http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3954948732&fromMakeTrack=true This seller has something for sale that myself and a few other folks seem to think is not authentic. His reply: "If you want to play games and tell me that the BPE sells regular $20.00 sheets, your crazy and I dont want to talk to you." This reply is posted right on the auction. Others, too. Fun reading. Do you think this is real?
Well, I'm no expert on paper money (except for spending it), but I agree there seems something not legitimate about the item. I have no doubt that the seller is convinced that it is authentic, but it seems to me the Bureau of Engraving and Printing has such a tight grip on their quality control so as to make it almost impossible to create an error like this. I also think his Reserve price, whatever it is, is way too high (matching his expectations), even for a rarity such as this. He could be light years ahead if he had it authenticated first, but maybe he doesn't want this if he has even an iota of suspicion that it's not real. I should hope that any winning bidder would demand authentication before concluding the transaction.
I seem to be going against the grain today for sum reason-- Not so, this item could very well be legit, at the FUN show I saw similiar and more awkward angles, cuts and dieangles and all other types of weird cuts going for $3600.00 and UP!!---wild and crazy, the 1 I saw At the FUN show I wanted to buy was 3600, but $3600?? for a miscut paper? to rich for me bro I rather buy gold saints..
This might be genuine...no way to tell without a close examination. He's correct that the BEP doesn't sell $20 sheets, other than star notes. http://www.moneyfactory.com/store/section.cfm/69/329
A few things set off alarm bells on this one. First, cutting errors are totally random, "at the FUN show I saw similiar and more awkward angles, cuts and dieangles and all other types of weird cuts " describes that pretty well. This piece is almost (about 99.999% probability) folded over at a precise angle then cut. Second, the BEP does not cut their bills apart, they break them apart in stacks of 5000 so there will be no sharp edges (paper cuts, you know), yet the seller describes his piece as having very sharp edges. I've played around with currency sheets and cut them into various shapes and sizes and always got a very sharp edge with my sharp cutting tool not like the squared off edges from the BEP. Third, the BEP only recently started selling star notes, about 8-10 years ago, prior to that, regular notes were available in sheets. I've sent a note to the BEP asking if the serial number might match some of their earlier currency sheets. I'll let you know what they say.
Good point that in years past these $20 sheets may have been available...I don't know for sure but I would be very interested in what the BEP says in their reply to you.
Problems with item: 1. Cut is not "natural looking" (too perfect) 2. How's that get loaded into an ATM without being noticed?
Description: "I got this bill from my mother who works for a bank in the Chicagoland area" I didn't know there was a place called Chicagoland.
I sent an email to the seller with my concerns regarding the sharp edges. He said, "When i say sharp i don?t mean they will give you a paper cut, i mean there are no bend or rounded edges. I can rub my hand over any area and not get cut, it has the same edges as money." Ok, 1 down.
You're obviously not from northwest Indiana or northeast Illinois. Even your major automobile manufacturers use this in their advertising when they refer to "Your Chicagoland Chevy Dealers". It sounds better than Illiana...
I just don't believe it! In the authenticity of the "sheet," or that there's a place called Chicagoland. (said the lad from Kentuckiana )
I've also heard the northern counties in Indiana called "Michiana". I seriously doubt that any bill shaped like this would ever go through a bank's counting machine. In my experience, any bill with even the slightest fold in it causes the machine to jam up and spew bills everywhere. (Yes, it's very frustrating!) Something like this that was supposedly folded this way would definately jam up a counter. Someone at the BEP should have noticed and removed it. Sounds fishy to me... Rachel
Please note I was only verifying the authenticity of the latter and not the former! Greetings from "Da Region"...
