# You find a million dollars in a bag.. you are keeping it. How? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 11, 2010, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-find-a-million-dollars-in-a-bag-you-are-keeping-it-how/542788 "2010-06-11T13:03:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![cosmosdan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@cosmosdan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cosmosdan)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2010, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-find-a-million-dollars-in-a-bag-you-are-keeping-it-how/542788/141 "2010-06-15T14:56:44Z")
On a related subject, I thought I remembered a film with Nick Cage in which he and his brother find a bunch of money that falls out of an armored car. In the end he can’t resist the urge to spend it and gets caught trying to leave the country with a bunch of cash stuffed in his clothes. I looked at his filmography and couldn’t find it. Anyone remember that film? ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2010, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-find-a-million-dollars-in-a-bag-you-are-keeping-it-how/542788/142 "2010-06-15T14:57:03Z")
My “friend” picked up an umbrella that had been left at a bus stop. When my “friend” opened it two weeks later, a wad of cash and a bag of white powder fell out. Kept the cash; flushed the powder down the City Hall toilet. Never heard from anyone about anything. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2010, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-find-a-million-dollars-in-a-bag-you-are-keeping-it-how/542788/143 "2010-06-15T15:37:34Z")
> [@Superhal](#): > > You could try it legally. Every state has lost and found rules. Here, you make a bunch of signs or take out an ad in the paper. After 30 days or so, it’s legally yours. Lessee, how does that work? “I have a million dollars I found. Did anyone lose it? Anybody? Anybody? … Bueller?” Also, if the money was made illegally, the people who lost it might decide to repossess it illegally, perhaps killing you in the process. ---
**Author:** ![lobstermobster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobstermobster/32/10033_2.png) [@lobstermobster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobstermobster)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2010, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-find-a-million-dollars-in-a-bag-you-are-keeping-it-how/542788/144 "2010-06-15T17:50:17Z")
What if you found something with a really high street value like drugs? I know most good decent responsible people would either destroy it or leave it alone, but I would definitely struggle with it. Would it depend on which drug it is? A LOT of heroin? Cocaine? Marijuana? Pharmaceuticals? The real problem is that you have to interact with degenerates in order to make the money off of it all the while worrying about the people it belongs to killing you. I’d also be concerned about destroying it. If the people it belongs to find you they might REALLY not appreciate that. I found a sack of white power on my front stoop a year or so ago that had “vitamin C” written on it. I had to really sit and think about what should a morally flexible person such as myself do. Should I destroy it? Should I give it to one of the many local street drug enthusiasts? Should I put it in my face? Should I try to sell it? It all comes down to reconciling your fear of legal justice against your fear of street justice and then going from there. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2010, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-find-a-million-dollars-in-a-bag-you-are-keeping-it-how/542788/145 "2010-06-15T18:03:21Z")
> [@cosmosdan](#): > > On a related subject, I thought I remembered a film with Nick Cage in which he and his brother find a bunch of money that falls out of an armored car. In the end he can’t resist the urge to spend it and gets caught trying to leave the country with a bunch of cash stuffed in his clothes. > > I looked at his filmography and couldn’t find it. Anyone remember that film? Not Nick Cage, [but John Cusak](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107594/). ---
**Author:** ![cosmosdan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@cosmosdan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cosmosdan)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2010, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-find-a-million-dollars-in-a-bag-you-are-keeping-it-how/542788/146 "2010-06-15T20:46:25Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > Not Nick Cage, [but John Cusak](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107594/). ahhhhh thanks. I remembered Michael Rapaport’s face but I didn’t know his name. I have to wonder how crazy I might get if I actually found a million cash. I’d like to think it wouldn’t happen but I can’t be sure. ---
**Author:** ![cosmosdan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@cosmosdan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cosmosdan)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2010, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-find-a-million-dollars-in-a-bag-you-are-keeping-it-how/542788/147 "2010-06-15T20:49:01Z")
> [@lobstermobster](#): > > What if you found something with a really high street value like drugs? I know most good decent responsible people would either destroy it or leave it alone, but I would definitely struggle with it. > > Would it depend on which drug it is? A LOT of heroin? Cocaine? Marijuana? Pharmaceuticals? The real problem is that you have to interact with degenerates in order to make the money off of it all the while worrying about the people it belongs to killing you. > > I’d also be concerned about destroying it. If the people it belongs to find you they might REALLY not appreciate that. > > I found a sack of white power on my front stoop a year or so ago that had “vitamin C” written on it. I had to really sit and think about what should a morally flexible person such as myself do. Should I destroy it? Should I give it to one of the many local street drug enthusiasts? Should I put it in my face? Should I try to sell it? It all comes down to reconciling your fear of legal justice against your fear of street justice and then going from there. I think although I’d be tempted I’d be far to scared to sell drugs. I’d probably just turn it over to the cops. Unless it was really good pot, anything that could fit in a large duffle bag wouldn’t be a million. ---
**Author:** ![cosmosdan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@cosmosdan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cosmosdan)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2010, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-find-a-million-dollars-in-a-bag-you-are-keeping-it-how/542788/148 "2010-06-15T20:51:06Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > My “friend” picked up an umbrella that had been left at a bus stop. When my “friend” opened it two weeks later, a wad of cash and a bag of white powder fell out. > > Kept the cash; flushed the powder down the City Hall toilet. Never heard from anyone about anything. hmmmm care to tell how much cash was invloved. Couple hundred. Couple grand? ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2010, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-find-a-million-dollars-in-a-bag-you-are-keeping-it-how/542788/149 "2010-06-15T21:09:18Z")
> [@cosmosdan](#): > > I think although I’d be tempted I’d be far to scared to sell drugs. I’d probably just turn it over to the cops. > Unless it was really good pot, anything that could fit in a large duffle bag wouldn’t be a million. That happened to one of Rachael Maddow’s frequent guests. A new twist on drug dealing is to send shipments to the homes of uninvolved people who travel quite a bit. UPS will leave the box on their doorstep, then the recipient will steal the box from the doorstep as soon as the UPS site shows that it has been delivered. But in this case, the recipient was actually home. She opened it up and found the box was filled with ground coffee and knew that it was a common technique to hide drugs from dogs. She called the cops. Probably a very good idea to ward off pissed off drug dealers looking for their shipment. ---
**Author:** ![araminty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5e925/32.png) [@araminty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/araminty)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2010, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-find-a-million-dollars-in-a-bag-you-are-keeping-it-how/542788/150 "2010-06-15T21:30:44Z")
> [@lobstermobster](#): > > I found a sack of white power on my front stoop a year or so ago that had “vitamin C” written on it. I had to really sit and think about what should a morally flexible person such as myself do. Should I destroy it? Should I give it to one of the many local street drug enthusiasts? Should I put it in my face? Should I try to sell it? It all comes down to reconciling your fear of legal justice against your fear of street justice and then going from there. Well, what did you do with it?? (Good to see you again, btw! Did you go somewhere?) ---
**Author:** ![Wunky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/4bbf92/32.png) [@Wunky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wunky)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2010, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-find-a-million-dollars-in-a-bag-you-are-keeping-it-how/542788/151 "2010-06-16T01:59:36Z")
First make sure there’s no tracking device in it, then make sure no nearby banks were hit for that amount, then stick it in the safe, tell NOBODY about it EVER, and use it for small cash transactions for the rest of your life. ---
**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:** [June 16, 2010, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-find-a-million-dollars-in-a-bag-you-are-keeping-it-how/542788/152 "2010-06-16T02:01:20Z")
I’d buy myself a car wash and let Mrs. Mustard handle the bookkeeping. Better call Saul! mmm ---
**Author:** ![stanger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ba0ec/32.png) [@stanger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stanger)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2010, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-find-a-million-dollars-in-a-bag-you-are-keeping-it-how/542788/153 "2010-06-16T03:03:25Z")
I know this is a bit of misdirection, but I’ve always wanted to know … I guess if you “found” a lot of money in a bag, you would never know if the serial numbers of any of it were recorded or not. How exactly is this traceable back to you? I assume that, at some point, the registered bill makes its way back to a federal reserve bank and is intercepted, and they have some means of determinig what bank deposited that bill, then they check with the bank for deposits? How does the trail get back to you specifically? Maybe nowadays thet just “mark” the bills somehow, rather than register serial numbers? ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2010, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-find-a-million-dollars-in-a-bag-you-are-keeping-it-how/542788/154 "2010-06-16T03:45:00Z")
Me three (or fourteen) for hide it and subtly use it to supplement my income over my lifetime. As others have said, 1m isn’t really all that much over a lifetime. Plus things like having a cherried out “sleeper” of a classic car and so on and so forth. ---
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2010, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-find-a-million-dollars-in-a-bag-you-are-keeping-it-how/542788/155 "2010-06-16T05:11:32Z")
> [@stanger](#): > > I know this is a bit of misdirection, but I’ve always wanted to know … > > I guess if you “found” a lot of money in a bag, you would never know if the serial numbers of any of it were recorded or not. > How exactly is this traceable back to you? I assume that, at some point, the registered bill makes its way back to a federal reserve bank and is intercepted, and they have some means of determinig what bank deposited that bill, then they check with the bank for deposits? > How does the trail get back to you specifically? > Maybe nowadays thet just “mark” the bills somehow, rather than register serial numbers? I think it would only be traceable if you did something noteworthy. Like emptying a grocery bag full of bills at a teller window to deposit. If you were really worried about the bills being traceable, you could try this: if there were reasonably small bills in the bag (as in, not just bricks of 50s or 100s) is select a handful of tens and twenties and hit some sort of farmer’s market/rummage sale/craft sale. Go through the market, buying unnoteworthy things from many dealers with the bills. Wait for a month or two for any news stories about bills from ransom money or the like appearing. The odds of any of the bills being traceable to you are tiny, and even if by some weird happenstance you get questioned – how should you know where that ten you paid for the tomatoes with came from? You probably got it from the ATM, or in change somewhere…\ ---
**Author:** ![cosmosdan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@cosmosdan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cosmosdan)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2010, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-find-a-million-dollars-in-a-bag-you-are-keeping-it-how/542788/156 "2010-06-16T11:49:33Z")
> [@stanger](#): > > I know this is a bit of misdirection, but I’ve always wanted to know … > > I guess if you “found” a lot of money in a bag, you would never know if the serial numbers of any of it were recorded or not. > How exactly is this traceable back to you? I assume that, at some point, the registered bill makes its way back to a federal reserve bank and is intercepted, and they have some means of determinig what bank deposited that bill, then they check with the bank for deposits? > How does the trail get back to you specifically? > Maybe nowadays thet just “mark” the bills somehow, rather than register serial numbers? I’d say if the money looked new and was neatly wrapped in bricks with consecutive serial numbers then you need to worry about it being traceable. If it varied in condition, some older, some newer, with non consecutive numbers then you’re probably okay. I’m not sure exactly how they’d tie you the depositer to a specific bill. I’d say you’d want to cautious and make small deposits in different banks with space in between. Slip the found money in with other bills. ---
**Author:** ![cosmosdan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@cosmosdan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cosmosdan)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2010, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-find-a-million-dollars-in-a-bag-you-are-keeping-it-how/542788/157 "2010-06-16T11:54:48Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > That happened to one of Rachael Maddow’s frequent guests. A new twist on drug dealing is to send shipments to the homes of uninvolved people who travel quite a bit. UPS will leave the box on their doorstep, then the recipient will steal the box from the doorstep as soon as the UPS site shows that it has been delivered. But in this case, the recipient was actually home. She opened it up and found the box was filled with ground coffee and knew that it was a common technique to hide drugs from dogs. > > She called the cops. Probably a very good idea to ward off pissed off drug dealers looking for their shipment. THat sounds awfully uncertain for the drug dealers unless it’s a relatively small amount they can afford to lose. I can see it if they have some way of knowing when people travel and in this case a trip was canceled at the last minute. ---
**Author:** ![cosmosdan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@cosmosdan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cosmosdan)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2010, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-find-a-million-dollars-in-a-bag-you-are-keeping-it-how/542788/158 "2010-06-16T12:02:20Z")
Another twist. We mentioned a movie in which a man found money that had dropped out of an armored car. If you found money that had no identifying marks that’s one thing. If you found a million in a canvas bag with a company name on it, what then? Give it back or still figure a way to keep it? Check for reward before you give it back? ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2010, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-find-a-million-dollars-in-a-bag-you-are-keeping-it-how/542788/159 "2010-06-16T16:49:39Z")
> [@cosmosdan](#): > > I’d say if the money looked new and was neatly wrapped in bricks with consecutive serial numbers then you need to worry about it being traceable. > > If it varied in condition, some older, some newer, with non consecutive numbers then you’re probably okay. > > I’m not sure exactly how they’d tie you the depositer to a specific bill. I’d say you’d want to cautious and make small deposits in different banks with space in between. Slip the found money in with other bills. I would think that traceable bills would be artificially distressed in order to make them look like normal bills. If a bill goes through a teller window at a bank, they will either get put into the end of day deposit, in which case they might be found, or more likely given out as cash to another customer. Most don’t seem to have the infrastructure to look out for specific serials. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2010, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-find-a-million-dollars-in-a-bag-you-are-keeping-it-how/542788/160 "2010-06-16T16:51:42Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > I would think that traceable bills would be artificially distressed in order to make them look like normal bills. By whom? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-find-a-million-dollars-in-a-bag-you-are-keeping-it-how/542788.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-find-a-million-dollars-in-a-bag-you-are-keeping-it-how/542788.md?page=9)