Poll

$170 cash found on sidewalk -> what would you do?

Finders Keepers!
Leave it on the sidewalk... $170 is alot of cash, I'm sure someone will have missed it!
Knock on local doors, ask if someone had lost anything recently, and cough up the dough if they identify it properly.

Author Topic: $170 cash found on sidewalk -> what would you do?  (Read 14780 times)

JustGettingStarted1980

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$170 cash found on sidewalk -> what would you do?
« on: September 16, 2016, 10:27:01 AM »
So this happened to me last week on a stroll around the neighborhood (one more reason to walk for exercise and relaxation!).

About 1-2 blocks from my home, I found $170 cash in a paperclip just sitting there just off the sidewalk. I figured a local contractor/laborer had dropped it from his pocket while grabbing keys or something.  It was near a shared driveway that could belong to one of two separate houses. It had a little post it note on it with some writing (but no telephone numbers or addresses) on it.

So what would you do?

seattlecyclone

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Re: $170 cash found on sidewalk -> what would you do?
« Reply #1 on: September 16, 2016, 10:35:57 AM »
Anywhere you decide to leave it, chances are it will never be reunited with its original owner.

slugline

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Re: $170 cash found on sidewalk -> what would you do?
« Reply #2 on: September 16, 2016, 10:36:21 AM »
If it was found in the street or some other public/communal property I would personally have no issues just keeping it. But if it was on private property and I could reasonably see it belonging to one of two households, I would make some kind of attempt at checking with those households.

But it's your call. This might be in that same gray area where it might be OK to pick up junk off someone's curbside before that trash collectors get it first.

snogirl

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Re: $170 cash found on sidewalk -> what would you do?
« Reply #3 on: September 16, 2016, 10:51:05 AM »
Since you are posing the question, you must be questioning keeping it?
Go with your gut.
If it is was me, I would probably put it aside to bide time.
Someone might come looking for it. Either on the street, knocking on doors, some way the sign will come.
A neighbor might be chatting outside and you hear about it, you never know.
That happen to me in a purse with no ID with a ton of cash more than $170.
The girl was frantic, knocking on doors in the apartment.
After a time, keep it or do something else with it that aligns with your heart.
Only you can answer that question.


Dollar Slice

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Re: $170 cash found on sidewalk -> what would you do?
« Reply #4 on: September 16, 2016, 11:03:42 AM »
I would put up a note on a telephone pole close to where you found it, saying: "Did you lose something near here? Call XXX-XXX-XXXX and if you can describe it to me you can have it back."  The right person should be able to tell you it was held in a paperclip and probably the approximate amount of money.

ETA:  I think keeping it without any attempt to return it is immoral, personally. The person who dropped it might need that money very badly.

mm1970

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Re: $170 cash found on sidewalk -> what would you do?
« Reply #5 on: September 16, 2016, 11:06:09 AM »
I would keep it.  But really, I would set it aside and wait.  See if anyone posts that they lost money on next door, or FB swap sites. Or look to see if anyone posts a "missing money" poster.  Because that's a lot of dough.

I wouldn't necessarily go around and say "I found money, tell me how much and it's yours!"  Because I don't trust people, and I figure a bunch of opportunists would be trying to guess.

Funny story.  When I was 16 or 17, I would read the local paper for fun.  And I always read the (small) lost and found section because I thought "wouldn't it be funny if there was a matching "lost" and "found" on the same day?"

So my mom worked at a bank.  And one day we were chatting, and she mentioned that someone had dropped a bank envelope somewhere on Main Street, with cash in it, and someone else found it and returned it to the bank.  And I said "yeah, $92!"  She looked at me like I had two heads.  Because, the amount was secret and she didn't tell me that.  "How did you know that??"  I said "it's in the lost and found section of the paper!!"

So I helped reunite a guy with his $92 (back in 1986).  It was a dad who had gotten money out for his (adult) son and lost it.  He gave me a $2 thank you finder's fee.

Catbert

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Re: $170 cash found on sidewalk -> what would you do?
« Reply #6 on: September 16, 2016, 11:07:59 AM »
I would put up a note on a telephone pole close to where you found it, saying: "Did you lose something near here? Call XXX-XXX-XXXX and if you can describe it to me you can have it back."  The right person should be able to tell you it was held in a paperclip and probably the approximate amount of money.

ETA:  I think keeping it without any attempt to return it is immoral, personally. The person who dropped it might need that money very badly.

+1.

2Birds1Stone

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Re: $170 cash found on sidewalk -> what would you do?
« Reply #7 on: September 16, 2016, 11:10:15 AM »
I would put up a note on a telephone pole close to where you found it, saying: "Did you lose something near here? Call XXX-XXX-XXXX and if you can describe it to me you can have it back."  The right person should be able to tell you it was held in a paperclip and probably the approximate amount of money.

ETA:  I think keeping it without any attempt to return it is immoral, personally. The person who dropped it might need that money very badly.

+1.

+2

I'm a red panda

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Re: $170 cash found on sidewalk -> what would you do?
« Reply #8 on: September 16, 2016, 11:32:09 AM »
I think the note asking if you lost "something" is a decent try.  I'd leave that note up for 2 weeks.

After that, cash with no identification? It's yours.  Now if it was $170 cash in a wallet with a credit card or drivers license, I feel you have a duty to return it or drop it off at the police station.


If you really want, donate it to a good, non-controversial cause. That way you don't feel guilty about keeping it.  But if you tried to find it's owner, then I'd say it is no different than a dropped penny (well, on your end).

MonkeyJenga

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Re: $170 cash found on sidewalk -> what would you do?
« Reply #9 on: September 16, 2016, 11:36:43 AM »
I misread this post at first. You found it on the sidewalk or private property near a sidewalk? I would ask the houses closest and maybe put up a sign before calling it done.

Dezrah

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Re: $170 cash found on sidewalk -> what would you do?
« Reply #10 on: September 16, 2016, 11:45:55 AM »
I would keep it.  But really, I would set it aside and wait.  See if anyone posts that they lost money on next door, or FB swap sites. Or look to see if anyone posts a "missing money" poster.  Because that's a lot of dough.

I wouldn't necessarily go around and say "I found money, tell me how much and it's yours!"  Because I don't trust people, and I figure a bunch of opportunists would be trying to guess.

Funny story.  When I was 16 or 17, I would read the local paper for fun.  And I always read the (small) lost and found section because I thought "wouldn't it be funny if there was a matching "lost" and "found" on the same day?"

So my mom worked at a bank.  And one day we were chatting, and she mentioned that someone had dropped a bank envelope somewhere on Main Street, with cash in it, and someone else found it and returned it to the bank.  And I said "yeah, $92!"  She looked at me like I had two heads.  Because, the amount was secret and she didn't tell me that.  "How did you know that??"  I said "it's in the lost and found section of the paper!!"

So I helped reunite a guy with his $92 (back in 1986).  It was a dad who had gotten money out for his (adult) son and lost it.  He gave me a $2 thank you finder's fee.

Love this story.  Something very quaint about homey in the details. 

I'm reminded of a paragraph I read in our local paper's crime blotter (circa early 2000's).  This is almost exactly how it read:

Woman reports home robbery.  Suspect entered kitchen through unlocked screen door and stole purse off kitchen counter.  No contact with the victim.  Purse and contents valued at $10.

lostamonkey

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Re: $170 cash found on sidewalk -> what would you do?
« Reply #11 on: September 16, 2016, 01:33:46 PM »
I would just keep the money.

I have dropped a $20 bill before. It sucked but I just wrote it off as an "idiot tax".

charis

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Re: $170 cash found on sidewalk -> what would you do?
« Reply #12 on: September 16, 2016, 01:56:41 PM »
I belong to a couple of neighborhood groups, and what people there typically do is post a note about a found item, sometimes indicating type and roughly where found, and asking anyone who lost something similar to provide further details to claim it.

In this case I would post a note saying you found something of significant value in that general location, and ask the owner to provide details of what the item was, where they believe they lost it and any other identifying characteristics (amount of money and the color/size/content of the sticky note would be the obvious things to look for, along with confirmation of the exact locations they were in when they might have lost it) in order to claim it.

I would post something like this on our neighborhood FB pages and ask people to inquire around.  If I knew the occupants of the houses near the location of the money, I would check with them first; otherwise, I would just make a post.  I've also heard about turning money into the police, who will return it to you if it goes unclaimed for a certain period, but I don't know if that is really a thing.

If it was $20 or less, I'd ask anyone in the immediate area if they dropped something, but generally it's ok to keep - the dropper can suck it up.  But much more than that, I'd say it would be wrong not to seek out the owner.  I'm picturing a little girl scout who lost her cookie money.  $170 will be very missed by most people.

ltt

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Re: $170 cash found on sidewalk -> what would you do?
« Reply #13 on: September 16, 2016, 03:14:14 PM »
I would put up a note on a telephone pole close to where you found it, saying: "Did you lose something near here? Call XXX-XXX-XXXX and if you can describe it to me you can have it back."  The right person should be able to tell you it was held in a paperclip and probably the approximate amount of money.

ETA:  I think keeping it without any attempt to return it is immoral, personally. The person who dropped it might need that money very badly.

This.

JustGettingStarted1980

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Re: $170 cash found on sidewalk -> what would you do?
« Reply #14 on: September 16, 2016, 05:26:39 PM »
all very good replies, and the poll results are interesting...stay tuned over the weekend to find out the end result of this little dilemma.....

JustGettingStarted1980

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Re: $170 cash found on sidewalk -> what would you do?
« Reply #15 on: September 17, 2016, 07:09:57 AM »
Bump for more Votes. I'm really curious about Mustachian perspectives on this matter!

Roland of Gilead

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Re: $170 cash found on sidewalk -> what would you do?
« Reply #16 on: September 17, 2016, 07:15:49 AM »
So what is the cutoff for what you would keep?  $170 seems ok, but would anyone keep $17,000 or $170,000?  I would be so nervous not turning in $170,000, both from a legal standpoint and worried that it was drug dealer money and someone was looking for it.

I think I would turn in anything over $500.  Under that amount I would wait and see if anyone was looking for something lost on the street.

redbird

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Re: $170 cash found on sidewalk -> what would you do?
« Reply #17 on: September 17, 2016, 07:33:51 AM »
I would keep it. I've found money a few times. Most recently (only a few months ago) I found $30 in cash lying on the ground at a renaissance festival. If I didn't grab it, likely someone else would. I basically considered it as getting into the renfest for free.

That's the largest amount I've ever found. I've never picked up a wallet or purse or anything. I've only grabbed bills or coins that I've found sitting somewhere completely unattended, not in any sort of bag or anything.

So what is the cutoff for what you would keep?  $170 seems ok, but would anyone keep $17,000 or $170,000?  I would be so nervous not turning in $170,000, both from a legal standpoint and worried that it was drug dealer money and someone was looking for it.

I think I would turn in anything over $500.  Under that amount I would wait and see if anyone was looking for something lost on the street.

Not sure what I'd do in that situation. But I don't see how I'd ever find that much when I don't touch bags or anything that I see lying around that aren't mine.

Rubyvroom

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Re: $170 cash found on sidewalk -> what would you do?
« Reply #18 on: September 17, 2016, 07:50:38 AM »
Somewhat unrelated due to the magnitude of what was found but... I found $1 laying on the ground at work. I put it up on a nearby counter that gets a lot of traffic thinking, well, someone will take it, or maybe the person who dropped it will find it. Either way, I doubt it will last an hour and will find its home in the nearby vending machine.

5 hours later I walk by and it's still laying there on the counter. It made me laugh a bit. No one taking it may be a combination of Minnesota-nice and the fact that I work at a smaller nonprofit where we all pretty much know each other. Well fine, the cleaners just made a buck then. If I come in on Monday and it's still there though... o_O

KarefulKactus15

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Re: $170 cash found on sidewalk -> what would you do?
« Reply #19 on: September 17, 2016, 09:33:54 AM »
I would put up a note on a telephone pole close to where you found it, saying: "Did you lose something near here? Call XXX-XXX-XXXX and if you can describe it to me you can have it back."  The right person should be able to tell you it was held in a paperclip and probably the approximate amount of money.

ETA:  I think keeping it without any attempt to return it is immoral, personally. The person who dropped it might need that money very badly.

+1.

+2

+4 Since someone did 3 already!   

This seems the only correct thing to do.  If nobody claims it then you tried your best...

ruraljuror

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Re: $170 cash found on sidewalk -> what would you do?
« Reply #20 on: September 17, 2016, 01:27:53 PM »
Agree with most that have posted - make an effort to reunite the money with it's owner. The goodwill you'll receive from neighbors when they learn what happened and your efforts to get the person their money is worth more than $170. Plus, it's just the right thing to do.

MoonLiteNite

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Re: $170 cash found on sidewalk -> what would you do?
« Reply #21 on: September 17, 2016, 03:06:21 PM »
I would knock on a few doors, maybe post a flyer or 2 nearby. Wouldn't put too much effort into it.
If nothing in a few weeks i would donate the money to a charity of sorts.

RetirementDreaming

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Re: $170 cash found on sidewalk -> what would you do?
« Reply #22 on: September 17, 2016, 03:12:06 PM »
I just got back from Walmart.  As I was exiting I found 2 half folded $100 bills on the sidewalk.  I picked them and went to my car.  I waited for 20mins to see if someone came back and was looking around.  No one came.    There is a food donation pickup tomorrow in my neighborhood and I'm going to donate the cash. 

Zamboni

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Re: $170 cash found on sidewalk -> what would you do?
« Reply #23 on: September 17, 2016, 04:03:56 PM »
^That is nice of you.

If there was a way to reunite it with the legit owner, then I guess I would try. I'm guessing because I'm really not sure anymore. . . the few times I've posted ads trying to reunite a lost something of value with an anonymous owner, the crazies came out of the woodwork. People would call and try to trick me into disclosing what it was so they could claim it. One lady called me several times in a row and kept guessing . . . I was like "did you just call a few minutes ago?" A guy did the same thing. WTF!? What I found was unusual enough that no one was going to guess it, but whomever had lost it had enough information from my ad to realize it could be theirs. I guess no good deed goes unpunished. In the end I gave it away.

hope2retire

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Re: $170 cash found on sidewalk -> what would you do?
« Reply #24 on: September 17, 2016, 06:43:44 PM »
I would put up a note on a telephone pole close to where you found it, saying: "Did you lose something near here? Call XXX-XXX-XXXX and if you can describe it to me you can have it back."  The right person should be able to tell you it was held in a paperclip and probably the approximate amount of money.

ETA:  I think keeping it without any attempt to return it is immoral, personally. The person who dropped it might need that money very badly.

+1.

+2

+1000
Years back, I found an iPhone 4  on the lawn in our apt while i was taking trash; i was in a hurry cleaning up my house before heading to the airport (literally in 30 min) for a month long out of country vacation. It did cross my mind to keep it for a second, then I thought about myself of how frantically i was searching everywhere when I lost my ipod for 3 days. Lucky me, the iphone was not locked, called the last guy on the call history, he told it was his cousins phone. some how he reached the owner to come and pick it up. I was looking at my watch literally every second waiting in my taxi to give it to him as I was getting late to the airport. But sure made my day, when the guy(who was seriously injured from his past) smiled and said Thank You and wanted to reward me and did not have cash. I said dont bother about it and I ran to the airport. Made it to the flight in the last min. But it sure made my day and I felt good  about myself for taking the effort for doing the right thing, while having beer in the 18 hr flight.

H2R

pancakes

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Re: $170 cash found on sidewalk -> what would you do?
« Reply #25 on: September 17, 2016, 07:45:59 PM »
I regularly find money on the ground near where I live. It never happened until I moved here.

Usually $20 or $50 notes. Not long ago I found $200+

If it has identifying documents with it or I see who dropped it, I'll hand it in/back but I no longer feel bad about picking it up. I especially stopped feeling bad about it after seeing a guy flashing his money clip around with maybe $2000 in it at a particular supermarket that i often find money outside of. It pays to shop in wealthy suburbs sometimes.

If it is a bank note on the footpath or grass with nothing else around, the chances of finding the owner are slim to none. That said, I'll be more generous in my donations or to homeless using the cash I find.
« Last Edit: September 17, 2016, 07:48:38 PM by pancakes »

Shane

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Re: $170 cash found on sidewalk -> what would you do?
« Reply #26 on: September 17, 2016, 08:53:44 PM »
So what is the cutoff for what you would keep?  $170 seems ok, but would anyone keep $17,000 or $170,000?  I would be so nervous not turning in $170,000, both from a legal standpoint and worried that it was drug dealer money and someone was looking for it.

I think I would turn in anything over $500.  Under that amount I would wait and see if anyone was looking for something lost on the street.

A friend's two kids, who were around 10 & 12 at the time, were out playing in the woods, probably within 1/2 mile of their home, and they found a partially buried ammo box that looked like it had been unearthed by wild pigs. The kids used sticks to dig around the box. When they finally got it out of the ground and opened it they were astonished to find that it was stuffed full of stacks of $100 bills, $33K in total!

By the time the kids got the ammo box full of cash home to show their parents they had already both come up with plans for how they were going to spend the money. One of the kids wanted to buy a horse and I think the other one wanted to buy a dirt bike.

When our friend saw the "treasure" that his kids had brought home, he said he, right away, thought there was a pretty good chance it belonged to someone he knew. Our friend told his kids not to tell anybody about what they'd found and to give him some time to ask around the neighborhood to see if anyone had "lost" anything of value. He called up one of his neighbors and asked for his older brother's phone number, because he knew that the brother sometimes "hunted" in the area.

Our friend called up his neighbor's brother, whom he didn't know well at all, and asked him, "Did you, by chance, happen to bury anything in the woods near my place?"

He said, the brother answered, "Actually, I've got several things buried in the woods up there." :)

Somehow, the neighbor's brother and our friend managed to narrow it down to the ammo box, and apparently the guy was able to name the exact amount of money and describe how it was packaged.

I think the guy ended up giving the kids a couple hundred dollars as a finder's fee for returning the money. The kids were a little disappointed, but hopefully it taught them a good lesson.

Lulee

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Re: $170 cash found on sidewalk -> what would you do?
« Reply #27 on: September 17, 2016, 09:43:43 PM »
I was in a similar situation something like 20 years ago where I found a wad of nearly $120 off the parking lot at work.  I turned it in to the police and was given a date to check back as if it wasn't claimed by then, I could have it.  My boss whined it was hers when she heard about it after returning from a trip but couldn't guess what was in the bundle so couldn't get it from the cops.  I did get to have it eventually though at a cost ---- while in the station picking up the cash, someone clipped the rear of my car, knocking the bumper loose on that side and left without a note.  Luckily for me, I had wire in the car and could jury-rig it so I could safely to get to my parent's house and my dad was able to fix it without it costing me anything for parts.

Dollar Slice

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Re: $170 cash found on sidewalk -> what would you do?
« Reply #28 on: September 17, 2016, 10:00:23 PM »
I was in a similar situation something like 20 years ago where I found a wad of nearly $120 off the parking lot at work.  I turned it in to the police and was given a date to check back as if it wasn't claimed by then, I could have it.  My boss whined it was hers when she heard about it after returning from a trip but couldn't guess what was in the bundle so couldn't get it from the cops.  I did get to have it eventually though at a cost ---- while in the station picking up the cash, someone clipped the rear of my car, knocking the bumper loose on that side and left without a note.  Luckily for me, I had wire in the car and could jury-rig it so I could safely to get to my parent's house and my dad was able to fix it without it costing me anything for parts.

I think having your car damaged while doing the right thing falls firmly under "No good deed goes unpunished." Like the chronic pain in my shoulder that started when I injured it helping an older woman with a heavy suitcase at the airport...

deborah

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Re: $170 cash found on sidewalk -> what would you do?
« Reply #29 on: September 17, 2016, 10:09:10 PM »
SO once found a wallet with a huge amount of cash in it on the footpath at a local shopping strip (which was in a red light district), and handed it into the police. The police said it probably belonged to a drug dealer with that much cash in it. It didn't have anything much in the way of ID. Turned out it was a bakery delivery person, who was really, really glad to be reunited with his money.

Tjat

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Re: $170 cash found on sidewalk -> what would you do?
« Reply #30 on: September 18, 2016, 04:48:09 AM »
So what is the cutoff for what you would keep?  $170 seems ok, but would anyone keep $17,000 or $170,000?  I would be so nervous not turning in $170,000, both from a legal standpoint and worried that it was drug dealer money and someone was looking for it.

I think I would turn in anything over $500.  Under that amount I would wait and see if anyone was looking for something lost on the street.

A friend's two kids, who were around 10 & 12 at the time, were out playing in the woods, probably within 1/2 mile of their home, and they found a partially buried ammo box that looked like it had been unearthed by wild pigs. The kids used sticks to dig around the box. When they finally got it out of the ground and opened it they were astonished to find that it was stuffed full of stacks of $100 bills, $33K in total!

By the time the kids got the ammo box full of cash home to show their parents they had already both come up with plans for how they were going to spend the money. One of the kids wanted to buy a horse and I think the other one wanted to buy a dirt bike.

When our friend saw the "treasure" that his kids had brought home, he said he, right away, thought there was a pretty good chance it belonged to someone he knew. Our friend told his kids not to tell anybody about what they'd found and to give him some time to ask around the neighborhood to see if anyone had "lost" anything of value. He called up one of his neighbors and asked for his older brother's phone number, because he knew that the brother sometimes "hunted" in the area.

Our friend called up his neighbor's brother, whom he didn't know well at all, and asked him, "Did you, by chance, happen to bury anything in the woods near my place?"

He said, the brother answered, "Actually, I've got several things buried in the woods up there." :)

Somehow, the neighbor's brother and our friend managed to narrow it down to the ammo box, and apparently the guy was able to name the exact amount of money and describe how it was packaged.

I think the guy ended up giving the kids a couple hundred dollars as a finder's fee for returning the money. The kids were a little disappointed, but hopefully it taught them a good lesson.

What a great story for those kids to have. Though In my mind if you bury 33k within a half mile of someone else's house, you're giving it to the finder.... Either that or bury it better.

Zamboni

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Re: $170 cash found on sidewalk -> what would you do?
« Reply #31 on: September 18, 2016, 08:07:45 AM »
^Yes, someone who intentionally attempts to hide anything on public property or someone else's property for an extended period of time (especially if there is no name and contact information on it) is basically giving up their rights to it.

Shane

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Re: $170 cash found on sidewalk -> what would you do?
« Reply #32 on: September 18, 2016, 10:44:14 AM »
What a great story for those kids to have. Though In my mind if you bury 33k within a half mile of someone else's house, you're giving it to the finder.... Either that or bury it better.

^Yes, someone who intentionally attempts to hide anything on public property or someone else's property for an extended period of time (especially if there is no name and contact information on it) is basically giving up their rights to it.

The land where the money was buried is private property. It's a ranch with thousands of acres. Not sure why the guy decided to bury his money so close to my friend's house or why he didn't bury it deeper?

What struck me the most from the story was that the man told my friend that he "had several things buried in that area." I wonder if he went and moved the other things he had hidden after telling my friend that? :)

In the "neighborhood" where my friend lives many people made tons of money growing marijuana, especially back in the late 70's to early 80's before the cops started flying around in helicopters to eradicate their fields and greenhouses filled with plants. Many growers carried guns with them while they were out tending their crops, ostensibly because they were "hunting."

My friend didn't say so explicitly, but when he told me the story I just assumed that his neighbor's brother must've been a big time grower back in the day, otherwise why would he be burying money in the woods?

JAYSLOL

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Re: $170 cash found on sidewalk -> what would you do?
« Reply #33 on: September 18, 2016, 11:00:44 AM »
I wouldn't knock on doors, but I would place an ad in whatever online classifieds locals in your area use the most, stating some money was found and for them to identify how much and where.  email only, DO NOT LIST YOU PHONE NUMBER! 

Cathy

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Re: $170 cash found on sidewalk -> what would you do?
« Reply #34 on: September 18, 2016, 01:29:35 PM »
I won't express any view on whether you should keep the cash, but if you do decide to keep it, please make sure that you disclose the amount on your income tax return and pay your fair share of taxes on the same. Please don't steal from your fellow taxpayers. Don't join this forum's collection of confessed tax fraudsters (*), all of whom rally for tax rates to be increased on other people while declining to pay the tax they owe themselves.


((*) The last post that I linked to doesn't contain an explicit confession, but the author of that post has expressly confessed to committing fraud in the past in a post about a year ago that was edited later.)
« Last Edit: September 18, 2016, 01:36:28 PM by Cathy »

dilinger

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Re: $170 cash found on sidewalk -> what would you do?
« Reply #35 on: September 18, 2016, 01:46:50 PM »

I think the guy ended up giving the kids a couple hundred dollars as a finder's fee for returning the money. The kids were a little disappointed, but hopefully it taught them a good lesson.

"Never tell your parents anything"?  I remember learning that lesson as well. ;)

frugalcoconut

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Re: $170 cash found on sidewalk -> what would you do?
« Reply #36 on: September 18, 2016, 05:51:52 PM »
I regularly find money on the ground near where I live. It never happened until I moved here.

Usually $20 or $50 notes. Not long ago I found $200+

Ok so where do you live and when can I come visit?  ;)

Shane

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Re: $170 cash found on sidewalk -> what would you do?
« Reply #37 on: September 18, 2016, 06:50:21 PM »

I think the guy ended up giving the kids a couple hundred dollars as a finder's fee for returning the money. The kids were a little disappointed, but hopefully it taught them a good lesson.

"Never tell your parents anything"?  I remember learning that lesson as well. ;)

It might have been hard for 10 & 12 year old kids to hide $33K. If one of them suddenly came home with a horse or a dirt bike, I'm pretty sure their parents may have noticed. :)

mm1970

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Re: $170 cash found on sidewalk -> what would you do?
« Reply #38 on: September 19, 2016, 05:39:53 PM »
Somewhat unrelated due to the magnitude of what was found but... I found $1 laying on the ground at work. I put it up on a nearby counter that gets a lot of traffic thinking, well, someone will take it, or maybe the person who dropped it will find it. Either way, I doubt it will last an hour and will find its home in the nearby vending machine.

5 hours later I walk by and it's still laying there on the counter. It made me laugh a bit. No one taking it may be a combination of Minnesota-nice and the fact that I work at a smaller nonprofit where we all pretty much know each other. Well fine, the cleaners just made a buck then. If I come in on Monday and it's still there though... o_O
One of our VPs had a 5, a 1, a quarter, and 2 pennies taped to his door for years...found money.

When he and his officemate got laid off, I told her to take the money!  She got no severance.

lostamonkey

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Re: $170 cash found on sidewalk -> what would you do?
« Reply #39 on: September 19, 2016, 06:01:47 PM »

I think the guy ended up giving the kids a couple hundred dollars as a finder's fee for returning the money. The kids were a little disappointed, but hopefully it taught them a good lesson.

"Never tell your parents anything"?  I remember learning that lesson as well. ;)

I remember learning that lesson too. Thankfully it wasn't that expensive for me.

PoutineLover

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Re: $170 cash found on sidewalk -> what would you do?
« Reply #40 on: September 20, 2016, 09:21:16 AM »
I would probably try to find the person, and if no one responded I'd just keep it. I've returned a few lost things in my life, and others have returned my lost things to me.
I lost my wallet once, and someone found me on Facebook and messaged me to give it back. I found a really nice leather bag in a park, the ID inside belonged to a girl who went to my university, so I emailed her and returned the bag, she gave me chocolates to thank me. My sister and I found her kindergarten teacher's wallet when she was in grade 5, funny coincidence but we got in touch with her and she gave us a 5$ reward for returning it. I found 10 euros change in a bus ticket machine, knew the person was long gone so I kept it. I lost my phone in a bar once and my friend texted it, arranged with the bartender who found it to get it back. Another time I saw a ten dollar bill on the sidewalk, went to pick it up and noticed two fives nearby. Kept it all.
Basically, I will put the effort in when there is a reasonable possibility of finding the person, and when I know they will appreciate getting their property back. And I hope others will do the same for me. So far it has been working out.

Bakari

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Re: $170 cash found on sidewalk -> what would you do?
« Reply #41 on: September 20, 2016, 10:00:01 AM »
I've taken the time to track down contact info and then deliver or mail two wallets, a cell phone, and a couple of ID/credit cards before.
But plain cash?
I've also pointed out to people when they dropped cash, and it was obvious it belonged to the person standing right next to it.

But lost in the middle of a public sidewalk?

I mean, if you reached in your pocket and realized you were missing a bundle of unmarked cash, would you really go back over every spot you had been all day, expecting to find it again? Or go looking for a posted notice?  I've seen posters for lost dogs and cats, occasionally missing people, even missing phones.  Never for missing mystery items.  IDK, maybe its just a different culture where I live, but I'm very surprised to see so many people saying that as a serious suggestion.


If it makes you feel better, do everything possible to find the original owner, but I think the chances are very slim that the original owner actually finds whatever notices you may post on poles or in newspapers or whatever.  If I felt guilty about keeping it, I'd just make it a gift to someone, "pay it forward" as it were.
When I have lost things, I see that as an opportunity to remind myself to pay more attention and be more careful in the future.
If that amount of money is a hardship for someone to lose, they would presumably not be careless with it
« Last Edit: September 20, 2016, 01:51:48 PM by Bakari »

slugline

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Re: $170 cash found on sidewalk -> what would you do?
« Reply #42 on: September 20, 2016, 11:13:28 AM »
I wish the OP could post a photo or give a more detailed description of the spot where the money was found. Many of the responders in this thread are assuming that this was a public place, but I'm inferring that this was private property since it was near a sidewalk in a residential neighborhood and not in the street.

I think it makes a significant difference. In the residential neighborhood where I live, a sidewalk provides a public easement through private property. I don't believe that passers-by on the sidewalk should feel entitled to any objects they might see in my front yard, whether it's a delivered package, a bicycle, a child's toy, or yes, even a clip of money.
« Last Edit: September 20, 2016, 12:50:06 PM by slugline »

Bakari

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Re: $170 cash found on sidewalk -> what would you do?
« Reply #43 on: September 20, 2016, 01:50:59 PM »
In the residential neighborhood where I live, a sidewalk provides a public easement through private property.


? I've never heard of such a thing, I'm having a hard time picturing what that would be like

Lunasol

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Re: $170 cash found on sidewalk -> what would you do?
« Reply #44 on: September 20, 2016, 02:30:24 PM »
I was living abroad and found another foreigner's wallet in the bus.

It had his ID so I found him on facebook, and it turns out we had friends in common. We met and when he saw the wallet had all of his money inside, he wanted to pay me back, which I declined.
He later said he'd buy me a drink sometime and we laughed it off. I never got my drink >:( lol

slugline

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Re: $170 cash found on sidewalk -> what would you do?
« Reply #45 on: September 20, 2016, 03:01:43 PM »
In the residential neighborhood where I live, a sidewalk provides a public easement through private property.


? I've never heard of such a thing, I'm having a hard time picturing what that would be like

Houston is not exactly favorable to pedestrians. You'll find city sidewalks adjacent to many major thoroughfares. But in the neighborhoods, maintenance of the sidewalk -- if the sidewalk exists at all -- depends on the whim of individual property owners.

dilinger

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Re: $170 cash found on sidewalk -> what would you do?
« Reply #46 on: September 20, 2016, 06:03:49 PM »
In the residential neighborhood where I live, a sidewalk provides a public easement through private property.


? I've never heard of such a thing, I'm having a hard time picturing what that would be like

Houston is not exactly favorable to pedestrians. You'll find city sidewalks adjacent to many major thoroughfares. But in the neighborhoods, maintenance of the sidewalk -- if the sidewalk exists at all -- depends on the whim of individual property owners.

Public easement doesn't mean you can store your stuff on it.  It's a similar system in Seattle; technically the sidewalk property is owned and maintained by the adjacent property owner.  The city has an easement that creates public right-of-way for the sidewalk.  But that doesn't mean the property owner can do what they want with the sidewalk.  It is public right-of-way, and has restrictions; permits must be acquired to close the sidewalk, things can't be stored on the sidewalk, etc.  So you cannot store a package (or your wallet) on the sidewalk and have any legal expectation that it wouldn't be disturbed by the public.

JustGettingStarted1980

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Re: $170 cash found on sidewalk -> what would you do?
« Reply #47 on: October 01, 2016, 12:14:25 PM »
So, in summary, I went back to the 2 houses 5-6 total times over the next week looking for the owner of the loose cash. After confirming it was not House A on the 3rd attempt, I finally found the owner on the last attempt...... and was invited for dinner with both families with some wine and brick oven pizza at some later date. Nice older couple, just moved to the neighborhood, and they were pretty appreciative.

That kept me feeling the right way for at least a week or two, and it taught my young son a lesson as well.  Highly recommend this approach.

Thanks for the votes, folks! Great to see inside the minds of this illustrious community.

JGS

arebelspy

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Re: $170 cash found on sidewalk -> what would you do?
« Reply #48 on: October 02, 2016, 04:00:32 AM »
So, in summary, I went back to the 2 houses 5-6 total times over the next week looking for the owner of the loose cash. After confirming it was not House A on the 3rd attempt, I finally found the owner on the last attempt...... and was invited for dinner with both families with some wine and brick oven pizza at some later date. Nice older couple, just moved to the neighborhood, and they were pretty appreciative.

That kept me feeling the right way for at least a week or two, and it taught my young son a lesson as well.  Highly recommend this approach.

Thanks for the votes, folks! Great to see inside the minds of this illustrious community.

JGS
Did you have them describe it or something (the writing or whatever) or just take them at their word?

Either way, awesome outcome on both levels!

Thanks for updating us.
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JustGettingStarted1980

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Re: $170 cash found on sidewalk -> what would you do?
« Reply #49 on: October 02, 2016, 05:07:44 AM »
Yes ARebelSpy,

There were some identifiers as well as the dollar amount that they volunteered. It all worked out well in the end, and I think my son got a bit of a lesson on honesty and "money isn't everything". Community and Values matter more, in my opinion.