Uphill battle

You have entered 32,837 Bills worth $90,186
Bills with hits: 2,405 Total hits: 2,711
Hit rate: 7.32% Slugging Percentage: 8.26% (total hits/total bills)
George Score: 1,113.02
Your rank (based on George Score) is #670
(out of 51,288 current users with a George Score. [98.7 Percentile])

Your State Rank in Florida is: 35 out of 6,486 [99.5]

Getting hits on a $2 bill is definitely going to be an uphill battle. I’m still seeing them put under the cash tray. I’m still getting surprised looks from cashiers. I’m still a little surprised, although I know I shouldn’t be.

I realized that it’s not unlike the $1 coins, which I don’t want to use at all. (It’s mainly because they can’t be tracked, but also because I don’t have room for them in my wallet.) If you think about it, how often do you get a $1 coin in change? How often have you asked for one at the bank. I don’t even know if most people my age would even know what an SBA coin is. (SBA stands for Susan B. Anthony, for those that are wondering.)

I have to believe that the more I spend $2 bills, the more people will get used to them. Still, I have yet to see a register with a slot for $2 bills. I have yet to receive one as change, although I have seen a few of mine given out. (Most places don’t, though.)

Is there a city out there that uses them on a regular basis? I know that there are others out there that think like I do and spend the bills. Where are these people, though? Do they get jobs in retail? I’d have to think that at least someone has the opportunity to put a few in the register like I occasionally do.

One of these days, when I get the chance, I should put a few in. Not a lot of people pay in cash and I know that most of them would likely end up in the deposit, especially if I’m not closing. My coworkers don’t particularly like $2 bills.

It’s definitely an uphill battle.

bills with blue stamps

You have entered 32,007 Bills worth $88,282
Bills with hits: 2,353 Total hits: 2,649
Hit rate: 7.35% Slugging Percentage: 8.28% (total hits/total bills)
George Score: 1,110.31
Your rank (based on George Score) is #689(out of 51,486 current users with a George Score. [98.7 Percentile])
Your State Rank in Florida is: 36 out of 6,464 [99.4]

bills with blue stamps 1573
Originally uploaded by Brian Kuhl

It’s strange when you find the same marking on several bills. It’s even stranger when you find them on consecutive bills. It probably means that I’m connected to the culprit by only one or two people. It’s like when I get my bills back at the casino. I usually get several back at once, but for some reason, I get only a few at a time. (I don’t think I’ve gotten more than five or six back, despite putting in up to 25 at a time.)

I’ve been reading and I’ve heard that companies and organizations will often do this to show a community what their presence means in said community. $2 bills have even been used for this purpose. The idea is that when people see the bills and/or markings on a repeated basis, they get the idea. They’ll even circulate and serve as a constant reminder for whatever length of time that the bills stay in town.

I have no idea what this is supposed to mean. First off, I wouldn’t think that any one company is so vital to our economy that they would be able to do this and have it work effectively. Secondly, the mark has to have some link to the company, such as a logo. I have no idea what this logo.

As I’ve said before, this may be someone wanting to see how many of their bills come back to them. I’d like someone to see this and explain it to me. I know that I’m going to be totally wrong on it and that there’s some obvious explanation for it, but for now, that’s what I’m going with.

My little trip

You have entered 30,842 Bills worth $84,718
Bills with hits: 2,266 Total hits: 2,548
Hit rate: 7.35% Slugging Percentage: 8.26% (total hits/total bills)
George Score: 1,105.85
Your rank (based on George Score) is #709
(out of 52,037 current users with a George Score. [98.6 Percentile])
Your State Rank in Florida is: 37 out of 6,435 [99.4]

I got back from vacation. I had a chance to spend lots of marked bills, of which I’ve gotten a few hits. There are two in Winston-Salem, NC, which I’m sure are ones that I took with me. (I had entered them only a few days before and close to each other.) Mostly, I bought gift cards. I reloaded my Starbucks and Subway cards and also bought new Panera and Waldenbooks cards.

When I got the card at Panera, it looked like the cashier was showing them to someone else. I asked about it and she said that she was simply putting $50 in singles together to put in the back. They’ll probably be staying in the store, but I don’t know if I’ll see any hits off of that for a while.

In other news, I went to the bank today and got five $2 bills. Unfortunately, four of them were ones that I had already stamped. I think that since I ask for them so often, they save them for me. This means that they also save the bills I’ve already stamped, not knowing that I want new bills.

I was also able to get a lot of new bills at the bank. I didn’t hit any, but I found a few that had writing on them. This was the best shot I was able to get of them. I don’t know why anyone would put this all over the bills or why I got so many of them, but I suspect that a lot of them will be making their way to the casino next week.

IKEA

You have entered 29,248 Bills worth $80,349
Bills with hits: 2,149 Total hits: 2,404
Hit rate: 7.35% Slugging Percentage: 8.22% (total hits/total bills)
George Score: 1,099.21
Your rank (based on George Score) is #754
(out of 52,164 current users with a George Score. [98.6 Percentile])
Your State Rank in Florida is: 37 out of 6,390 [99.4]

I went to IKEA yesterday and had a chance to let my bills see the inside of one of their registers in two cities. (The other time was when I was out in in the Phoenix area.) Here’s the thing. I made the mistake of using $2 bills. When I went to the snack counter to get lunch, I didn’t see where the cashier put them, although she was caught off guard.

When I made it to the checkout counter to buy the items that I wanted, I again used twos. This time, I noticed that she put them under the tray. My parents were there, ahead of me in line, and I had people behind me. Once again, I found myself wanting to ask the cashier why, but didn’t want to hold people up.

It may simply be a matter of time. Places like McDonald’s seem to be a little more tolerant. This could be me wearing them down or simply wishful thinking. Either way, it was just one time that I noticed. I don’t know if IKEA or any place else has an actual policy against twos. I think it’s just some sort of collectively unconscious effort.

Anyway, I just thought I’d share.

fifty with crease 3350

You have entered 29,033 Bills worth $79,904
Bills with hits: 2,135 Total hits: 2,390
Hit rate: 7.35% Slugging Percentage: 8.23% (total hits/total bills)
George Score: 1,098.51
Your rank (based on George Score) is #763
(out of 52,178 current users with a George Score. [98.5 Percentile])
Your State Rank in Florida is: 38 out of 6,385 [99.4]

I actually found this $50 bill the other day. I thought it was interesting, but I’m not sure if I want to keep it. There’s an actual crease that affected the printing, which is interesting. I have to see how much that affects the value. It’s not really worth holding on to for the sheer novelty.

I also found a 1976 series $2 bill with a date-of-issue postmark, which I will be holding on to. For those that don’t know, when the $2 was reintroduced in 1976, some post offices postmarked the bills to commemorate the reintroduction of the bill. Again, I don’t know if it’s worth anything, but it’s definitely worth hanging on to, especially since I hold on to 1976 twos anyway.

I can’t think of much else to post. I know I’m not keeping up with a post every day, but I’d like to.

Ranking

You have entered 28,421 Bills worth $78,294
Bills with hits: 2,076 Total hits: 2,326
Hit rate: 7.30% Slugging Percentage: 8.18% (total hits/total bills)
George Score: 1,095.47
Your rank (based on George Score) is #780(out of 52,413 current users with a George Score. [98.5 Percentile])
Your State Rank in Florida is: 39 out of 6,361 [99.4]

I went up to 37, but I got knocked back down to 39. This happens when people refresh, since points are taken off for not refreshing. The points are added back when you do refresh your hits by state. If someone falls under me, then refreshes, I get knocked back down. This is illustrated with Bank of Frank’s Spy Tool. (Look for me under Florida.) Right now, those that are above me are staying above me, which means that it will be a while before I go back up. It took me a while to break into the top forty. It’s going to be even longer before I get to the top thirty.

You have entered 27,918 Bills worth $76,903
Bills with hits: 2,035 Total hits: 2,280
Hit rate: 7.29% Slugging Percentage: 8.17% (total hits/total bills)
George Score: 1,093.19
Your rank (based on George Score) is #779
(out of 52,389 current users with a George Score. [98.5 Percentile])
Your State Rank in Florida is: 38 out of 6,343 [99.4]

I went to the mall yesterday ready to go to the casino, but wanting to get lunch first. I stopped by the Tony Roma’s Express that opened there. (It wasn’t quite as good as I expected, but that’s another story.) I guess one of the pitfalls of having just opened is not knowing how much change you need over the course of a day. They were out and I was able to provide them with $50 in singles.

Now, I normally don’t mind doing this, but the cashier gave me back $10 in twos that I had given her to pay for my lunch. I was hoping to get them into circulation at the mall, but I’d rather leave $50 in singles than $10 in twos. I think I did well.

I was able to get a few $2 bills into circulation at the casino, but not many. Since they don’t give them out as change and I don’t know where they go, I don’t want to spend too many there. I don’t know if it’s my imagination or what, but I think the machines are starting to take twos again.

Anyway, when I got back, I remembered to get an iTunes card. The two toms that I gave as payment were put into the drawer for the ones. I consider this a very good sign. I don’t know if they really are getting back into circulation, but it’s as good a place as any, considering that they have Internet access there. If I spend enough twos there, I’ll eventually get a hit.

Well, I figured I’d share the day’s events.

You have entered 27,831 Bills worth $75,915
Bills with hits: 2,028 Total hits: 2,272
Hit rate: 7.29% Slugging Percentage: 8.16% (total hits/total bills)
George Score: 1,092.79
Your rank (based on George Score) is #773
(out of 52,252 current users with a George Score. [98.5 Percentile])
Your State Rank in Florida is: 37 out of 6,337 [99.4]

It looks like I’m staying above 40th place in Florida. I was bouncing around for a while, mostly because people were waiting several days before refreshing. (Your George Score goes down for every day that you don’t refresh.) It’s possible that I’ll go back down in the next few days, but I am making progress right now. That leads me to believe that I’ll be in the top 40 for a while.

I have today and tomorrow off, which is unusual for me. I usually get Mondays and Tuesdays off, but due to scheduling concerns over the next few weeks, I have to take today off. Normally, this wouldn’t be a problem, but most banks will be closed today and tomorrow.

Today is, of course, Sunday. It’s a day that banks are usually closed. Tomorrow is Columbus Day, a day which all banks close. This means that I wasn’t able to get change from banks today and I won’t be able to get change from banks tomorrow.

I went to the casino today anyway. When I first tried to get on the bus, I saw a big wall of rain, so I decided to hold off. Forty-five minutes later, it had cleared up and I was able to go. I didn’t have much on me, but I was able to get a few bills into circulation. I actually came out $10 or $15 ahead.

If I go back tomorrow, I’ll probably bring more bills with me. I’ll leave some singles behind so that I’ll have enough to cover the registers when I go in to work Tuesday. The big thing will be having fives, but that shouldn’t be a problem, either. I have some twenties that I can break if I go tomorrow. If not, I may be able to go to a local grocery store to get fives. I may even have enough right now depending on how busy it is.

After going to the casino, I went in to the Apple Store to get an iTunes gift card. I only had $2 bills at that point. When I gave them to the guy at the register, he actually tested them with a pen. (I think this is the third or fourth time I’ve had this done with twos.) He said to a coworker how he wasn’t looking forward to closing with them because of the way that they have to enter the money into the machine.

I told him that he could always get them back into circulation, which I think he’s going to do. He put them in the register where the tens normally went. (He was out of tens at the time; he probably moved them when he got tens in.) Considering that the Apple Store at the mall has computers with Internet access, it’s possible that I may even get some hits there. It’s doubtful, though, since they closed at 8:00 and I haven’t seen any yet. I can always hope, though.

You have entered 26,091 Bills worth $70,835
Bills with hits: 1,932 Total hits: 2,164
Hit rate: 7.40% Slugging Percentage: 8.29% (total hits/total bills)
George Score: 1,086.91
Your rank (based on George Score) is #815
(out of 52,371 current users with a George Score. [98.4 Percentile])
Your State Rank in Florida is: 39 out of 6,289 [99.4]

When I went to the bank today, I asked for twos. They only had three, but I did get a series 1953A. (You can see pictures at http://www.flickr.com/photos/seacow_99/1420830176/ and http://www.flickr.com/photos/seacow_99/1419942863/ if you like.) It’s so old I can’t even enter it into Where’s George. It’s strange to think that in all the years that I’ve been asking for bills that I’ve never seen a $2 that old. I did get an old single and an old ten, series 1969, but I let the one back into circulation before I realized what I had done.

In better news, I’m now above #40 in the state. I had that before, but only momentarily between posts. A few people refreshed and pushed me back down to the 40s. I’m inching towards #1 in the state, but I think the top ten is going to be tough. (Assuming I even get there.)

I’m going to keep asking for more twos in the hopes of getting more bills. Maybe I can even get a silver certificate.

Links to pictures

You have entered 25,987 Bills worth $70,554
Bills with hits: 1,927 Total hits: 2,157
Hit rate: 7.42% Slugging Percentage: 8.30% (total hits/total bills)
George Score: 1,086.53
Your rank (based on George Score) is #815
(out of 52,378 current users with a George Score. [98.4 Percentile])
Your State Rank in Florida is: 40 out of 6,285 [99.4]

It occurs to me that I should probably post links to the two pictures that I didn't post in the blog. (The Jenny and Maureen L. pictures)

Here they are:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/seacow_99/1388417033/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/seacow_99/1389313622/

This will make them easier to find later on.

Markings and soforth

You have entered 25,987 Bills worth $70,554
Bills with hits: 1,925 Total hits: 2,155
Hit rate: 7.41% Slugging Percentage: 8.29% (total hits/total bills)
George Score: 1,086.43
Your rank (based on George Score) is #813
(out of 52,345 current users with a George Score. [98.4 Percentile])
Your State Rank in Florida is: 40 out of 6,285 [99.4]

I went to the bank for work on Monday and noticed that one of my twos had made it into one of the teller’s drawer. It was still there today, which is both bad news and good news. The bad news is that someone deposited it, but the good news is that the teller has it waiting for someone to ask for it. I don’t know if anyone will, but it is there. (I can tell it’s mine since it has one of the Biscayne Park stamps on it.) It makes me feel a little better that the bank is keeping it. I don’t know if he’s keeping it for me, but he hasn’t said anything. I’d really like someone else to take it.

I’ve got another bill with writing on it. This one is interesting only due to local significance. There is a mall in Miami called The Mall at 163rd Street, usually referred to the 163rd Street Mall. It is in the northeast quadrant of the county, which puts it on NE 163 Street. I could be totally off on this considering the circulation that singles get.

I also got 17 hits pulled since the person that entered them used a separate account to enter them, which raised suspicion. I wrote in to make sure that there wasn’t anything going on my permanent record, but it was apparently evident that I had done nothing wrong. Overall, it’s no big deal. 17 hits isn’t going to end the world or cause civilizations to rise and fall. I’m just a little curious as to how he found 17 of my bills at once.

All things considered, it’s been an interesting week or so.

Of writing and acceptance

You have entered 25,328 Bills worth $69,076
Bills with hits: 1,904 Total hits: 2,136
Hit rate: 7.52% Slugging Percentage: 8.43% (total hits/total bills)
George Score: 1,085.14
Your rank (based on George Score) is #809 (out of 52,157 current users with a George Score. [98.4 Percentile])

Your State Rank in Florida is: 41 out of 6,274 [99.3]

I’ve decided that it’s easier to keep my photos on Photobucket. I haven’t really figured out how to add multiple pictures in the same post. I am still going to add them to Flickr mostly so that people can comment on them individually. I have one here that I want some answers on and I figure that it’s more likely that I’ll get an answer if I have them in two places rather than just one.

I got both of these from the casino in Hallandale. Now, I would have been curious if I had just seen one, but to get two in a row with the same number is just odd. I think this deserves an explanation. Is it part of a phone number? Is it part of an address? Is it a special year? I don’t know.

Whatever it is, why write it on two bills. I can see if it’s some sort of independence year. Maybe it’s to commemorate the 540th anniversary of some special occasion. (Since the bill isn’t 40 years old, I can at least assume that it’s not the 500th anniversary.) It may be leet, in which case I’ll need someone to translate. From what I understand, there’s no definitive guide to translating leet and leet is meant to encode information, making it difficult to translate.

Also, I found two bills with names on them. One is Jenny and the other is Maureen L. I’m not going to post them here, only because I get so many with names on them. It’s becoming a little cliché at this point. I am posting them on Flickr if you want to have a look, though.

On another note, I’m getting a little worried about my usage of $2 bills. It’s not that I think I have a problem spending them. It’s that I think people often have a problem taking them. In many cases, people have to ask someone else if they can accept them. This confuses me, as they’re still valid currency. Before you say that some places won’t accept $100 and $50 bills, bear in mind that there is a legitimate reason for this. Most places of business can’t afford to break too many of these, as they may have only $100 in the register at any given time. Breaking a $2 bill isn’t often that big of a problem.

The problem comes from people who don’t realize that $2 bills are still being printed or are being thrown by someone who’s actually spending one. Many of the places that I go to regularly don’t have a problem with it. (My only concern there is that they’re not being put back into circulation, which stems from the aforementioned problems.)

Come on, people. $2 bills aren’t that rare.

writing on two-dollar bill

You have entered 24,989 Bills worth $68,131
Bills with hits: 1,889 Total hits: 2,116
Hit rate: 7.56% Slugging Percentage: 8.47% (total hits/total bills)
George Score: 1,083.99
Your rank (based on George Score) is #834
(out of 52,218 current users with a George Score. [98.4 Percentile])
Your State Rank in Florida is: 41 out of 6,267 [99.3]

This is a test post. I’m not sure that the formatting or anything will work, but I want to see if I can use Flickr to post pictures. If I like what I see, I may continue. The image that I’m trying to post is of a $2 bill. It has some sort of writing that I can’t identify. I’m hoping that between Flickr and the blog, I get some sort of comment about it.

Small bills

You have entered 24,882 Bills worth $67,738
Bills with hits: 1,873 Total hits: 2,099
Hit rate: 7.53% Slugging Percentage: 8.44% (total hits/total bills)
George Score: 1,083.12
Your rank (based on George Score) is #838
(out of 52,295 current users with a George Score. [98.4 Percentile])
Your State Rank in Florida is: 44 out of 6,262 [99.3]

I actually got a lot of $2 bills from Washington Mutual today. I was able to get 70, which brings me to just over 600 entered. Washington Mutual seems like they’re a pretty good bank to get twos from, even though it‘s usually hit and miss. In fact, one of the bills was already entered into the system. The user that initially entered the bill seems rather fond of $2 bills. It’s nice to see that someone else is entering them.

On another note, I went to a mall in Broward the other night and had the chance to purchase an iTunes card. I paid for it in marked singles, which I think the cashier put underneath the other bills. I have no way of knowing since the tray wasn’t visible. Since it was towards the end of the day, it’s possible that they were saving them for the next day, but I doubt it. Putting the bills at the bottom of the stack usually means that they’re going to deposit them.

I got that today with some $2 bills that I spent at Aventura Mall. The cashier put them at the bottom of the singles stack, which I took to mean that they’ll be deposited. Even when a cashier puts them next to the twenties, I worry that they’ll be deposited. At work, we’ve never given a $2 bill as change. (I usually swap them out to enter and mark; if I’m not there, my coworkers will deposit them.)

I think that this is why my hit rate on $2 bills is at 0.7% and my hit rate on singles is at 8.5%. No one reissues them like singles. $2 bills have the lowest hit rate of any denomination that’s gotten a hit. (I have no hits on twenties, fifties or hundreds.) Twos almost have it as bad as hundreds in the sense that they’re usually deposited. At least $2 bills are sought out by a small fraction of the population and you can get 50 times as many bills for the same price.

I’d like to see the day when $2 bills are given as change at places other than Monticello.

$2 bills and then some

You have entered 24,219 Bills worth $66,091
Bills with hits: 1,822 Total hits: 2,038
Hit rate: 7.52% Slugging Percentage: 8.41% (total hits/total bills)
George Score: 1,079.75
Your rank (based on George Score) is #851
(out of 52,256 current users with a George Score. [98.4 Percentile])
Your State Rank in Florida is: 43 out of 6,245 [99.3]

I got another new county in Georgia, bringing up the total to 22 counties out of 159.

I was in Starbucks today and I saw a $2 bill in the tip jar. I don’t know where that person got it, but they apparently thought it a good idea to give it as a tip. It’s possible that they got it as change at the Starbucks or somewhere else in the mall, which would be a good sign. It’s also possible that they’re like me in that they want to get them into circulation. I checked the bill and it wasn’t marked, so I can be relatively certain that it wasn’t mine.

It’s funny that since I wanted to ask why people why they put toms under the register, I haven’t had it happen as much. It usually happens at McDonalds and there’s enough of a line that I don’t want to hold things up. However, some of the people there have started putting them in the register. I still have no idea if they’re giving them out as change or not, but it’s progress and I’ll take it.

The one chance I did get to ask was at the Apple Store. The woman at the register said simply that they didn’t have the space in the tray for them. I told her that if she put them under the register, the bill would never see circulation again, hinting that I wanted the bills to get back out.

I did pick up a lot more at the bank today. Washington Mutual had fifty of them and a Bank United had another two. I wanted to get fives, but didn’t think of it until most of the banks were closed. It doesn’t really matter. I have some and should have a chance to get more tomorrow.

The big thing for me is entering all of the bills tonight. I wish that I had gotten sequential twos, which would have made things much easier. Then again, there’s always stamping…

Close to county bingo

You have entered 24,207 Bills worth $65,871
Bills with hits: 1,817 Total hits: 2,033
Hit rate: 7.51% Slugging Percentage: 8.40% (total hits/total bills)
George Score: 1,079.49
Your rank (based on George Score) is #845(out of 52,222 current users with a George Score. [98.4 Percentile])
Your State Rank in Florida is: 44 out of 6,243 [99.3]

I got a hit in Kent County, DE, leaving me with just Sussex County for Delaware bingo. That means that I have two states waiting on one county for bingo. (The other state is Connecticut; be on the lookout if you’re in Middlesex County.)

I don’t know if I mentioned it, but I got a new domain name for this blog. For those of you using http://bkuhl.blogspot.com, the new URL is http://www.briankuhl.com, so update your bookmarks. (Obviously, you can still access this site using the old URL, but I’d prefer the new one since I’m paying for it.) I can also be emailed at briankuhl@briankuhl.com.

You have entered 24,176 Bills worth $65,469
Bills with hits: 1,801 Total hits: 2,016
Hit rate: 7.45% Slugging Percentage: 8.34% (total hits/total bills)
George Score: 1,078.63
Your rank (based on George Score) is #853
(out of 52,245 current users with a George Score. [98.4 Percentile])
Your State Rank in Florida is: 44 out of 6,237 [99.3]

I got another new county, this time in Alabama. Today seems to be the day for new counties.

3 new counties

You have entered 24,176 Bills worth $65,469
Bills with hits: 1,799 Total hits: 2,014
Hit rate: 7.44% Slugging Percentage: 8.33% (total hits/total bills)
George Score: 1,078.53
Your rank (based on George Score) is #853
(out of 52,226 current users with a George Score. [98.4 Percentile])
Your State Rank in Florida is: 44 out of 6,237 [99.3]

It turns out that the hit in question the other day was legit, but I got another similar hit that came back from Las Vegas. While I do already have a Vegas hit, it kind of sucks that this has happened twice. I realize that to someone that doesn’t do this regularly, it doesn’t really matter where the bill is hit, but it does matter. I’d like to see the bill get a hit further away.

It just goes to show how well a $1 bill circulates. It can make it to Vegas and back in a few months. I’ve heard that $1 bills get the best circulation since everyone uses them and they’re in and out of registers all the time. $100 bills always go to the bank since they pretty much don’t get given out as change. (The same is usually true of fifties.)

I did get three new counties. One was in Florida, another in Ohio and a third in Louisiana. Florida counties are hard to come by since I have so many. (Levy is the 44th county I’ve gotten out of the 67 that Florida has.) It’s strange how I get new counties in groups like that. I’ll go for a while without any. Again, it’s hardest when you need one or two, as with Connecticut. I need one county out of the state’s eight.

Well, here’s to hoping I get those remaining counties and states.

You have entered 24,169 Bills worth $65,439
Bills with hits: 1,793 Total hits: 2,008
Hit rate: 7.42% Slugging Percentage: 8.31% (total hits/total bills)
George Score: 1,078.23
Your rank (based on George Score) is #854
(out of 52,225 current users with a George Score. [98.4 Percentile])
Your State Rank in Florida is: 43 out of 6,234 [99.3]

I seem to be slipping in the rankings. I hit 39 a while back, but I’m back to 43. My slugging percentage seems to be going up, though. I don’t know if it’s the new stamp or the fact that I haven’t really been entering as many bills as of late. Part of it is that I’ve been entering more fives. The trip made it hard to find bills to enter, mostly because I was more concerned on spending.

I got a new state with a hit in Overland Park, Kansas. This leaves me with just Alaska, Idaho, Montana and North Dakota for fifty-state bingo. (As one might imagine, that’s where you have all fifty states.) I’ve been getting a few new counties lately, but it’s becoming increasingly rare that they are in new states, as well.The first dozen or so are pretty easy. (Your first hit is guaranteed to be in a state that you didn’t have before.) Once you get to the last five or ten, new states are rarer and rarer. The last one has a reputation for being nearly impossible, yet people do it.

This hit worries me a little. The person brought it back to Miami from Newark? I’m thinking it’s a false hit. I have to report it and see if this is the case. However, what are the odds that the person also happens to live in Miami? Either way, it’s a little odd. (Note: If you see that the second hit is someplace other than Miami, it means that it was a false hit and that the problem has been corrected.)

That’s all I can really think of for now. I wish I had more to put in.

Of malls and bills

You have entered 23,952 Bills worth $64,740
Bills with hits: 1,766 Total hits: 1,977
Hit rate: 7.37% Slugging Percentage: 8.25% (total hits/total bills)
George Score: 1,076.53
Your rank (based on George Score) is #875
(out of 52,057 current users with a George Score. [98.3 Percentile])
Your State Rank in Florida is: 42 out of 6,217 [99.3]

I went to Sawgrass Mills today, which is in Broward County. I figured I’d spend some money there since it’s so far away, but I made a simple mistake: I shouldn’t have spent any $2 bills. It seemed as though more people were interested in keeping the bills for themselves than getting them back into circulation. The cashier at Starbucks even said that he was going to keep them for good luck. I would have been better off using the cash card.

Sawgrass Mills is a good money for circulation because it is (or at least, was) a pretty popular mall. I remember it being a tourist attraction at one point, but I think it’s died down a little bit. I wanted to get a cash card at one of the places at the food court, but I didn’t have any luck. The Subway there couldn’t do any cash card transactions.

They only other places that I go to regularly were Starbucks, Sbarro’s and Burger King. I already mentioned that I don’t want to load up on Starbucks that much because I know I won’t be using it frequently. Sbarro’s doesn’t have any sort of gift card, so that was out of the question. Neither of the two Burger King locations there had any cash cards to put money on, so I was out of luck there, too.

I don’t go to Burger King a lot, but I do stop by there on occasion. The only reason I even tried was that I wanted to get some money out into the mall. I did have some luck getting an iTunes card at Target, although I suspect that I may have had better luck getting it at F.Y.E., instead. Target has outside access, meaning that people can buy at Target and just leave, whereas people at F.Y.E. are more likely to go back into the mall. At the very least, I did buy some DVDs at F.Y.E., so I may at least get a few mall hits.

I haven’t been getting any reactions to the new stamp. I don’t know if that’s a good thing or not. I want my bills to get noticed, but not get too many questions. Many people ask why I would want to track the bills. Um, so I can ignore them and not see where they go next? A lot of people that ask about the stamps don’t get the concept of seeing where the bills go next. That’s what “Track this bill” means.

I don’t think that the site would be as much fun if everyone did it. There’s something to be said for the challenge of getting all fifty states or getting all of the counties in Florida. If it were too easy, there’d be no fun in getting it and sharing it with others. Still, a little understanding would be nice.

Two $2 hits

You have entered 23,835 Bills worth $64,400

Bills with hits: 1,752 Total hits: 1,961

Hit rate: 7.35% Slugging Percentage: 8.23% (total hits/total bills)

George Score: 1,075.64

Your rank (based on George Score) is #893

(out of 52,066 current users with a George Score. [98.3 Percentile])

Your State Rank in Florida is: 43 out of 6,210 [99.3]

I got two hits on two-dollar bills today, both by the same person and both from bills that I had entered within the past week. (You can view the hits here and here.) I find this interesting because of my recent post where I said that places were putting Toms under the register.

I think that both of these were bills that were put under the register, made it to the bank and back into circulation. I’m not clear, though, as to what the guy plans to do with the remaining three bills. (Since he’s a member, it’s reasonable to assume that they’re going into circulation, but anything’s possible.)

When I went to lunch today, someone behind me noticed that I paid with $2 bills and asked the cashier if he could swap them out. He asked if I had any more; I told him that I had two I could trade with him, but he was only able to take one. That’s probably the only thing worse than going under the register because I can be relatively certain that they’re not going to get a hit. (In fact, when I saw the hits on the $2 bills, I was hoping it was this guy, although I knew it wasn’t.)

One of these days, I’m going to go to the bank and get a whole bunch of Toms just to put them into circulation. I’ll have to ask for new bills to get the best circulation out of them and to make them easier to enter.

Speaking of getting better hits, I did get a new stamp. It shows the state of Florida with “Biscayne Park” above it and “Florida” below. There’s even a dot where Biscayne Park is supposed to be, but it blends in to the coastline. Some of the people in the chat room seemed to think that it would reduce the number of hits I get because it would be too obvious where it came from. My theory is that it’s a bit more noticeable and may garner hits from people that live in Biscayne Park.

A coworker of mine thought that it would advertise where I live, so that people might rob me. This assumes two things. One, someone would have to see the bill and assume that because I’m on Where’s George that I have a lot of cash. Two, they wouldn’t have to be clued in by my ZIP code, which is only a little less specific. (33161 also includes part of North Miami and I think extends over to Barry University.)

Either way, I’m not going to worry about it. My biggest concern is customers giving me grief about it. My aforementioned coworker was happy about my using a new stamp because it was less noticeable. Less noticeable is not what I want. Less noticeable means fewer hits. I want more hits.

Well, until that happens, I can just hope.

You have entered 23,575 Bills worth $63,527
Bills with hits: 1,738 Total hits: 1,943
Hit rate: 7.37% Slugging Percentage: 8.24% (total hits/total bills)
George Score: 1,074.55
Your rank (based on George Score) is #890
(out of 52,031 current users with a George Score. [98.3 Percentile])
Your State Rank in Florida is: 43 out of 6,208 [99.3]

I have a few more bills to share. I’ve been holding on to one of them for a while. I got one with Winnie the Pooh stamps on the front and back.

The front was covered with them while the back had just the one. I think that someone likes Winnie just a bit too much. It could just be me, though.

I also got another bill with the Asian writing. It actually looks like the same set of characters. It’s odd that I’d come across two bills with the same markings. I’d really like to know what they mean, but not having the appropriate keyboard makes it difficult to find out. If anyone knows someone that can translate, please forward this post to them.

I’m curious if it’s even something I should be posting in a family-friendly environment or if it’s some sort of political message or something. I may find out it’s a message from your friendly neighborhood liberation army and I’m unwittingly promoting them. This would make twice that I’ve done so.

This last one is a mystery. It’s just a ring of text with more text in it. Maybe it’s a bank stamp or something. Who marks the back of bills like that? It must be some sort of inventory thing or something. Again, what does it mean? Where did it come from? Is there some greater meaning or does someone want to track their currency to see if it comes back to them?

I have to wait and see on these. Maybe if someone finds the bill and logs them on Where’s George, I’ll get some clue. If not, it will just have to be one of those mysteries of the ages.

More Toms

You have entered 23,434 Bills worth $63,145

Bills with hits: 1,729 Total hits: 1,933

Hit rate: 7.38% Slugging Percentage: 8.25% (total hits/total bills)

George Score: 1,073.94Your rank (based on George Score) is #887

(out of 51,957 current users with a George Score. [98.3 Percentile])

Your State Rank in Florida is: 42 out of 6,206 [99.3]

I’m beginning to rethink posting the stats. My mother saw the amount of money I had and freaked. I have to admit that I’m a bit freaked, myself. Granted, swapping out bills at work and going to the casino helps, but how did I get $63,145 bills? That’s a lot of swapping.

I’ve been doing fives mostly, only because we have a lot of singles, mostly mine. Also, fives are easier to carry inconspicuously. A hundred dollars in singles is a little obvious. A hundred dollars in fives can fit in my wallet.

I will admit that I may need a new wallet. I’d like something like the TARDIS from Doctor Who that has more space in the inside than would appear from the outside. That way, I can carry a lot of cash without being noticed. It would also be funny to whip out a bunch of twenties once in a while. (Maybe not, considering how quickly I’d get mugged in Miami.)

I just got a bunch of two-dollar bills the other day. I would have gotten more, but I wanted to get mostly singles. I think I still ended up with forty or fifty. I’ve been spending a few at the McDonalds near work, but I really shouldn’t. They seem to put them under the register. One of these days, I’m going to ask the people at McDonalds why they do it and encourage them not to. I’ve got to find more places that don’t.

Even my manager has said that he doesn’t want them in the register. Any that we get go back out or into the deposit that night. I don’t know what the big deal is. I think that part of it is the perceived rarity. Why bother dedicating a slot if you get one or two a year? A coworker told me that while I was in New York, we got a Tom. Alas, it was sent into the deposit.

A lot of people ask me where I get the bills. I simply tell them that you can get them at the bank. Any bank that doesn’t have any should be able to order them for you. I have yet to order any, mostly because I don’t want to feel obligated to pick them up. If I do, I may do it through the bank at work. I don’t want to get off the bus with a bunch of twos and have to walk home. Either way, it’s all pretty random.

Just in…

I got back from my trip to New York last week. I know it’s been a while since my last post, but I really couldn’t write while I was away and it took me a few days to get settled back in. I’ve only gotten two hits from the bills I brought with me, but I did have to bring a lot of them back. I just couldn’t find enough chain restaurants to buy gift cards in.

It’s not so much that I couldn’t find one as I just wasn’t really going looking for them. For the first several days, I was worrying about attending my cousin’s wedding. I also found out that most of Long Island is resistant to the chains. Thus, I couldn’t roam about town looking for McDonalds and Subways or simply ask my father to pull over on the rare occasion that I saw one.

There was no shortage of Starbucks. I did get to put a lot of money on a gift card. I didn’t want to overdo that. Subway is fairly easy to spend money at. I can go there and spend a good amount of money on a sub. McDonalds is a little less, but I usually eat at one or the other for lunch five days a week, so I’m going to burn off the cash pretty quickly. With Starbucks, I don’t usually spend more than $4 per visit, and that’s usually once or twice a week. I’m going to keep that money a lot longer.

I was hoping to spend a little more at the airport, but the only recognizable chain was Dunkin Donuts, which I don’t eat at a lot. (Not only do I prefer Krispy Kreme, but until last week, there weren’t any Dunkin Donuts stores near me.) I did get to break a ten on the airplane going to New York. Either way, I got some cash into circulation.

I wanted to try something new. It occurred to me that I could post my Where’s George stats in my blog. I don’t know if it’s going to seem like self-promotion, but I do want to keep the blog about Where’s George and the interesting bills that I come across as a result. What better way to keep a common theme?

It’s going to look like this:

You have entered 23,058 Bills worth $61,960
Bills with hits: 1,709 Total hits: 1,909
Hit rate: 7.41% Slugging Percentage: 8.28% (total hits/total bills)
George Score: 1,072.44
Your rank (based on George Score) is #904
(out of 51,965 current users with a George Score. [98.3 Percentile])
Your State Rank in Florida is: 42 out of 6,198 [99.3]

For those of you unfamiliar with the site, it’s going to take a little explaining. The first two lines are pretty straightforward. I’ve entered 23,058 bills and the total value of those bills is $61,960. The bills with hits is the number of bills with any number of hits. Total hits is the number of hits I have. (The difference between these numbers should give you an idea of how many bills I have with multiple hits. The most I have on one bill is 4.)

Hit rate and slugging percentage have a similar relationship. Hit rate is the percentage of my bills that have at least one hit whereas the slugging percentage has to do with the total number of hits. (Theoretically, it’s possible to have a slugging percentage of more than 100%, but this gets harder the more active you are with the site.) George score is based on a formula that I won’t go in to, but can be found on the site. As for rank, I think you can figure that out on your own.

In any event, it’s getting late here. I’d better be going. I still have bills to stamp tonight.

One more post for the night...

I was actually going through my bills to enter today and I found two bills with writing. (I'm just now getting around to entering the bills. I know it’s late.) One, I was able to photograph. It has simply "AIDA" and "I love Ramon" on it. It looks like two different handwritings and one is in pencil. It's kind of interesting to get two different markings worthy of note.

The other one, I couldn’t get a photo of. The writing was so small, I just couldn’t photograph it, despite a dozen or so failed attempts. It has “Chelo & Mateo” in extremely small writing off to one side in the margin. It looks almost like it was done with a printer of some sort, although how they got it in the margin like that I’ll never figure out.

I figured I would get those in there. If anyone knows what Chelo and Mateo are, let me know.

Of Counties and Jefferson

I just got some good news. I was notified that I got Litchfield County, Connecticut. This means that the only county I need in Connecticut is Middlesex. One more county and I'll have county bingo for Connecticut. This is especially good news since I'm going to New York in a few weeks. I'm hoping that since New York City is so close to Connecticut (and Middlesex County in particular) that I'll be able to get the county easily.

According to the County Difficulty tool on the Bank of Frank web site, a hit in that county should be relatively easy. Actually, all of the counties in that state should be relatively easy. Thus, I may get several bingos.

I'm actually debating whether or not to start using $2 bills regularly. I'm able to use them in the Gulfstream casino, but my manager asked me if I ever got them in change when cashing out. The fact that I don't probably means that they're depositing them, especially considering that only one bank of slots between the two casinos accepts them. This isn't what I want. I want them to be recirculated.

Most places seem to put them under the cash drawer, which means that they're depositing them, as well. I've seen very few places give them out as change. However, I'm thinking that the more I use them, the more likely places are to start giving them back out. I know that my coworkers don't like taking them because there's no place to account for them in our paperwork.

I think this may be true of most places. While registers have the ability to accommodate them, most don't. The only place that I've heard of that accepts them is Jefferson's Monticello estate, and that's because Jefferson's picture is on the front. (Monticello was also featured on the back until the 1976 redesign.)

According to the Wikipedia article, they account for about 1% of bills in production. Granted, that's not a relatively high number, but it's not incredibly rare, either. Even though there's a group of people on Where's George dedicated to entering and marking $2 bills, I could still probably enter thousands of them without finding someone else's.

Anyway, I wanted to get that in. It's been a while since I posed anything and I really should be posting more.

Three new bills to look at

I’ve got three new bills to post pictures of, all of which involve text.


The first one is fairly obvious. It just reads, "Alex" in big blue letters. Not much of a mystery there. The question is as to whether it’s a person who wants to get their name out there (or if they’re expecting to get their bills back or something) or if there’s some bigger meaning to it.

Some things, like the bank marking in my previous post, I can figure out. This is some sort of standard procedure, or at least the byproduct of it. With a person’s name, it’s not as clear. There are so many people named Alex out there that the real mystery is why they do it.

This one, I’m still trying to figure out. Does it say Billarejo? Google has some hits on it, but Alta Vista can’t translate it. I’m guessing that it’s a name. It does look like a signature. That’s really the only thing I can think of. Maybe this Billarejo person knows Alex. Maybe the two of them should get together. I have to wonder if the people that put their names on bills know each other.

At least that one was somewhat legible. This one is blue letters enclosed by a black line. It could be zoclath or zoclatli or something like that. It’s hard to tell. The first letter might even be the number 3, like 30 clatli. This is one of those things that I’d appreciate some comments on.

In other news, I got a hit in Paris, France. The sentence structure isn’t great, but I get the impression that the bill is going to visit Mickey Mouse. And it came from such humble beginnings…

I’ve actually made the top fifty on Where’s George in the state based on George Score. (For those wondering, it’s derived from a formula based on hits, bills entered and the number of days since your last activity.) Sitewide, I’m hovering around 1,000th place.

If I see any new bills or move up in place a lot, I’ll let you know.

Good news and bad news

I’ve had a major good event and a major bad event in the past few days.

First, the good news. The other day, I hit a bill from Wattsburg Gary, the top user on Where’s George. I’m surprised that it hasn’t happened sooner, considering that he’s entered over a half a million bills. I got it from the casino and put it into the drawer at work. I wonder if I’ll get a hit on it.

As for the bad news, I was robbed at gunpoint last night. I had just been to the casino to get my bills into circulation and had to get a whole new set of singles. I lost $200 in singles and $60 in twos. I may have to rethink my strategy here. I’m not so sure that it’s worth carrying that kind of cash.

The worst part is that none of it was entered or marked. There’s no way to track it, but the guy that did it is now carrying a lot of twos. Fortunately, I got out of it alive and unhurt. My wallet wasn’t taken, but my parents have to cancel a lot of stuff. I’m just happy no one was hurt.

More bills back

I went to the casino today and it happened again. I got two of my bills back. When I looked them up on my cell phone, I saw that they had been entered in late February of this year. I put them back into the machine. I’m hoping that it won’t be another four months before someone gets them and takes them home. I’m wondering if I’ve reached a saturation point. It might be time to move on to fives and tens.


I found another interesting marking on a bill. A Google search reveals First Victoria National Bank as a likely suspect. I’m guessing that that’s where the stamp came from, considering that it’s not unusual for banks to stamp a strap of bills, leaving some mark on the top of the bill. The odd thing is that the stamp doesn’t appear to be part of a larger stamp. I’m wondering if someone just had a stamp that the had to use or if this was a common procedure.

In other news, my brother and sister-in-law got mentioned in a New York Times Article. (My brother is Brice Kuhl in case you wanted to skip to where my brother was quoted…) It looks like I’m the only one of the three brothers not to have a newspaper article about them. There’s still plenty of time, though.

Getting bills back

I think I’ve reached a new level of Georging. I went to the casino today and got 50 singles. Of those singles, 11 were already mine. Rather than take them out of the casino, I just spent them in a slot machine so that someone else will get them. Granted, it just happened to me the one time, but I wonder if I’ve reached a point where most of the bills in the casino are ones that I’ve spent there.

I doubt it very much. I would think that there’s a lot of cash in that building, the vast majority of which I’ve never seen. My getting my own bills back presumably will be a rare thing. I know that other people take them out because I actually got nine hits the other day, all from the same person. That one person put in the user note that it was part of a payout from Gulfstream.

I’ll be going back tomorrow. Hopefully, I won’t get too many of my bills. It was only because of the fact that the banks are closed today that I even asked for change from a casino teller. I usually only get two or three when I redeem my ticket. That allows me to leave a lot of my bills there.

I know there was something else that I wanted to write about, but I can’t think of it now. It’s past 11:30 and I’m really tired. I’m sure I’ll think of it tomorrow.

Jury Duty II

Well, jury duty wasn’t that bad. I didn’t get called until after lunch, but I did have to wait almost two hours to be called into the courtroom only to be told that our services wouldn’t be needed. The up side is that it fulfils my obligation for a year and, when it comes down to it, waiting is waiting. I think that all I missed was an animated film.

I got called in while a DVD was starting. It hadn’t even gotten to the feature yet; it was still showing the coming attractions when my number and name were called. The movie seemed to prominently feature cow tipping. I made a joke about cow tipping, asking the woman in front of me how much as appropriate to tip a cow. (Is 10% enough or should I go with 15%?)

She seemed to like the joke, although she didn’t seem to get it until I mentioned the percentages. It turns out that she was called for the same jury panel. (The panel is a group of about 20-30 people that a jury is selected from, for those that don’t know.) She as actually kind of cute. I should have asked for her phone number.

It’s just like me to meet someone and not think of something that simple. Given the low readership of this blog, I doubt very much that she’ll read this any time soon. However, if you know anyone who’s served today, please feel free to forward this post to them.

I had this overwhelming fear that I would be called at an inopportune time, like while I was in the bathroom. Fortunately, you’re not really allowed to go anywhere the PA system isn’t installed, but I did hear an announcement while I was in the men’s room. It’s kind of hard to hear the speakers while the water was running.

Anyway, I just wanted to get that in.

Jury Duty

I’m having trouble sleeping. I guess the reason is that I have jury duty at 8:00 a.m. It’s been a while since I’ve been called last and the three times that I have been called, I haven’t been needed. I just know that this time, I will be needed. The difference this time is that I’m working. The three times that I’ve been called, I didn’t have a job.

I don’t think it will be an issue. The last time that I was called down, I was selected three times, but I think the defendants pled out before a trial ever started. The two times before that, I think I was called in for selection, but I wasn’t selected. (Actually, that was the first time. I don’t actually remember the second time.)

In Miami-Dade County, I’m supposed to be paid by my employer during the time that I serve. I don’t think that my service would necessarily qualify as a hardship since I work for a big company and they could theoretically transfer someone in to cover for me. I don’t know if that will happen, though.

Hopefully, it will just be the one day and that will be it. The thing that sucks is having to be down there so early. Being down there at 8:00 means having to get up before 6:00. That means that I’d better get to bed.

Strange hit

The other day, I got an interesting hit. The site says that it’s in Puerto Rico, even though the ZIP code should be in Florida and the map puts it in New Jersey. (You have to be a member of Where’s George to see the ZIP code and map.)

I’m thinking that it’s a ship. If I understand correctly, Naval ships are given their own ZIP+4 code. I’ve been trying to contact the Navy about it, but the contact form hasn’t been working the past couple of days. I hope that it will work soon. I’d really like an answer to this mystery.

One of the interesting things about having site tracking is that you get to see where people come from. I was looking at the sites that referred people here and I found this. I don’t know this Linnsey, either, but I figured that if they’re going to link here, I might as well link there.

Mystery solved?

I’ve been finding more strange bills. I keep meaning to post them. I suppose I’d better get to it.

Someone sent warm wishes to their father. When I first saw it, I thought perhaps a son was trying to send a message hoping that their father would get the bill. I’m assuming that the bill was given as a gift and the bill was eventually spent. However, I’m thinking that sentimental value would compel someone to hold on to the bill. I think I’d put it in a safe place. Now that I think about it, it is kind of an odd bill. I wouldn’t be surprised to get a comment from someone wanting it back.






This bill is even stranger. The back has "Million dollar bill" on it and the front has all sorts of stuff. I’m really beginning to think that way too many people have way too much time on their hands.

I’m even moving into Asian languages. I found this on a bill, which I’m hoping isn’t offensive. I don’t know what it means. If anyone knows, please post a comment explaining it.

I did find a possible answer to the Gonza mystery. I was looking through YouTube the other day and found this. Again, I don’t even know what language it is, but there is a song or band or person called Gonza and is associated with a band or song or something called Dollar Bill. There’s even a Dollar Bill Web site.

So, it looks like I have one mystery solved, but need two translations now. It looks promising. I may actually be getting somewhere.

I got this bill today with a crossed out Federal Reserve seal. I don’t know if someone has something against the Federal Reserve Board or if they were just bored. Why the seal? Of all the things they could cross out, why the seal? Why not Lincoln or one of the serial numbers?

It’s kind of interesting for a political statement, but what are they trying to say? That they don’t believe in cash? Or maybe they don’t like the FRB. Or they might just be bored. The seal of the Department of the Treasury might have made more sense, I guess. It’s impossible to tell anymore.

This one, I’ve had for a while. I don’t remember where I got it or why I held on to it for so long. Who or what is Copia? I found Copia.org on Google. That site and a few others with Copia in the name have do with Wine. Another site, http://rhetoric.byu.edu/Pedagogy/Copia.htm, says that copia is a method of learning, although I don’t exactly know what it all means.

Speaking of bills, someone came in to Wolf the other day asking for change of a hundred. We don’t usually do this because it drains us of change greatly. However, I happened to have $100 in small bills on me, so I offered to break the bill. When he realized how many bills I had given him, he asked for the hundred back. Oh, well…

This, I found at work. It came from a single-use Fuji camera. Someone had brought it in to be developed. Normally, the canisters get thrown away. However, I thought the writing was interesting, so I kept it. I decided to share with everyone, so there it is.

And so it goes for now. I’ll probably have more later, but whether or not I’ll be motivated to post it is another story.

Getting those bills out

I’ve been having mixed results with my bills lately. I went in to 7-Eleven a few days ago and spent one of my singles. The guy at the register thought it wasn’t real at first. He eventually took it, but put it in the drop safe. There’s a bill that I probably won’t be hearing from any time soon.

In better news, I went to the Post Office yesterday to buy a roll of postcard stamps. When the lady at the register saw all of the singles, she said that she needed them, so I offered 50 more. She gladly accepted and gave me two twenties and two fives. I thus got 50 singles into circulation without having to buy anything.

I don’t know why the Post Office always needs singles. They take credit cards like most other businesses and I would assume that they get the same mix of large and small bills. It’s possible that there’s some restriction on how often or even if they can get change from the bank. Either that or their volume is so high that they can rarely spare someone to go over.

I once thought of going around to Post Offices to break large bills, but it wouldn’t be worth it. I’d probably spend so much money on gas that I’d go broke quickly. Add to that the fact that I don’t even have a car and I still need to work. I’ll just have to limit myself to offering when I have to go.

Cash and carry

I think I very nearly met a Secret Service agent today. (I exaggerate, but not by much.) I was planning on visiting the casino to circulate some bills, then seeing The Number 23 with Jim Carrey. Along the way, I stopped by a store that shall remain nameless to get some jelly beans. I was hoping this would be an uneventful trip, but I just had to test out a new Where’s George stamp that I got yesterday.

It’s circular and goes around the Federal Reserve seal or any similarly sized round thing on the bill. The idea was to get noticed, and that it did. The cashier took one look at my bills and walked away. When she came back, she didn’t have the bills. She had been followed by a man (presumably the manager) who walked into an office.

He emerged a few seconds later and walked over to the register. He asked me if the bills were mine and if I had marked the bills, to which I answered yes. He then asked why I did it. I told him that it was to track the bills. He told the cashier to accept the bills, but that they would go to the bank and that the bank would deal with it.

I told them that if it was going to be a problem, that I’d use debit. Normally, I don’t mind getting bills into circulation, but if I know they’re going to the bank, then there’s no point. I took the bills back and spent some of them at the theater.

Fortunately, I wasn’t late for it, but I think if I had dared this guy to call the Secret Service on me, I would have missed the movie altogether. He wasn’t rude or anything, but he had a tone like I was doing something wrong. I think that if I had argued much with him, he might have banned me from the store.

My manager and other coworkers have told me that they’ve had problems with customers getting my bills, but this is the first time that I’ve ever had a problem with someone. I sincerely hope that someone from the store I went to goes to the bank to get change and all the bank has is marked singles.

It’s not that I’m trying to be sadistic or anything. I’d just like to see what happens when he has to deal with it. All I know is that he’s not getting any of my bills directly from me. I think I’ll spend my money elsewhere

In other bill-marking news, I got a bill marked “Ruth” and what appears to be an extension number. At first, I didn’t know what the letters and numbers were, but when I showed it around the Where’s George chat room, someone suggested an extension number.

It makes sense if someone was calling their office (or some other familiar number) and tried to reach this Ruth person. They got one extension, which was wrong and subsequently scratched out. When they called the operator back, they either got the correct extension or gave up.

It kind of makes you wonder who Ruth is. Look at how far her name and extension went. It’s too bad that the full phone number isn’t on the bill. I could give her a call and ask who it was that wrote her extension on the bill in the first place. Granted, that would be a little much, but it’s kind of why I signed up for Where’s George. I want to know where the bill has been.

As for this one, my only theory is that Gonzo had a sex change. Is Gonza really a name? AltaVista’s Babel Fish doesn’t seem to translate it from French, Spanish, Portuguese or Italian. It’s possible that I’ll meet Gonza one day and find out that it’s a common name, but the Gonza on the bill is really her.

I remember marking my bills once to see if they ever came back to me, but bills have such wide circulation that they never did. I only did ten or twenty of them, but even after entering more than 10,000 bills, only one or two bills have come back to me. A lot of them end up in other states, and rather quickly.

That’s all for now. I’ll post again if anyone else gets angry with me.

I’ve been getting a lot of new singles lately. I’m not even talking about having to have a fifty or a hundred broken. When I do, I get the brand new 2003A bills, which I find kind of annoying. I think the past four times I’ve asked for change, three times I’ve gotten new bills.

I don’t remember where the first one was, but I only got part of the change in new bills, which was really annoying. When I get a pack that’s all new bills, they’re usually sequential, which makes entering the bills into Where’s George easy. There’s even a trick that makes it easier to change the last one or two digits.

However, when I get a stack of singles that’s partially circulated, I have to separate the new bills, sort them and hope that I get enough sequential bills to make it worth it to enter them. If not, then I still have to separate them and spend them separately. (In case you’re wondering, I do this because I don’t like to be the one to have to ruin them.)

I did get $150 in sequential bills, though. (I got them on two separate occasions.) I was planning on going to the casino today to spend them there, but I was able to get rid of most of the bills. Of the 200+ bills I originally got, I have only 64 left. (I’ll usually go to the casino about once a week, so I’ll probably end up there anyway.)

I had to order a new stamp because my old one broke. Instead of "Track this bill at…," it just says " ack this bill at…," which isn’t good. I can still mark the bills, since the URL is still intact, but I’d rather have the whole thing.

I ordered another one of the same stamp, but I also ordered a new stamp. This one is for stamping around the FRB or Treasury seal. (You can see the stamp here.) I’ll probably keep the stamp I have now as an alternate for when I have to travel or something.

I know there’s something else that I want to put in. I’ll probably think of it later.

More writings of other people

I’ve got some more writing on bills to post, and it looks like someone has some explaining to do. I don’t know who this Linnsey is, but someone is very sorry about something that they did to them. I have this whole story imagined in my head where someone did something terrible to Linnsey, Linnsey walked out and this mystery person never got the chance to apologize to them, so they had to write their apology to Linnsey on as many bills as they could get, hoping that the message would get through.

I actually got the bill at the bank. When I pointed out to the teller, she offered to take it back, but I told her that I wanted to keep it. I told her that I’d be posting it here. The only thing is that I now have to spend it. I can be pretty certain that the slot machines at the casino won’t take it, as it’s so written on. (It might work if I put the bill in upside down.)



Speaking of names on bills, I found this one. I don’t know who L. Katie B. is, but she must think she’s #1 or a 1 with a circle around it or something. I have to wonder what the L and B stand for. I’m assuming that Katie is a middle name and that L and B are the first and last initials, respectively.

Maybe the full name is something strange like Leopold Kathryn Bartholomew or something and she never liked going by the other two names, as it often caused confusion. It could also be that L and B stand for some attributes that she thinks she has, like Lovely and Beautiful or something. Maybe she is and maybe she isn’t. I don’t know either way.




This one is pretty straightforward. It’s just “RABBI”. Now, is the person who did this a rabbi? Do they know one? Are they trying to catch the attention of a rabbi so that they might seek council or something? If so, how does the rabbi get in contact with the person?

I know, it’s a bit of a stretch, but I’m trying to make the text here long enough to go down below the picture. I haven’t yet figured out how to format the entries so that it’s done automatically. Either way, I’m curious what the person was trying to accomplish with this. It might just be a case of someone using a bill for scrap paper.



This is definitely a case of scrap paper. You have to wonder what would make someone think of reaching for currency to use as scrap. I mean, are you really that short on paper? Can’t you go out and use the bill to get a pad or something?

I’ve always wondered about the thought process involved in actually seeing money and making the connection with using it as scrap. It’s not even a matter of legality or anything. What makes someone think that the rest of the world wants to look at their random words, numbers and squiggles?

I don’t know, but I’ll keep posting them here.

I was hoping to do an entry sooner. I how have several pictures to upload. One is of a bill that I had to turn in to be retired. I don’t know what the bank does with it. It’s possible that they send it in based on my request, but I doubt that’s enough. I’d think that the bill has been worn out enough that they would send it in.

Even then, what happens to it? Is it sent to some special location where someone makes a final decision? Granted, bills are relatively cheap to print, but given the number of bills out there, I don’t think that the government wants to be paying to have just any bill replaced. Is there a minimum amount of wear and tear? I’ll have to look into that.



I also found two interesting bills. One is a ten that was marked with some sort of stamp. It’s in Spanish and I can’t make out enough of it to put into any sort of translation software. As you can see from the picture, there’s one stamp that’s pretty clear and another big one that’s sort of clear. There’s also a third one on Hamilton’s hear that looks like “OO” or something. There’s nothing on the back that would give me any clues.



The other bill is a single with an outline made from a red marker. I think that in this case, someone just got bored and had a red marker handy. I have to wonder how many bills there are out there that fall victim to such boredom. I’ve seen a few more elaborate, similarly marked bills. In one case, someone actually refused it as payment because the person actually covered a great deal of the bill. He had most of the upper right corner of the front of the bill decorated with a black magic marker.








In other news, I got some pins in the map that I have for Where’s George. The first state that I did was Florida, simply because that’s where I had the most cities. It wasn’t easy to find most of them. I knew many of the cities just because I live near them.

I had to use MapQuest to find most, though. This meant that I had to find the city or ZIP code, copy it into MapQuest and then try my best to find or approximate the location. I didn’t bother with a few of the cities that I couldn’t find simply because they were so close to cities that I already had.



Next came New York and Arizona, which ranked second and third in terms of number of cities. Those were a little easier, only because there weren’t so many hits in each and the cities tend to be more spread out.

The remaining states shouldn’t be that hard. It looks like I have no more than six cities per state, which should allow me to break it up more. I almost gave up with Florida because I had 80 cities and I didn’t want to break it up over two sessions. It makes it hard when you get a new city and you don’t know whether to do it now or wait. If you get several new cities, it can be confusing.

In any event, I should have more to post soon. Whether or not I’ll get around to it is another question.

Two hits

I finally got my first D. C. hit. That means that I now have D.C. county bingo. Granted, it’s pretty easy. Still, I’ll take what I can get. The next-easiest county bingo is Delaware, which I’d like to aim for next, not that there’s much I can do about it from Miami.

I also got my first real Canadian hit. I got one earlier, but it turned out that it was in Miami Beach. I may have mentioned it earlier. I figure that someone’s using a Canadian postal code as their default and neglected to change it when they came down to Miami.

Those are the only two real exciting pieces of information for now.

I think I finally figured out why I haven’t been getting a lot of hits on twos. People are collecting them. This doesn’t come as a complete surprise to me. I knew coming into this that many people either collect them or send them to the bank. That’s why I try to spend only a few at a time.

However, I went into 7-Eleven today to buy something and paid with two $2 bills. The cashier put them under the cash drawer. When I asked about it, she said that her manager collected them. There are two bills that I’ll probably never get a hit on.

The next place that I spent $2 bills was Taco Bell. I paid with three. The guy at the register asked if I had any more. I traded out the rest of the bills I had for two fives and two singles. He also swapped out what I had paid with from the register. I’m somewhat hopeful that he’ll enter them and/or spend them.

I did spend two $2 bills at Starbucks today. The person helping me said that he had never taken them in at the store before. He asked someone else what to do with them. There’s a strong possibility that he may swap them out and enter them.

I’d definitely like more hits on my Toms. I’m going to ask for more on Tuesday if I can. I’m hoping that next time, if I get a lot that they’re all new.

Three new bills

I’ve got three more pictures to post. One is a bill with hole burned in it. It looks like the hole was made with a cigarette. The thing that I find odd is that it’s right beneath the signature. I have to wonder about the set of circumstances that led to someone doing that. Do you get bored one night and just start burning things? “Hey, Ned! Look at what I’m gonna do!”

And yet, they spent it. Here I am commenting on what they did. I think I may have gotten this one from a bank. I wonder why no one took it out of circulation.

Here’s another one that I find odd. When I showed this one in the Where’s George chat room, the best that we could figure out was that someone may have been saying something against the Federal Reserve. I’ve heard of anti-WTO sentiment, but never anti-FRB sentiment. Franklin Roosevelt hasn’t been around for a while, so I doubt that it’s some sort of smear campaign. What could FR stand for? Any comments on what this might be would be appreciated.

I think that this one is fairly obvious. Someone was trying to use the G to help spell out Gangsta. Here’s another case where I wonder. Does this person get a good feeling out of having their work seen, yet remaining anonymous? I don’t suppose I’m helping matters much by bringing attention to them.

All of these bills have been logged on Where’s George. We’ll have to see where the go next. Speaking of which, I got more $2 bills. I actually got 50 of them, but about 20 were 1976 series. I’m going to save those; the rest are entered, marked and either spent or in my wallet. I’m really encouraged by that hit.

I Guess People Really Do Spend Twos

It looks like all of that stamping wasn’t for nothing, after all. I finally got a hit on a $2 bill. The actual hit comes from Hollywood, but it looks like the person got it not to far from the bank where I originally asked for it. I guess that people really do spend twos. I want to get more. Maybe I’ll ask for some twos later in the week. Pay day is coming up soon.

I suppose it’s appropriate. This is the one-year anniversary of my joining Where’s George. Yes, it was one year ago today that I found my first wild bill. If I recall, I got it at Aventura Mall. The rest, as they say, is history.

I also found some more interesting bills. One bill was one that I found a while ago, but for some reason, neglected to post. All I can say is that it’s purple. Beyond that, I can’t really say what it’s supposed to be. Is it a word? I don’t know. Maybe the aliens have finally gotten around to trying to communicate with us.

I also found another bill, this time a twenty, with some more legible writing on it. In fact, it can actually be read from both sides. (The other side isn’t as clear, though.) What this person was trying to say to society is beyond me. I could never understand why people write random numbers, letters and phrases on bills. Do people really have so much money that they can afford to use it as scrap?

This same bill has the portraying of Andrew Jackson with a bit of red eye. They red eye may just be the result of boredom. It may also be some sort of covert message, such as people who photograph presidents have problems with their flash. Again, I’m open to comments with explanations. It almost looks like someone is trying to cross out the eye.

There was actually another twenty with markings that I wanted to swap out, but I didn’t want to dump a lot of singles and the only twenties I had hadn’t been entered yet. Unfortunately, it went into the deposit, so it’s off limits now. I’m sure I’ll find more monetary oddities soon.

More interesting bills

I found two really interesting markings on bills the other day. I have yet to figure out what they say, though. One looks like it says “4 BiZZLE” or something to that effect. The other could be Maueli, whatever that means. Is it a name? Is it a code word? I can't really read it that well. (If anyone can identify either word, please leave a comment. )


I’m thinking that the first is a tag and the other is simply a name. I have to wonder if people just want to put a piece of themselves out there or if they plan on seeing their bills again. I guess that’s the advantage of Where’s George.

I also got a map set up. The plan is to put pins in it for all of the cities that I get hits in. I need to get a lot more pins. I think at last count, I have close to 200 cities. I have 100, but I want to get at least 200 more. There’s no point in getting 100 when I know I’ll have to get more so soon.

The other day, I actually posted my first review on Epinions in a few months. I’d like to post more, but I just haven’t been able to find the time. I guess it’s one of those things that I have the time, but I just don’t take advantage of it. I could stay home one day and just write stuff, but I don’t.

I’m beginning to see what my brother was saying. When you work a long day, you get home and you just want to rest. When you have a day off, you have other things you want to do. For me to write a review would kill the day. It’s not that I can’t. It’s just that by the time I get home and eat dinner, my shows come on if it’s a night that they’re on. Other nights, I go on mIRC.

I have this odd feeling that there’s something else I wanted to post, but I can’t think of what it was. I’m sure it will come to me right after I post this.