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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;ewomack, post: 2666674, member: 15588&quot;]Apparently, some people thought that the lowered surfaces (often called &quot;incuse&quot;) on the US $2.5 and $5.00 Indian gold pieces could harbor diseases. I&#039;ve never heard of any real cases of infection arising from that claim. My mother always used to tell me to wash my hands after handling large amounts of pocket change, but proving that I became sick from handling it would probably require enormous burdens of proof.</p><p><br /></p><p>I have no personal history of this, but apparently the threat is real enough to warrant a an academic paper:&nbsp; <font size="4"><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24571076" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24571076" rel="nofollow">Paper money and coins as potential vectors of transmissible disease</a> (looks like it requires a login and possibly payment to read).</font></p><p><font size="4"><br /></font></p><p><font size="4">And there&#039;s this article from the UK&#039;s Daily Mail called &quot;<a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3021323/This-money-needs-laundering-Scientists-reveal-thousands-bacteria-colonies-growing-dirty-coins-notes.html" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3021323/This-money-needs-laundering-Scientists-reveal-thousands-bacteria-colonies-growing-dirty-coins-notes.html" rel="nofollow">Scientists reveal the thousands of bacteria colonies growing on dirty coins and notes</a>&quot;</font></p><p><br /></p><p>But this article thinks the worries are overblown:<a href="http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2006/07/12/1684553.htm" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2006/07/12/1684553.htm" rel="nofollow"><font size="4">Myth of dirty money exposed</font></a></p><p><br /></p><p>Who&#039;s right? I have no idea.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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