# What's the largest check (cheque) you've ever cashed or deposited? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 13, 2003, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-check-cheque-youve-ever-cashed-or-deposited/194851 "2003-08-13T06:26:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2003, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-check-cheque-youve-ever-cashed-or-deposited/194851/21 "2003-08-14T02:07:18Z")
> [@](#): > > Deposited? $9,999 (10k dollar deposits are tracked). Actually, check deposit are _not_ tracked. They don’t need to. It’s a paper trail. If they need to find it, the bank copied it. They only track $10,000 **cash** transactions. This was initiated during Nixon’s reign in about 1968, to catch drug dealers. It’s still the law today. But only for cash transactions. I have done a gold coin deal for $125,000. Had a certified check for the amount. I made $1000. on the transaction. ---
**Author:** ![Q.N.Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/3da27b/32.png) [@Q.N.Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.N.Jones)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2003, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-check-cheque-youve-ever-cashed-or-deposited/194851/22 "2003-08-14T03:28:12Z")
Smurfing (deliberately lowering amounts of cash transactions to below $10K–as in amounts of $9,999–to avoid detection) is illegal. The biggest check ever given to me was one for $10k (my aunt did her annual gifting and gave me money for law school tuition). The biggest check I’ve ever seen was one for $1 million dollars. My aunt’s son had it stuck to his refrigerator with a magnet, and it was rumpled up like it had been in his pocket. It was from his father’s estate. The carelessness with which this check was treated really speaks volumes about my cousin’s attitude about money. (He’s 33, marginally employed, and lives off his mother and his now-deceased father’s estate.) ---
**Author:** ![Q.N.Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/3da27b/32.png) [@Q.N.Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.N.Jones)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2003, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-check-cheque-youve-ever-cashed-or-deposited/194851/23 "2003-08-14T03:28:35Z")
Smurfing (deliberately lowering amounts of cash transactions to below $10K–as in amounts of $9,999–to avoid detection) is illegal. The biggest check ever given to me was one for $10k (my aunt did her annual gifting and gave me money for law school tuition). The biggest check I’ve ever seen was one for $1 million dollars. My aunt’s son had it stuck to his refrigerator with a magnet, and it was rumpled up like it had been in his pocket. It was from his father’s estate. ---
**Author:** ![Q.N.Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/3da27b/32.png) [@Q.N.Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.N.Jones)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2003, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-check-cheque-youve-ever-cashed-or-deposited/194851/24 "2003-08-14T03:33:12Z")
AUGH! I tried to edit my comments re: my cousin and caught the post too late. Oh well, so I’m judgmental. ---
**Author:** ![Incubus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c68b51/32.png) [@Incubus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Incubus)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2003, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-check-cheque-youve-ever-cashed-or-deposited/194851/25 "2003-08-14T03:49:35Z")
$960, my biweekly paycheck when I was working as summer help for a company getting ISO9002 certified. Of course, I was technically an independent contractor, so that was before taxes. All told I made roughly $6,000 that summer. What did I do with the money? Pissed it away, on strippers and sweet, sweet hooch. Just kidding. Actually I was unemployed for 8 months and used the money for tuition/books and other personal necessities ---
**Author:** ![Angel\_Heart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5e9695/32.png) [@Angel\_Heart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angel_Heart)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2003, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-check-cheque-youve-ever-cashed-or-deposited/194851/26 "2003-08-14T04:02:28Z")
$715, for six weeks’ work as an intern in the Psych Department at Howard U. (I made more money as a babysitter/tutor and as a Parks and Rec employee, but got paid more often). ---
**Author:** ![Angel\_Heart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5e9695/32.png) [@Angel\_Heart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angel_Heart)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2003, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-check-cheque-youve-ever-cashed-or-deposited/194851/27 "2003-08-14T04:02:28Z")
$715, for six weeks’ work as an intern in the Psych Department at Howard U. (I made more money as a babysitter/tutor and as a Parks and Rec employee, but got paid more often). ---
**Author:** ![Stage\_Manager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stage_manager/32/7267_2.png) [@Stage\_Manager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stage_Manager)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2003, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-check-cheque-youve-ever-cashed-or-deposited/194851/28 "2003-08-14T05:14:43Z")
About $1,600. From a settlement from my borther, who owed it to me, then went bankrupt, then got an auto accident settlement. (that was in 1984). I once saw a check for $1 million. It was written by a guy who owned a chain of small convneience stores. My mom was dating him at the time. ---
**Author:** ![LifeWillFall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/46a35a/32.png) [@LifeWillFall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LifeWillFall)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2003, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-check-cheque-youve-ever-cashed-or-deposited/194851/29 "2003-08-14T05:39:18Z")
what perfect timing, just today (seriously) I not only held 33 million worth of checks I deposited them. ok, So I work for this law firm and we sue insurance companies for bad faith. We just recieved a settlement check, well 33 checks because they don’t write individual checks for more than 1 million. there are only 7 people working at this firm so we each held a couple and took pictures, then it was off to the bank for me. The teller was more than friendly. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2003, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-check-cheque-youve-ever-cashed-or-deposited/194851/30 "2003-08-14T06:39:46Z")
I’ve deposited about $280k in my own account in a single check. This was a transient accrual, and it all went _poof_ once the transaction was made. It’s not all that uncommon when refinancing or doing other transactions involving real estate. ---
**Author:** ![Dignan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f07891/32.png) [@Dignan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dignan)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2003, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-check-cheque-youve-ever-cashed-or-deposited/194851/31 "2003-08-14T07:39:25Z")
After winning that golf tournament I got a check so big I had to put it in the trunk to get it to the bank. [sub]Just kidding, I don’t play golf. ---
**Author:** ![kferr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/71e660/32.png) [@kferr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kferr)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2003, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-check-cheque-youve-ever-cashed-or-deposited/194851/32 "2003-08-14T11:26:49Z")
When I was sorting out my US-UK tax situation, I deposited 4 US tax refund checks totalling about $50,000 and then had to write a cheque for around £40,000 to pay off the UK tax. I did volunteer work as a courier at an airshow, and once deposited £10,000 in cash. We had a new finance manager that year, she had known me for about 5 minutes, and handed me the bag of cash and sent me off to the bank. I also once carried £500 in 1 pound coins, that’s HEAVY! ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2003, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-check-cheque-youve-ever-cashed-or-deposited/194851/33 "2003-08-14T12:29:43Z")
Deposited: $67,000+ Wrote: $10,000 when I bought my house. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2003, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-check-cheque-youve-ever-cashed-or-deposited/194851/34 "2003-08-14T14:40:31Z")
My biggest was $45,000, from selling stock ---
**Author:** ![Isabelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b5a626/32.png) [@Isabelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isabelle)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2003, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-check-cheque-youve-ever-cashed-or-deposited/194851/35 "2003-08-14T18:45:27Z")
52,000.00 It came and went! ---
**Author:** ![sirtonyh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ad7895/32.png) [@sirtonyh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sirtonyh)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2003, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-check-cheque-youve-ever-cashed-or-deposited/194851/36 "2003-08-14T18:53:44Z")
Biggest check received and deposited was about $1.8M for selling stock. Wandering around San Jose with that for an hour was a little bit nervewracking. Biggest check written. Probably about $30,000 for a car. However I did wire $600,000 from a bank account to a brokerage and wrote the destination account number incorrectly. There isn’t a driver on earth who could have kept up with me on the way to the bank when I realised. ---
**Author:** ![if6was9](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e47c2d/32.png) [@if6was9](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/if6was9)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-check-cheque-youve-ever-cashed-or-deposited/194851/37 "2003-08-15T00:26:18Z")
Pretty pathetic compared to some of these responses… I got $3000 and change when I wrecked my (13-year-old) BMW. ---
**Author:** ![DaddyTimesTwo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f07891/32.png) [@DaddyTimesTwo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaddyTimesTwo)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-check-cheque-youve-ever-cashed-or-deposited/194851/38 "2003-08-15T01:55:58Z")
When we bought our house i wrote a check for about $7000. AS a Y2K bonus I received as a direct deposit about $10000. This ws shortly after my son was born prematurely and after we bought said house. It didn’t last long. ---
**Author:** ![KGS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90ced4/32.png) [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-check-cheque-youve-ever-cashed-or-deposited/194851/39 "2003-08-15T07:56:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by TheNerd \* > **I used to work for a large real-estate company, and took the checks to the bank to be deposited. I saw several $500k+ checks.** I worked for a courier service that delivered letters & packages (including checks) for real estate companies, brokerage firms, and other finance companies. Never thought much about it, until one day I got a page to open up one check, and call dispatch with the $$$ amount. It was something around $34,000,000 (or maybe $3,400,000, can’t remember.) I had to seriously consider the rammifications of signing it over to myself, cashing it, and spending the rest of my life in the Bahamas. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-check-cheque-youve-ever-cashed-or-deposited/194851/40 "2003-08-15T13:08:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by samclem \* > \*\*Actually, check deposit are _not_ tracked. They don’t need to. It’s a paper trail. If they need to find it, the bank copied it. > > They only track $10,000 **cash** transactions. This was initiated during Nixon’s reign in about 1968, to catch drug dealers. It’s still the law today. But only for cash transactions. > > I have done a gold coin deal for $125,000. Had a certified check for the amount. I made $1000. on the transaction. \*\* 😃 Watch me weasel out of this one: Actually, I don’t recall saying the government or banking industry tracked them, but mortgage companies ‘track’ them in the sense that they want explanations in writing of all deposits in excess of 10k. They track them to make sure your down payment didn’t suddenly appear out of nowhere. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-check-cheque-youve-ever-cashed-or-deposited/194851.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-check-cheque-youve-ever-cashed-or-deposited/194851.md?page=3)