If you find money on the street, who does it belong to?

[Aren Jay]

So I'm reading a story about a truck the was carrying coins and it flipped scattering coins everywhere. Now the RCMP are not saying where it is, but lets say it is down the street from your house. If the money is just laying on the road, who legally owns it?

Is it legally free for the taking?

[TiTo35]

So I'm reading a story about a truck the was carrying coins and it flipped scattering coins everywhere. Now the RCMP are not saying where it is, but lets say it is down the street from your house. If the money is just laying on the road, who legally owns it?

Is it legally free for the taking?

Something you trying to tell us?:lol:

[jgc61sr2002]

So I'm reading a story about a truck the was carrying coins and it flipped scattering coins everywhere. Now the RCMP are not saying where it is, but lets say it is down the street from your house. If the money is just laying on the road, who legally owns it?

Is it legally free for the taking?


No it is not. It is a crime.
Must be surrended to the Police for safe keeping.

[FreddieH]

It belong to me, I lost it and I can describe it too.

[sailsmen]

This is an easy question.

If you lose something you do not automatically lose ownership rights.

If you find something you do not automatically obtain ownership rights.

If you abandon something you may lose ownership rights.

[de minimus]

So I'm reading a story about a truck the was carrying coins and it flipped scattering coins everywhere. Now the RCMP are not saying where it is, but lets say it is down the street from your house. If the money is just laying on the road, who legally owns it?

Is it legally free for the taking?

A bit of an odd question and one where the answer is, I would think a bit obvious.

Not much going on today?

[Taemian]

The RCMP, and (VPD for that matter) will hold the $$ if you turn it in. After one year, if nobody claims ownership, it becomes yours. Anyone claiming ownership must provide significant evidence of such, and can dispute it in court.

Eg. the VPD officer who found nearly a million in cash in Stanley Park while on his morning jog.

[ImpalaSlayer]

what momma dont know wont hurt her. ;)

[Bluerauder]

Finder's keepers, losers weepers. ;)

Hey Freddie. It's mine and I can describe it too. :rofl:

Sailsman is "on the money" on this one. No pun intended. :P

[Aren Jay]

So if I find a quarter on the sidewalk, I have to take it to the cops and they will hold it for me for a year; and then if they don't forget they will give it back to me?

I have a relative from Germany, who everytime he comes over for a visit finds money everywhere. Walk into the mall he bends down picks up a $5 bill. Walk back to the car while I tell the rest of the family he found $5 he stops and picks up $10 more. In 5 days he found $35 just wlaking around.

I also heard, on Q&Q about a guy who wrote a book, about finding money. He worked out a system that let him find, $150 to $200 a day. Now he did spend about 8 hours a day walking through parking lots and such but he did average $150 - $200 a day. Better than his old job. He turned his hobby, finding money, into a job for a year or so and then decided to write a book about it. He said it was pretty cool for a couple months but after about a year he was fed up with walking around finding money. Not much job satisfaction.

Anyway just got me thinking.

ps what if you find said money on your property? Is it yours' then?

I searched and found my post here, looking for that book.

[sailsmen]

Nothing in your above post changes what I said in past #5.

[Hotrauder]

Somehow I just knew that looking only at chick T&A at the mall was costing me somehow..but then, If all I want to do is look then I don't need more money:beer:Dennis

[freakstatus]

So I'm reading a story about a truck the was carrying coins and it flipped scattering coins everywhere. Now the RCMP are not saying where it is, but lets say it is down the street from your house. If the money is just laying on the road, who legally owns it?

Is it legally free for the taking?

I believe that was near Kamloops, BC.

[Aren Jay]

This is an easy question.

If you lose something you do not automatically lose ownership rights.

If you find something you do not automatically obtain ownership rights.

If you abandon something you may lose ownership rights.


You missed one.

If you find something or want something and claim ownership of said thing, you can often have said thing's ownership rights passed on to you. Without turning it over to the law or asking for permission...

(road access etc...)

[J D]

I once found a fifty on the floor in front of the counter of a Hollywood video. I tried to return it but the guy was already driving off in a black Mercedes.

P.S. I still have the fifty tucked away in a book just in case :eek:

[Motorhead350]

The world owes me so it would be mine.

[Haggis]

The world owes me so it would be mine.

I just took a crap, you can have it.

[SILVERSURFER03]

i guess if you found it in your yard it must be yours.... possesion is 9/10s of the law ..... so with that said id say it belongs to you .enjoy it

[magindat]

It still belongs to the person or entity that dropped it. Just cuz gravity brought it to the ground doesn't mean it's a free-for all. At some interval of time and without the original entity's claim, it becomes yours.

[JVJ]

So I'm reading a story about a truck the was carrying coins and it flipped scattering coins everywhere. Now the RCMP are not saying where it is, but lets say it is down the street from your house. If the money is just laying on the road, who legally owns it?

Is it legally free for the taking?

Yeh right, let me look around first. HUMMMM, it's MINE!!! :bandit:

[Illss]

I found a $100 bill in a mall parking lot recently but no one around so if anyone knows whos it is i'll gladly pay them back .:cool4:

[Breadfan]

Yeah, what sailsman said holds true in the end.

In the end it holds true whether it be 1 penny or 1 million dollars.

Yes if you found a quarter you could probably follow the letter of the law and take to to the police for holding for the 1yr period. They may look at your weird, or not want to do it, but it's "the right thing" to do.

The question isn't whether or not it's the "Right thing" to do, it's how important of a "Right thing" is it. The benefits and ethical return or tracking someone down to give them a quarter is more than likely nearly completely insignificant. The time you would waste would probably ripple-effect the economy enough to cause someone somewhere to lose 26 cents thus negating your return of 25. :)

Now were it a million dollars, if you didn't go through the motions, you'd probably get people so mad they'd try to toss you in jail!

So somewhere between 25 cents and 1 million dollars is a line, almost like a ratio of minutes spent finding the owner to amount of monetary value that states whether or not it should be done.

So the question is how much money and how much time spent finding that money's owner is the correct ratio to be ethically sound and in agreement with societies ways?

I don't have that answer, but I do know to be 100% ethically correct and 100% correct to the law, you'd hold onto that quarter or turn it in to find the rightful owner. :)



NOW, before I writing, I will say that in the return of a quarter, especially after a long and arduous search, you may find it's actually worth something because the surprise the real owner will have when it's returned COULD insprie them to do something above and beyond nice for someone else, hey you never know!

[KillJoy]

Spilled truck = not yours, random bill....YOURS!

:beer:

KillJoy

[ahess77]

If the money is just laying on the road, who legally owns it?

It's pretty clear who owns the money, the GOVERNMENT. They even put their name on it. So, just take it to them and ask if they want it back, I'm sure they do. (That's why they trust God, to return their money.)

[ParkRanger]

I found a $100 bill in a mall parking lot recently but no one around so if anyone knows whos it is i'll gladly pay them back .:cool4:


If it has Ben Franklin on it, green in color - then it's mine. Please PM me and forward. I will return half when received.

PR :burnout:

[ParkRanger]

If you find money on a street in San Francisco --- kick it to San Jose before you pick it up!

PR :burnout:

[Motorhead350]

I just took a crap, you can have it.

Gordan gives a crap how about that? :lol:

[vkirkend]

It belong to me, I lost it and I can describe it too.

He's fibbing, it actually belongs to me. It has pictures and faces on it....

[TiTo35]

So from what I have read...To each its own...thats what I got out of this...I mean, lol it depends on your situation at the time...you need 5 dollars and you find 10...I think you may keep it. Just my 2 cents...

[jgc61sr2002]

So from what I have read...To each its own...thats what I got out of this...I mean, lol it depends on your situation at the time...you need 5 dollars and you find 10...I think you may keep it. Just my 2 cents...

I think they are talking about large sums.:D