind of cash.
So we were thinking of getting a hundred dollar bill from the bank, and photocopying it, and putting the photocopy in Dweezil’s stocking. Thereby letting him have the fun of deciphering the clues, at a fraction of the cost.
But I’m wondering whether we’ll be dragged out of Kinko’s by a horde of angry Secret Service guys for daring to copy money. I mean, it’d be a black-and-white copy, no danger of being mistaken for the real thing, but those Secret Service guys aren’t known for their sense of humor.
My understanding is that as long as you are not reproducing dollar bills in hole, that is copying front and then repeating on back, and cutting it out and presenting it as real currenty - you’re in the clear.
But this is the opinion of a 21 year old college student so I’m far from knowledgeable.
Duplication of currency is legal IF the physical size of the copy is smaller than 75% or more than 125% of the original. Most copiers have an enlargement feature. As long as you follow the above rule, you’ll be well within the law.
I’m glad I googled it, I didn’t even know there were size restrictions. The FAQ is from a group of people who collect currency, but it is not official in any way.
Looks like there are restrictions on making the reproductions lifesize and in colour. There seems to be quite a lot of snippiness about copyrights too.
A technological advance in the new color copiers produces a tiny yellow serial number evenly distributed across your copy that can be used to trace where the creating machine was purchased. It is invisible under normal light.
[slight hijack]
Just take him to the movie before Christmas. Then he’ll know how the movie turns out and won’t need the clue from a $100 bill.
Or how about giving him a $100 for the day and a magnifying glass, and let him take notes of the ‘evidence’. He just wants to look for clues, not spend the money, right?
Not to the best of my knowledge. When I worked at an arcade years ago someone tried to put a B&W fiver through the token machine. The SS was out there right away. Though maybe, because you’re not trying to use the photocopies as money you’ll be ok.
My daughter has had play money that looked exactly like real money looks, printed front and back, only it was much bigger. It would be perfect for a kid who wants to investigate a 100 dollar bill.
There are some companies I found on google that had them.
Is the bill your son wants the current 100 dollar bill, or the classic? I couldn’t find any of the classics in play money form.
IIRC my wife found this play money either at the dollar store, or in the “cheap crappy toys” section of the grocery store or drug store. Keep your eyes open.
I’ll provide a link to a company sell the money (with which I have NO affiliation) so you can see what I’m talking about, or in case you can’t find any for sale locally.
Not really an answer, but… how long do you think he’ll spend looking for clues, before he gets bored? If it’s not too long, then you can just withdraw the $100 from the bank, let him play for a while, and then put it back. Of course, if you don’t know for sure how long he’ll want to play, this could be a little bit risky. Still cheaper than an iPod, though.
