.... and left $1000 below  my oven.

    Then, my friends came over and we all enjoyed a lovely christmas dinner. However, I remember the $$$ a bit too late and as I took it out with the turkey, it was scorched!! We laughed about it at the time but I'm back in NYC next week and ought to change the poor buggers up.

     All of the notes are a nice shade of brown, with serial numbers evident but some are actually crumbling in places!! What can I do about it, if anything? Take them to a bank? Take them to Museum for Scatty Hookers?? Spread Marmite on them and enjoy for brekkie? Any help would be appreciated!!

             A xxx

you should call a bank.  Wrap them very carefully, and see if you can deposit them.

next time try the vegetable crisper in the fridge.  No one ever opens that.

-- Modified on 3/23/2006 6:09:18 PM

check this link to the US Bureau of Engraving and Printing. I cannot speak from personal experience, but have been told of folks redeeming torn/mutilated notes for new currency. From what I understand, your problem is not uncommon.  Just be glad that the amount was not over $10,000, or you would probably be having a conversation with the IRS

Good luck

If there is virtually anything left of the bills, major banks will change them up for you here, even if you don't have an account. The same thing happened to a friend of mine with 16 benjies. We laughed our asses off. I was quite surprised how easy it was to change them up.

Dear Yahoo!:
How can I exchange a damaged U.S. dollar bill? Does it have the same value?
Tanil
Istanbul, Turkey

Dear Tanil:
We zeroed in on Yahoo!'s Department of Treasury category where we found the official web site for the U.S. Treasury. Our money hunt led us to a frequently asked questions page about damaged currency.

If you have more than one half of the original bill, the Treasury will usually reimburse you for the full face value of the bill. Within the Treasury, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing's Office of Currency Standards (OCS) handles all requests to replace damaged currency, so we headed to the OCS for more detail.

The OCS page provides a mailing address and complete shipping instructions for turning in your damaged currency. If more than half of that dollar is identifiable, they'll give you back a new dollar. If less than half of the bill can be identified, a new greenback will be headed your way if you can explain how the currency was damaged, and also prove to the Treasury that the rest of the bill was totally destroyed. Each case of damaged currency is handled individually, and experts carefully examine each bill submitted.

The OCS only handles mutilated currency, such as that damaged by fire, water, chemicals, or animals. If your dollar is merely dirty, defaced, worn, or ripped, and more than half of the dollar is clearly visible, you can go to any U.S. bank to exchange it for a fresh dollar. Banks can turn over such currency to a Federal Reserve Bank to be retired or destroyed.

So, next time you and your buddies spend a Sunday afternoon burning c-notes, don't worry -- just make sure you snatch the burning bills from the fire before they're half gone.

...and approach a male cashier, there is no doubt in my mind that he'll replace them for you.  Hell, I'll replace them for you & I'm no banker!

... for all your help. And I'll stick to the salad crisper in future!!! ;o)