# Would you cash a check for a penny? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 16, 2022, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-cash-a-check-for-a-penny/959571 "2022-02-16T01:40:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2022, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-cash-a-check-for-a-penny/959571/21 "2022-02-17T01:00:01Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#): > > This one specifically says _Void After 120 Days_ so I doubt we’ll see another. I’m pretty sure that only means that specific check is void after 120 days. If you haven’t deposited it after 120 days, they’ll assume you never got it, and send you another one. And since the first one is now void, you can’t deposit both of them. Because, you know, they have to make sure you can’t scam them out of an additional penny. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2022, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-cash-a-check-for-a-penny/959571/22 "2022-02-17T02:11:46Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > I’ve gotten a few sub-$1 checks over the years. I simply waited until I had a check valuable enough to deposit, and brought them in at the same time. Back when I used to go to the bank, I would have done this. Having had the ability to do online deposits for a couple of years now, I probably wouldn’t bother because for every check I deposit (after opening the app) I need to - endorse it - write “{bank name} mobile deposit only” - take a pic of the front - take a pic of the back - type in the amount. While that’s only about 30 seconds my time is more valuable than $1.20 / hr. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2022, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-cash-a-check-for-a-penny/959571/23 "2022-02-17T02:29:26Z")
Seeing this thread, the first thing I thought about was Jeff Lebowoski writing a check for 63 cents at Ralphs for a carton of half and half. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2022, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-cash-a-check-for-a-penny/959571/24 "2022-02-17T04:13:12Z")
I have a friend who was a child actor (teen, really) in the early 90s. Had a few _extremely_ minor roles in a handful of mainstream movies, but he had a brief line in at least half of them so he gets residuals. Only a few hundred dollars even at their peak, they rapidly declined after a couple of years, but since, he still gets a check at completely random intervals for usually just a few pennies. He saved the first one. Every subsequent one he deposits. ---
**Author:** ![Bonum\_Legatum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bonum_legatum/32/6183_2.png) [@Bonum\_Legatum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bonum_Legatum)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2022, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-cash-a-check-for-a-penny/959571/25 "2022-02-17T12:34:02Z")
On a side note about small checks… The book _Boys, Bombs, and Brussel Sprouts_ by J. Douglas Harvey: The book is about Canadian soldiers who flew bombers for the British during WWII. Some of these soldiers were decorated (given medals) and the decoration included an ongoing cash payment “for gallantry”. Fast forward to the time the book was published and the author describes STILL receiving monthly checks for about $2.00 (Canadian). And the check has printed on it “for gallantry”. Every time he cashes one, he believes the bank teller is thinking “Whatever he did for her, it must not have been too gallant for only $2.00.” ---
**Author:** ![kferr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/71e660/32.png) [@kferr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kferr)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2022, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-cash-a-check-for-a-penny/959571/26 "2022-02-17T12:58:58Z")
I’m in the UK and had dual UK-US nationality for a while. For reasons too mundane to go into, I had several years of US tax forms recalculated and resubmitted. This resulted in the IRS sending several cheques for silly little amounts, amost always less that $20. My UK bank charges around £15 to deposit foreign cheques so it would have cost me money to cash them. They went straight into the shredder. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2022, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-cash-a-check-for-a-penny/959571/27 "2022-02-17T14:35:34Z")
I think if you dislike the payer and it’s some corporation, _not_ cashing it would be the real dick move. They’ll have to track that debt to you, and eventually some person is going to have to analyze it and maybe issue another check, or in some cases it’ll have to be turned over to the state as abandoned property. Just a ton of nonsense for them to deal with by paying employees. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2022, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-cash-a-check-for-a-penny/959571/28 "2022-02-17T18:01:51Z")
I got an envelope from a Swedish newspaper. Inside was a note that they’d seen a cartoon of mine and reprinted it in an article. They were sorry that their editorial budget was so slim, but they hoped I’d accept their check… …for the equivalent of 23¢. I’ve still got it somewhere, as a souvenir of my extensive International Cartooning Career. ---
**Author:** ![JaneDoe42](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janedoe42/32/14104_2.png) [@JaneDoe42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JaneDoe42)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2022, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-cash-a-check-for-a-penny/959571/29 "2022-02-17T18:56:03Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Anyway, a while back, she got a check from Child Support Enforcement for eleven cents. Like, what was the point, anyway? He was in prison and working for small amounts of money so he could buy snacks and stuff. Child support was able to take something like 10% of that for her. If he ever is able to collect social security, she will start getting monthly checks for probably 10% of his social security until his debt to her is paid. As to me, it depends on how I feel about the check writer. Am I mad at them for something? The check gets ripped up and thrown away. I know they will end up writing off the overage, but it’s going to mess with their books for a short time. If I’m not mad at them, the check gets deposited the next time its convenient for me. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2022, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-cash-a-check-for-a-penny/959571/30 "2022-02-17T19:23:08Z")
> [@Bonum\_Legatum](#): > > THE BOOKS MUST BALLANCE! This is why I would deposit the check. I balance my books to the penny, and I would expect the check writer to do the same. I pass by an ATM for my bank at least once a day, so it takes almost no time and energy to make a deposit. ---
**Author:** ![SpacemanSpiff\_II](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e19adc/32.png) [@SpacemanSpiff\_II](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpacemanSpiff_II)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2022, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-cash-a-check-for-a-penny/959571/31 "2022-02-18T20:36:51Z")
I once read that Pablo Picasso would deliberately write checks for small amounts, reasoning that people who rather keep a check from him than deposit it. Not the amounts we’re discussing here. No one would cash a check for a penny, but most people would probably cash checks for $10. But if it was from Picasso … > [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Trump was one of the last ones standing, with a cheque for a few pennies deposited to his account. I doubt if he personally deals with his own checks. Most likely they get put into a pile of checks received and whoever’s job it is to deposit them has no discretion about it. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2022, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-cash-a-check-for-a-penny/959571/32 "2022-02-18T20:53:26Z")
> [@SpacemanSpiff\_II](#): > > No one would cash a check for a penny, but most people would probably cash checks for $10. But if it was from Picasso … “Damn it, Pablo, WHY did you have to draw a cubist bull frolicking on your check? Now I can’t cash it!” “Heh, heh, heh…” \<-(evil neo-deconstructionist chortle) ---
**Author:** ![Bonum\_Legatum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bonum_legatum/32/6183_2.png) [@Bonum\_Legatum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bonum_Legatum)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2022, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-cash-a-check-for-a-penny/959571/33 "2022-02-19T21:56:43Z")
Minor hijack: There was an old story about Picasso lounging on a beach when a young boy came up with a pad and pen and asked for an autograph – no, that wasn’t it – he asked for a quick sketch. (With parents hovering greedily in the background.) So Picasso took the pen and made a quick sketch on the boy’s chest. And I believe that there was a celebrity who complained about not being able to balance his checkbook - because people were keeping the checks. ---
**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:** [February 19, 2022, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-cash-a-check-for-a-penny/959571/34 "2022-02-19T22:40:58Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#): > > My husband got a check because apparently we overpaid the bill from one of the providers for his knee replacement. Yes, it was for a penny. It was printed, put in an envelope, and mailed to us. > > **1¢** > > I’m thinking I might frame it. You could leave it casually laying around as decoration. That’s what we do with a $2 bill we have. The wife did not receive such a check, but she recently received a medical bill (after insurance paid its share) for eight cents, and they would only take a check. So she wrote a check for eight cents. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2022, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-cash-a-check-for-a-penny/959571/35 "2022-02-19T23:21:15Z")
Pablo Picasso’s favorite watering hole let him drink free, in exchange for the sketches he left on napkins and scraps of paper. ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2022, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-cash-a-check-for-a-penny/959571/36 "2022-02-20T21:56:09Z")
I have a strict principle of picking up coins from the ground, even pennies - I think it would be decadent not to. So I would certainly not leave this cheque unclaimed to save myself the hassle of claiming it. I can, however, see the point of framing it as a conversation piece. Reminds me of the story how Buzz Aldrin famously claimed, and received, $33.31 in travel expenses for the Apollo 11 flight and kept the reimbursement slip in is home as a conversation piece. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2022, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-cash-a-check-for-a-penny/959571/37 "2022-02-20T22:08:13Z")
I pick up pennies too, it is my only superstition. My wife dislikes it, but I keep them all in a jar. The jar has been stolen twice so far. I start anew every time. I think it is astonishing that I find a penny every two or three weeks. But a check? Yeah, I would put it in the jar too, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![anny\_m](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@anny\_m](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anny_m)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2022, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-cash-a-check-for-a-penny/959571/38 "2022-02-20T23:33:16Z")
Many years ago, when I filed my taxes the software I used rounded all entries to the nearest whole dollar. My quarterly estimated payments to the feds were each something like $344.50; the software rounded each of the four payments to $345.00, meaning my total estimated payments were reported as being $2 higher than they actually were. My estimated payments to the State were something like $79.75, which was rounded to $80.00, and reported as $1 higher in total than what I paid. The IRS sent me a letter reporting that my actual estimated payments were indeed $2 lower than I reported, but because the amount was so small I didn’t need to do anything. The State billed me for the $1. (BTW, when I read the thread title I thought the OP was asking if I’d accept just a penny as the fee for cashing someone’s check.) ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2022, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-cash-a-check-for-a-penny/959571/39 "2022-02-20T23:42:52Z")
> [@anny\_m](#): > > The IRS sent me a letter reporting that my actual estimated payments were indeed $2 lower than I reported [![](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EG8C_nDXkAAHf8o?format=png&name=small) ](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EG8C_nDXkAAHf8o?format=png&name=small) ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2022, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-cash-a-check-for-a-penny/959571/40 "2022-02-21T16:02:06Z")
“Find a penny, pick it up. All day long, you’ll have good luck.” Unfortunately, I never find pennies until after someone else has already won the big lottery jackpot. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-cash-a-check-for-a-penny/959571.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-cash-a-check-for-a-penny/959571.md?page=3)