# What is the largest amount of money you have ever found? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 22, 2012, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-largest-amount-of-money-you-have-ever-found/635466 "2012-09-22T03:35:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2012, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-largest-amount-of-money-you-have-ever-found/635466/1 "2012-09-22T03:35:38Z")
Just watched an episode of The Andy Griffith Show in which Opie found $50. Andy mentioned that he had never found that much, and Barney related how he had once found one dollar (and spent it all on a girl). This made me recall how I once found a $20 bill as a kid; made me feel like a lottery winner. What’s the most you’ve ever found? mmm ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2012, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-largest-amount-of-money-you-have-ever-found/635466/2 "2012-09-22T03:37:57Z")
Probably a $10 bill at a train station. The trip was profitable. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2012, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-largest-amount-of-money-you-have-ever-found/635466/3 "2012-09-22T03:40:17Z")
Well, I didn’t find it. I was one of the managers on duty and a lost women’s wallet was found. It had about $1200.00 in it. I was about to call the police because there was ID. Several IDs. All with the same face but very different names. Like six different identities. But then the woman walked up and an employee told her we had found her wallet and I gave it back to her. Another time I found about $80 in cash, just laying on the sidewalk in a bundle. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2012, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-largest-amount-of-money-you-have-ever-found/635466/4 "2012-09-22T03:47:53Z")
$320 in cash on a sidewalk outside a tourist trap in Nashville. I took it in the store and left it with the person at the counter, giving her my name and address if it went unclaimed. Much to my surprise I received an envelope three weeks later with all the cash in it. No one claimed it, and the store owner/manager was honest enough to send it to me. StG ---
**Author:** ![\_Olive](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/_/4af34b/32.png) [@\_Olive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/_Olive)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2012, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-largest-amount-of-money-you-have-ever-found/635466/5 "2012-09-22T03:57:07Z")
I found 1,200 in the first house I bought. ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2012, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-largest-amount-of-money-you-have-ever-found/635466/6 "2012-09-22T03:59:50Z")
I once found a pile of thousands of dollars out in the desert. Unfortunately, it was counterfeit. Other than that, the most I have found is maybe $20. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2012, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-largest-amount-of-money-you-have-ever-found/635466/7 "2012-09-22T04:05:06Z")
I once found a cashier’s check for $8530.00 on the subway. It was made out to a business which I looked up and turned out to be a local accounting firm. I assume one of their hotshot accountants dropped it on the train. I mailed it back to them and never got so much as a thank-you. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2012, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-largest-amount-of-money-you-have-ever-found/635466/8 "2012-09-22T04:30:00Z")
$8,000 in cash, in my uncle’s closet, as I was cleaning it out after he died. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2012, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-largest-amount-of-money-you-have-ever-found/635466/9 "2012-09-22T04:35:56Z")
$20 bill. ---
**Author:** ![Vicullum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/6de8d8/32.png) [@Vicullum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vicullum)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2012, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-largest-amount-of-money-you-have-ever-found/635466/10 "2012-09-22T04:39:06Z")
Back in my early teens I was clearing the driveway with a snowblower one day and was surprised to see a $20 bill come flying out with the snow. When I later announced my discovery to my siblings, they immediately wanted a cut of it and I had to fight them off. Lesson learned. Next time you find something good, _tell no one_. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2012, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-largest-amount-of-money-you-have-ever-found/635466/11 "2012-09-22T04:46:21Z")
I’ve found maybe two 20s on sidewalks. ---
**Author:** ![destineal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f9b8f/32.png) [@destineal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/destineal)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2012, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-largest-amount-of-money-you-have-ever-found/635466/12 "2012-09-22T05:08:28Z")
When I was a teenager I was at the store next to the beach at Tybee Island, GA. As I stepped up to the counter I felt my foot kick a wad of paper out from under the counter but didn’t even look down to see what it was-I just assumed it was trash. The guy behind me said “Hey Buddy, you dropped this” and held out a wad of cash. I thanked him sincerely and stuffed it in my pocket. It turned out to be $150. ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2012, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-largest-amount-of-money-you-have-ever-found/635466/13 "2012-09-22T05:08:56Z")
I found a well folded and trodden $20 bill while walking around a mall with some friends one Christmas eve. We went to a bar and drank it up. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2012, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-largest-amount-of-money-you-have-ever-found/635466/14 "2012-09-22T05:11:41Z")
Fifty dollar bill in an empty public parking lot. No way to tell who it belonged to. Boy, was I glad to avoid feeling guilty as hell for keeping it. ---
**Author:** ![GameHat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ed655f/32.png) [@GameHat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GameHat)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2012, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-largest-amount-of-money-you-have-ever-found/635466/15 "2012-09-22T05:12:20Z")
Found? A twenty is the best I’ve ever done. Lost? I’m still angry (at myself) about this one - I stopped at the local Walgreens and took $100 out of cash from the ATM. Bought just under $40 worth of stuff. On the way to my car, I was fiddling in my pockets, looking for my phone or something. Now, I’m paranoid about always having my money-clip, phone, keys and iPod. I check for them constantly, always with a self-pat-down. I got to my car, did the regular pat-down, and notice: The money clip feels light. I pull it out and I’m missing $60. I’m cursing, I look around my car for a minute or two, finally give up, and pull out. As I’m doing so, I notice an old guy at the entrance of Walgreen’s start, look around cautiously, then bend down to pick something up and stuff it in his pocket. I’m absolutely sure he found my cash (I had been messing with my pockets as I exited the store). At the same time, I realize I’ve got no way to confront him. “Hey, guy, yeah, you just found some cash. It’s mine.” :rolleyes: Yeah, that’d work. More likely he’d just call the police, and I have no proof. So damn it all. 60 dropped, old guy found it, and I can do f\*&-all to get it back. I hope the old guy at least had a good time with it. At least somebody profited from my stupidity. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2012, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-largest-amount-of-money-you-have-ever-found/635466/16 "2012-09-22T05:17:19Z")
2 $1 bills. I was walking on a semi-busy downtown sidewalk on a moderately windy day. The wind died momentarily, depositing the bills just a step away. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2012, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-largest-amount-of-money-you-have-ever-found/635466/17 "2012-09-22T05:54:34Z")
$63 in a McDonald’s parking lot. I found the three $1 bills first, then continued looking on the ground and found three 20s nearby. No one was nearby, so I pocketed it. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2012, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-largest-amount-of-money-you-have-ever-found/635466/18 "2012-09-22T06:01:11Z")
A tenner in a Taco Bell a long time ago. Nicest thing someone did for me was I sold an engagement ring for a friend after her divorce. I worked near the diamond district so figured I could get the most for her there. The diamond broker I sold it to gave me the cash for her and then pulled out an extra $100 bill and said it was for me. Nice guy. ---
**Author:** ![Lancia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lancia/32/17174_2.png) [@Lancia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lancia)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2012, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-largest-amount-of-money-you-have-ever-found/635466/19 "2012-09-22T06:09:22Z")
Growing up, I spent most summers swimming at a private beach on the Umpqua river near my house. This was approx. 1/4 mile downstream from a public park, one that was usually packed with swimmers during the summer. Three times over the years while swimming I found money – real paper dollars – floating down the river. Just cruising along in the current, a few inches below the surface. I wish I would have kept them instead of spending them on candy cigarettes. So, never more than $1, but the circumstances were certainly unusual. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2012, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-largest-amount-of-money-you-have-ever-found/635466/20 "2012-09-22T06:34:53Z")
I once found a woman’s handbag in a phone booth, with about £30 in it. I handed it in at the police station. The owner wrote me a nice thank you letter, with a reward of about £3 (IIRC). The most I found and kept was a £5 note, lying in the street. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-largest-amount-of-money-you-have-ever-found/635466.md?page=2)