![\"\"](\"\/\/www.askmrcreditcard.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/pocketwealth.bmp\" "\\"pocketwealth\\"")
<\/p>\nWealth in Your Pocket?<\/font><\/center><\/p>\n Myth:<\/strong> In April of 2006 a wealthy businessman named Scott Travers decided to honor national coin week by placing three rare coins into circulation. The coins have never been “found”. <\/em><\/p>\n Status: Scott Travers did<\/em> unleash three rare coins into circulation – and it wasn’t the first time he’s done it either. It turns out that Scott, who is the author of The Coin Collector’s Survival Manual<\/em> and the ex-vice president of the American Numismatic (The study and collection of coins) Association<\/a> was hoping that if he put the rare coins into circulation and then publicized it, it would spark a renewed interest in coin collecting among the American public. <\/p>\n The three coins he released were all pennies:<\/p>\n 1909-S.V.D.B. Lincoln Cent<\/a> – worth approximately $1,600 No one has ever claimed to have found these coins, or several of the other coins Scott released either. Check your pockets!<\/p>\n <\/br><\/p>\n Myth: <\/strong> The majority of the paper money in the United States is contaminated with cocaine. <\/em><\/p>\n Status: The majority of the bills in the united states are contaminated with cocaine – In very, very microscopic amounts. In a 1997 study scientists found that as many as 4 out of every 5 bills contained minute traces of cocaine. <\/p>\n How does this happen?<\/em> Since cocaine is a fine powder, it is easily spread in small quantities. Tiny amounts of cocaine dust transfer from a contaminated bill to every other bill it comes in contact with. Since most money is in constant circulation, it is regularly coming into contact with other bills which have been exposed, and so on – via ATM’s, cash drawers, etc. <\/p>\n The results of the study did say that the amount of cocaine actually on our cash is so minuscule that it will never show up in our bodies – Especially since most of us are handling cash less and less, and using debit and credit cards more often. So unless you’re at home rolling around in your cash like Scrooge McDuck, you probably don’t have anything to worry about. One more reason to wash your hands though!<\/p>\n Want to know more? Check it out on Snopes<\/a>. <\/p>\n <\/br> Myth:<\/strong> There is a law that says merchants don’t have to accept more than 100 pennies from you when you pay for an item. <\/em><\/p>\n Status: Pennies are considered legal tender in any amount. So if you want to haul your change jar in to pay for your groceries it may be inconvenient (and the cashier certainly will not thank you for it!) but it is legal. <\/p>\n With the advent of services like CoinStar, and the ability to change money at our banks, it is thankfully less common to see people paying for things with large amounts of loose change. It might be something to keep in mind though, the next time a merchant upsets you! You can always crack open that piggy bank and tie up about an hour of their time. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n <\/br><\/p>\n Myth:<\/strong> It costs more to mint a penny than its worth. Most years it does<\/em> cost more to mint a penny than it’s worth. This is due to the rising cost of the base metals that penny is made from. Pennies are made from 97.5% zinc and 2.5% copper. <\/p>\n In 2007 the the approximate cost to mint a penny was 1.7 ¢ Our government justifies the difference in manufacturing costs and value because pennies are used for years before they drop out of circulation – so they feel they are “getting their money’s worth.”<\/p>\n <\/br><\/p>\n Myth:<\/strong> Two Dollar Bills Are Unlucky<\/em><\/p>\n Status: While it’s impossible to say whether or not two dollar bills really are unlucky, they have certainly been considered “bad money” throughout history – and for a variety of reasons. <\/p>\n The United States first began printing $2 bills in 1862, and they are still being printed today. Yet hardly anyone uses them, and there are even people who believe that they aren’t “real” money. So what happened? How did $2 bills become the red-headed step children of the economy? Well, it’s a lot of myth and legend really.<\/p>\n In the 1930’s a single session with a prostitute cost $2. So anyone who had, or carried $2 bills was thought to either be a prostitute, about about to consort with one. <\/p>\n The standard amount of bets placed on horses used to be $2, so anyone with a wad of $2 bills, was certainly “up to no good”. You know, between the gambling and the prostitution. <\/p>\n And the third mythological reason why two dollar bills are unlucky is because they are often called “Duces” which is a slang term for the devil. <\/p>\n Even though none of these reasons really have anything to do with fact, and much more with assumptions, it’s easy to see why people would shy away from carrying them in large quantities. Those are the historical “reasons”, and even though they don’t give way to logic, it was enough to doom the $2 bill into relative obscurity. <\/p>\n <\/br><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"\/\/www.askmrcreditcard.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/true2.bmp\" "\\"true2\\"")
<\/p>\n
\n1914-D Lincoln Cent<\/a> – worth approximately $479
\n1908-S Indian Head Cent<\/a> – worth approximately $200<\/p>\n\n
\n![\"\"](\"\/\/www.askmrcreditcard.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/papermoney.bmp\" "\\"papermoney\\"")
\nDrugs in our Money?<\/font><\/center><\/p>\n<\/p>\n\n
\n![\"\"](\"\/\/www.askmrcreditcard.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/plentifulpennies.bmp\" "\\"plentifulpennies\\"")
\nYour Money’s No Good Here?<\/font><\/center><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"\/\/www.askmrcreditcard.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/false2.bmp\" "\\"false2\\"")
<\/p>\n\n
![\"\"](\"\/\/www.askmrcreditcard.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/pennyworth.bmp\" "\\"pennyworth\\"")
\nPenny Wise and Pound Foolish?<\/font><\/center><\/p>\n
\n<\/em>
\nStatus: <\/p>\n\n
![\"\"](\"\/\/www.askmrcreditcard.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/twodollarbills.bmp\" "\\"twodollarbills\\"")
\nBad Mojo?<\/font><\/center><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"\/\/www.askmrcreditcard.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/question2.bmp\" "\\"question2\\"")
<\/p>\n\n