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Someone drops 50 dollars.

Spiritual Mask Salesman

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You are walking down the street, someone drops some money. You pick it up and find it's 50 U.S. dollars (or whatever currency you use where you live) - what would you do?

Option 1: Give it back to the person who dropped it.

Option 2: Keep it.
 
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Joined
Aug 9, 2015
Give it back, since I'd feel too guilty to keep someone else's money and U.S. dollars aren't of any use to me. ;)
 

Moonstone

embrace the brand new day
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Oct 23, 2012
If I see a person drop it, I'll try to get their attention and give it back, or run it over to them if I can. If I find money at work and know whose it is, I'll call them and see what they want me to do with it, or deposit it into their account if I don't get an answer back.

If I don't know who dropped the money and it's in a public space, I'll just keep it. If I find a $50 randomly at work then there's a problem, and I'll ask around to the tellers and see if they all balance. If they do, we usually will put it in a general ledger and let security know that we found money so they can check tapes and see where it really belongs.
 
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I would probably give it back. Unless it was Bill Gates. Then I'd pocket it and ask him to drop another 50.
 

CrimsonCavalier

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If, with my own eyes, I witness the money being dropped by the person, and that person, being in front of me and having dropped the amount in question, is not aware of the dropping of the amount in question, then I will return the amount in question forthwith.

If the amount in question is dropped and there is doubt as to who dropped it, and I have not witnessed the dropping of the amount in question, and the amount in question is, having been dropped prior to my witnessing it, already on the ground having been dropped, the amount in question becomes my property.
 

Moonstone

embrace the brand new day
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Oct 23, 2012
If, with my own eyes, I witness the money being dropped by the person, and that person, being in front of me and having dropped the amount in question, is not aware of the dropping of the amount in question, then I will return the amount in question forthwith.

If the amount in question is dropped and there is doubt as to who dropped it, and I have not witnessed the dropping of the amount in question, and the amount in question is, having been dropped prior to my witnessing it, already on the ground having been dropped, the amount in question becomes my property.

Have you considered being a lawyer?
 
Joined
Sep 17, 2015
Yeah sure, it might mean a lot to me but that $50 might be the whole world to whoever I'm giving it back to. You can never be certain on people's circumstances.
 

misskitten

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When I was 15 I was given back roughly 50$ more than I was supposed to at a shop, and I alerted the clerk to her mistake and gave it back. If I saw someone drop it in front of me, I'd do the same. It's one thing to come across money on the ground that has no clear owner, but seeing someone drop it, then you can argue your case until you're blue in the face, I'd still say it's immoral to then take advantage of that situation. You have no idea how much that person might rely on that money.
 

Vanessa28

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Yes I would return it. When people drop 5 cents in front of me I make them aware of it. Why would I keep the money if it isn't mine? If I would lose 50 euros I would be mad too if people keep it and won't return it. I had this happen to me when I was a kid. I lost a couple of guilders (before the euro we had guilders over here) and even if it was like 3 guilders it still meant a lot to me because I worked hard for it. But people never returned it. That doesn't mean I should do it too.
 
Joined
Oct 14, 2013
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Australia
You are walking down the street, someone drops some money. You pick it up and find it's 50 U.S. dollars (or whatever currency you use were you live) - what would you do?

Option 1: Give it back to the person who dropped it.

Option 2: Keep it.

Option 3: Don't pick up the money at all.

I choose option 3. I will call out to the person, hey you dropped your money. If they want tp pick it up after they have been told, that's their issue. I have done my duty to inform them and that's it. Too much risk to myself to be picking up money people just happen to drop.

I have done similar actually, but it was money they left in an ATM. They claimed their money. Well one would hope it was theirs. Either way I am glad they have it and not me.
 

MW7

Joined
Jun 22, 2011
Location
Ohio
In general I would suggest that giving the money back to the person who dropped it would be the morally preferable choice. However, if the person who dropped it looks like the Monopoly man, Mr. Peanut, or is Donald Trump, you may want to give the $50 to Bernie Sanders instead.
 

Night Owl

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I've actually picked up a $100 bill I saw on the side of the road when stopped at a stop sign on a county road in the middle of nowhere.
In that instance, I kept it as there really isn't a feasible way to find out who it belonged to.

However, if I actually witness someone drop money regardless of the amount, I return it to the person who dropped it.
If I didn't witness it and found the money in a store or parking lot, I'll turn it in at the store if the value is >$20.

(I don't see anyone retracing their steps trying to find anything less than $20; and I assume the finder's keeper's rule applies consistently to lesser values of found money)
 

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