Can you spend money that's been torn in half?

Question

Is it illegal to tear money in half? Can you tape money back together and still use it?

Answer 1

Yes, you can. Federal law requires at least 5/8 of the bill to be legible. If the two halves match, you are all set. Most merchants would accept this, but if not, you could take it to any federal reserve bank and exchange it.

Answer 2

Defacing federal property is illegal, which is what ripping money apart essentially is. Taping it back together does allow you to use it again, but you can also take the pieces to any federal reserve and they will replace with with a fresh bill. I think you need to have 50%+ of the actual bill that was damaged for this to work.

Answer 3

I think it's illegal to tear money up. But it's legal to tape it together and spend it.

Answer 4

If you have a bill torn in half and only one complete set of serial numbers and just two on the other side . can this half a bill be redeemed for a whole bill?
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Answer 5

Thank you for asking this question. Its a question that I always wonder about. I usually tape the bill together with transparent tape and have no problem but I always wonder.

Again thanks! This is why Yahoo Answers exists.

Answer 6

Yes - as long as they are both halves of the same bill. Also, if one half is bigger than the other half, the bigger half can be spent - although you may find it hard to find anyone who would take it.

Answer 7

can you spend a bill if you only have one half of the note

Answer 8

If the serial numbers on both halves match, then, yes.

Answer 9

in the US... yes... or just take it to a bank and exchange it for a good bill...

Answer 10

Thank you