Thanks for the topic, Mean Mr. Mustard, finding money is a subject I often ask people about IRL. Most people tell me they’ve found either nothing, a few coins, or just a lone $5 or $10 note.
I’m still yet to find a large amount, but over the years I’ve picked up the following:
$50 on a shop floor. My mom stole it off me when I showed it to her. I was 9, and $50 was a large amount in those days.
$20 in a school playground. I handed that in to a teacher.
$20 x 2 in a park, chewed up by a lawnmower. I stuck them back together and exchanged them at a bank.
$50 by the side of the road. I was broke, so I used it to buy food.
$50 on the floor of a taxi. I didn’t need it, so gave it to the driver.
$50 in the gutter. Again, I was broke, so…yay!
$50 on another shop floor. Again, broke. Again, Yay! Food!
$5 under a tree. I left it there as I didn’t need it.
$10 under a different tree. I picked it up and gave it to a homeless person down the street.
$5 on the floor at work. Found the owner.
$20 on the floor at work. Again, found the owner.
$5 in a carpark. Broke again, so I took that one.
$20 in the middle of a main road. I didn’t really need it, so left it there.
That’s just the notes. Coins are everywhere around here. I have a decent job these days, so I try to repay a bit back into the free range money pool. I’ll often just leave stacks of change in public places. Hopefully people leave it for those that actually need it.