Name That Scam #2: "Sheets of Money"?

[xizor]

@According to Pliny

Like all stamp and coin collecting, they suck you into the hobby by presenting loss leaders.
One sheet of bills at a discount looks good, but then they tell you that older ones are collectable for higher prices but will rise in value. Only if the majority of holders cut theirs up to spend, creating a collectors’ scarcity. Like art collection, it’s partly true - some art collectors score big - but mostly false - most art collections lose value.

But what is to prevent somebody from buying a ton of sheets below value and cutting them up - Screw the hobby, this is Free Money!

[DrDeth]

@xizor

But what is to prevent somebody from buying a ton of sheets below value and cutting them up - Screw the hobby, this is Free Money!

I am pretty sure, that like with all loss leaders, there is a limited amount available at the loss price, per person. And with S&H, there may not be a net gain, which is where I am thinking the profit will lie.

[Doug_Bowe]

@DrDeth

I am pretty sure, that like with all loss leaders, there is a limited amount available at the loss price, per person. And with S&H, there may not be a net gain, which is where I am thinking the profit will lie.

Also look for the words “on consignment.” If you see something like that you may be buying into a long-term affair. The loss leader is just the beginning.

[SmackFu]

@bcullman

So here is a related question:
Which leads me to my question - if you bought one of those uncut sheets of bills, and then cut the bills out with say, a pinking shear, are the bills still valid currency?

Woz tells a story about this. He buys the sheets then has them bound book style, three notes to a page, with perforations in between. Then when he wants to pay, he pulls out his “checkbook”. Crazy.

[mobo85]

Wozniak got interrogated by the Secret Service during a visit to Las Vegas because they thought he was counterfeiting $2 bills. It took a while for him to explain he bought them from the government and it was all legit.

[samclem]

@Musicat

So there’s a public list somewhere of serial numbers of currency originally sold as uncut sheets?

Yes. I’m not at work, but they’re very distinctive.