Where's George? Or Abe? Or Jackson? Or Ben?
I was given a $5 bill as change the other day.
On it was stamped this message: "Please Enter This Bill At www.wheresgeorge.com"
On the other side of the bill was this stamped message: "See where I've been. Track where I go next. www.wheresgeorge.com"
Well of course I had to follow up on this.
At the website wheresgeorge.com. On the site, I could enter the serial number of the bill, and found that it originated in Shortsville, NY. I picked it up in Syracuse. The report on the bill indicated that it took 49 days to get from Shortsville to Syracuse, an average of 1.2 miles per day. There is a lot of other statistical information available, particularly if you're really into tracking bills. You can also buy wheresgeorge merchandise, chat in a public forums, access events... it would appear that you can really exercise your numismatic jones via wheresgeorge if you want to.
The brains behind it all is Hank Eskin, who just got a wild hare one day and decided it would be fun to track currency, so he came up with a system. He's not the only one doing it, there are other similar efforts, and technically, you can track any bill, whether it has a stamp on it or not. So you can register with wheresgeorge and enter all the bills in your wallet. But the game really is to enter a bill (or bills) into the race and see if you get "hits," that is to say, see if someone else who gets the bill you originated enters its serial number.
So to really get involved, you'll want to stamp or write the tracking message on your bills, enter them into wheresgeorge, then spend them and see where they go.
Of course the question arises: "Is it illegal?" to add the stamped invitation to a bill.
As with many legal questions, it's a little muddy. The statute reads "currency defacement is generally defined as follows: Whoever mutilates, cuts, disfigures, perforates, unites or cements together, or does any other thing to any bank bill, draft, note, or other evidence of debt issued by any national banking association, Federal Reserve Bank, or Federal Reserve System, with intent to render such item(s) unfit to be reissued, shall be fined not more than $100 or imprisoned not more than six months, or both.”
So, does a discrete little stamp in a blank area of a bill render it unspendable? Nope. And the Wall Street Journal did do a report called "Tips For Tracking," that offered advice for Newbie trackers. Still, the folks at some bill tracking sites will say they don't recommend stamping or writing on bills. Just in case.
If you want to see a lot of action, track a $1 or $5 - they get spent often and are likely to travel. If you want longevity, make it a $20 or $50 - they stay in people's wallets a little longer, and as the Treasury Department tells us, don't wear out as fast. ($1s and $5s average only 18 months!)
Who knows? Bill tracking might even inspire a little stimulus action of its own. Happy tracking!
On it was stamped this message: "Please Enter This Bill At www.wheresgeorge.com"
On the other side of the bill was this stamped message: "See where I've been. Track where I go next. www.wheresgeorge.com"
Well of course I had to follow up on this.
At the website wheresgeorge.com. On the site, I could enter the serial number of the bill, and found that it originated in Shortsville, NY. I picked it up in Syracuse. The report on the bill indicated that it took 49 days to get from Shortsville to Syracuse, an average of 1.2 miles per day. There is a lot of other statistical information available, particularly if you're really into tracking bills. You can also buy wheresgeorge merchandise, chat in a public forums, access events... it would appear that you can really exercise your numismatic jones via wheresgeorge if you want to.
The brains behind it all is Hank Eskin, who just got a wild hare one day and decided it would be fun to track currency, so he came up with a system. He's not the only one doing it, there are other similar efforts, and technically, you can track any bill, whether it has a stamp on it or not. So you can register with wheresgeorge and enter all the bills in your wallet. But the game really is to enter a bill (or bills) into the race and see if you get "hits," that is to say, see if someone else who gets the bill you originated enters its serial number.
So to really get involved, you'll want to stamp or write the tracking message on your bills, enter them into wheresgeorge, then spend them and see where they go.
Of course the question arises: "Is it illegal?" to add the stamped invitation to a bill.
As with many legal questions, it's a little muddy. The statute reads "currency defacement is generally defined as follows: Whoever mutilates, cuts, disfigures, perforates, unites or cements together, or does any other thing to any bank bill, draft, note, or other evidence of debt issued by any national banking association, Federal Reserve Bank, or Federal Reserve System, with intent to render such item(s) unfit to be reissued, shall be fined not more than $100 or imprisoned not more than six months, or both.”
So, does a discrete little stamp in a blank area of a bill render it unspendable? Nope. And the Wall Street Journal did do a report called "Tips For Tracking," that offered advice for Newbie trackers. Still, the folks at some bill tracking sites will say they don't recommend stamping or writing on bills. Just in case.
If you want to see a lot of action, track a $1 or $5 - they get spent often and are likely to travel. If you want longevity, make it a $20 or $50 - they stay in people's wallets a little longer, and as the Treasury Department tells us, don't wear out as fast. ($1s and $5s average only 18 months!)
Who knows? Bill tracking might even inspire a little stimulus action of its own. Happy tracking!
Comments