Novelty Money: What Is It, and How Do You Use It? : eBay Guides

View our Novelty Money

Novelty money is known by diverse names, including funny money, fake money, novelty currency, collectible money (collectable notes in Britain), and commemorative money. Whatever you call novelty money, it is certainly a product that evokes interest and curiosity. In this guide, we will provide some insight into this fascinating product.

First, Is it Real?

The emphatic answer is that yes, it is a real novelty item; but it is not real currency printed by a government. Novelty money has no monetary value on the street. It cannot be spent; that is, it cannot be exchanged for goods or services like government-issued money can. Like various other novelty items, its purpose is to serve as a gag gift, to commemorate or honor an event, to show appreciation, to enhance sales, etc. We will discuss some of the uses for novelty money below.

Is it Legal?

It depends on usage. Like a kitchen knife that is legal to own and display, the knife becomes illegal when used as a weapon. Novelty money is legal to display and own if used as a novelty item. But, if one were to try to spend it or use it in some manner to defraud another person, it would become illegal. So, enjoy your novelty money, but don't try to spend it at Wal-Mart!

Who Prints It?

Various types of novelty money are printed by various private companies. It is not printed by a governmental printing press, and is not printed by the authority of any government anywhere in the world.

How is It Printed?

Quality novelty money, such as that sold by ThisTexan on eBay, is printed on offset printing presses in large print runs of thousands of bills. These finely detailed nonnegotiable bills are of the same size, and have a similar look and feel as real U.S. currency. These unique collectibles, which required hundreds of hours to create, are printed in bank note multi-colors are both sides of the bill and have been handled as uncirculated mint currency.

There are some distributors who print their brands of novelty money on office copiers; and some even use light-weight copy paper. Their bills can be distinguished from quality bills by the fact that they are not "stiff" when held. Quality novelty money will resemble the stiffness of new U.S. currency bills, and will have a similar feel as new U.S. currency. When a Seller states that their novelty money will be sent to you in a plastic holder, it might be because the plastic holder is necessary to give their product the appearance of being a quality product.

Another way to distinguish some of the cheaper versions of novelty money is that cheaper money printed on copiers is frequently only printed on one side. Quality bills printed on off-set printing presses will be printed on both sides just like real currency.

What Types of Novelty Bills are There?

Novelty Money is generally printed along a particular theme. One novelty money distributor only has dog bills. He has dozens of different bills with pictures of various dog breeds on the front. The fronts of all of his dog bills are very similar, and the backs are all identical.

A couple of distributors sell only politically-motivated bills. One printer printed large quantities of various Clinton bills, mostly derogatory of Clinton, during the years that President Clinton was in office.

One distributor only sells bills of historical significance.

Some distributors print and sell only bills pertinent to public figures, including sports figures, political figures, musicians, actors/actresses, etc. Many of those are only printed on one side and are designed to be displayed in a frame. Those bills generally originate from outside the U.S. due to copyright laws. In the U.S., using the likeness or names of sports figures, sports teams, actors, etc. generally requires the purchase of licensing rights from those persons or businesses. Those laws are more lax in other countries where the likenesses and names of others are more commercially abused.

Another version of novelty money bills involves the use of an actual U.S. one dollar bill. A picture of a celebrity is printed, cut out, and pasted over the picture of George Washington on the real bill. That bill is actually negotiable; that is, it can be legally spent! The placement of a celebrity's picture over Washington's picture does not negate the legal-tender value of the bill, although the use of the picture may violate U.S. copyright laws.

What Subjects do Novelty Money Bills Cover?

As mentioned above, some novelty bills cover specific subjects or themes, such as the seller who only sells dog bills. At ThisTexan, we cover a range of subjects. In fact, there are over 200 different novelty money bills to chose from!

Subjects include:

• Americana: Things that are nostalgic to Americans, such as 1950's American Diners, Nickel Candy Store, Full-service Gas Stations, etc.
• Animals:  Dogs, Cats, Horses, Snakes, Monkeys, etc.
• Anniversaries and Celebrations:  Birthdays, Wedding Anniversaries, Births, Graduations, etc.
• Armed Services:  Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Coast Guard, etc.
• Armed Services/Wars:  U.S. Civil War, World War I, World War II, Vietnam, Desert Storm, etc.
• Classic Cars: Mustangs, GTO's, Corvettes, Thunderbirds, 57 Chevys, etc.
• Historical: Dixie, Wild West, Samurai, Troy, Vikings, etc.
• Holiday: Christmas, Thanksgiving, Father's Day, Mother's Day, Mardi Gras, St. Patrick's Day, etc.
• Patriotic: American Patriot, Proud to be an American, 9/11 Anniversary, Support Our Troops, Purple Heart, Statue of Liberty, etc.
• Presidents: Various U.S. Presidents
• Professions:  EMS, Teacher, Nurse, Circus, Secret Agent, etc.
• Space: Shuttle Challenger, Shuttle Columbia, Apollo 11, Mars, Solar System, UFOs, etc.
• Sports and Recreational:  Football, Baseball, Soccer, Hockey, Golf, Martial Arts, Paintball, Skateboarding, Fishing, Wrestling, etc.
• States:  U.S. State bills based on the U.S. Commemorative Quarters.
• Transportation:  American Biker, Exotic Cars, Iron Horse Train, etc.,
• UPS:  Bills commemorating the U.S. Postal Service
• Zodiac:  All 12 Zodiac bills.

What are the Uses for Novelty Money?

Now that we have given you an idea what novelty money is, how it is made, and the various themes that it covers, just how can you use it?

• Collectibles: Collecting novelty money is not only fun, but interesting! Each beautiful, colorful bill tells a story. Some people collect all bills, while others collect only bills in a certain theme, such as Classic Cars, or Sports and Recreational bills. You can choose for yourself which bills you want to collect.
• Gifts: Novelty money bills make outstanding gifts. Give the soccer fan in your family a novelty money Soccer bill. The cat lover will enjoy the Crazy for Cats bill, while the retired sailor will enjoy the U.S. Navy bill. In fact, there's a bill available for everyone! Buy two identical bills, frame them with both the front and the back of the bill showing, and give them as a unique gift. Novelty money bills also make great party favors. Also, don't forget to give a themed bill to that special someone, such as the Million Dollar Mom bill to that special mother-in-law!
• Sales Tools: The professional sales representative appreciates the opportunity to give novelty money as gifts to prospective clients. Give the Fishing bill to the prospect that enjoys fishing. Give a military bill to the prospect that is retired from the military. Send State Commemorative bills to your prospects in that particular state. These inexpensive gifts are appreciated by clients and are a pleasant reminder of the sales representative's interest in the prospect. One salesman simply writes his name and telephone number on a bill and gives it to a prospective customer. He says that prospective customers don't lose the novelty money bills like they do his business cards.
• Educational Aides: What better way to generate interest and conversation in a subject than to give a novelty money bill to a youngster? Historical bills, such as the U.S. Civil War bill, sports bills such as the Baseball bill, animal bills such as the Wild Horses bill, and others provide an excellent opportunity to generate discussion on a particular topic. You'll be giving a youngster something to show to friends, enabling the youngster to continue the discussion with peers.
• Gags:  Use a One Million Dollar bill that has a similar appearance to real currency to light a cigar at a party. Show the world that you have money to burn! Give a favorite waitress a Miss Liberty Million Dollar bill as a tip and watch her expression! Let your date get a quick look at the American Patriot Million Dollar bill. You'll suddenly hit the top of the "10-scale!"
• Appreciation:  Show your appreciation to a military veteran by giving them one of the Armed Services Honorary bills. Enclose a bill in an order shipped to your customer as a novel way to show your appreciation. Frame a bill of special interest and present it to that special person to display on their wall.
• Rewards: Use bills as a reward; such as the martial arts instructor who used the Martial Arts bill to reward his young students. Or, simply use the Reward Certificate bill for that purpose.
• Accompaniments to Cards: Make your Christmas cards more memorable by enclosing  a novelty money Christmas bill with the cards.
• Ministerial Purposes: Use the Praise the Lord bill to promote Christian beliefs. Present the Happy Chanukah bill to promote Jewish beliefs.
• Teenager Gift: Give the Zero Dollar bill to that teenager who constantly asks for money!

Know Your Purchase and Your Seller

Remember that novelty money bills are sold as novelty items for enjoyment purposes. But, don't let your enjoyment be tempered by a bad buy. The following comments will help ensure that you'll enjoy your buying experience:

Understand your purchase:

• Always carefully read the details in the item listing.
• Always look at Postage and Handling charges. Some sellers unfairly increase their profit margins with high postage and handling fees. Are the postage and handling charges reasonable for what you are buying? Are there discounts for multiple items paid together?
• Always complete your transaction on eBay with a Bid, a Buy-It-Now, or a Best Offer. Transactions conducted outside of eBay are not covered by eBay's protection programs.
• Never pay for your item using instant cash wire transfer services through companies like Western Union or MoneyGram, as these payment methods are unsafe when paying someone whom you do not know.

Know your Seller:

• Research your Seller so that you will feel secure about the transaction. What is the Seller's feedback rating? How many transactions have they completed? What is their percentage of positive feedbacks? What did their Buyers say in their feedback? Did the Seller receive praise? Keep in mind that Sellers sometimes receive undeserved negative feedback. You should "read between the lines" so that you can determine whether they were at fault. Feedback showing a consistency of enthusiasm (Fast Shipping! Great Communication! etc.) is a great indicator of a top-notch Seller.
• What is their Responsiveness? It is reasonable to ask the Seller a question if you do not understand something in the listing. You should expect a clear, friendly and timely response. To ask a question, click the "Ask seller a question" link under the Meet the Seller profile on the right side of the auction listing. Sellers are not always sitting at their computers, so allow them a day or so to respond. If they don't respond during the selling phase, can you expect to get any help later if there is a problem with your shipment?
• What is their Return Policy? Most top-notch eBay Sellers offer quality products, want you to be happy, and will have stated return policies. Do they offer a money-back guarantee? What are the terms and conditions?
• Is the Seller eBay ID Verified and PayPal ID Verified? Both of these are evidence that you are dealing with a reputable Seller. To determine if they are eBay ID Verified, look for the eBay ID Verified icon following their name on their Feedback Profile page.

In essence, consider the Seller's Feedback, their Return Policy, their Payment Methods, their Responsiveness, and their ID Verifications as signs of the Seller's Reputation.

One Simple Rule!

Now that you know what novelty money is, and how it is used, there is one simple rule that you must follow:  Just have fun with it!

-------------------------

ThisTexan eBay store has over 200 different novelty money bills for you to choose from. And, each listing has a paragraph of information about the theme of the bill. Be sure to sign up for our free ThisTexan Newsletter on our store home page, and visit the ThisTexan eBay Store to view our large selection of novelty money.

-------------------------

Please Vote

Your "Yes" votes help my guide to be more visible to others who are looking for similar information.... Thanks!