Picked these up just before SCS, haven't had a chance to review until now.
I've looked at a myriad of sellers of "fake" cash bundles, and I've yet to find something that really sells me on price and appearance. For obvious reasons, all sellers must make prescribed modifications to the appearance of the bills to avoid investigation and/or prosecution for counterfeiting. This usually results in bills that have one or more of the following unappealing characteristics:
- 150% of standard size
- of older vintage than current bills
- blank sheets (sometimes poorly cut) sandwiched between one-sided bills
- have Art Linkletter (or some other such person) in the face
- have no resemblance whatsoever to real bills
- are visually accurate, but are outrageously expensive
I found some bills at banksupplies.com, and I think they fall somewhere in between all of the above points. They are realistic bills used to help train bank tellers in their cash-handling duties. They are available in all denominations and are relatively inexpensive. The only real issue is, well, the color. I'll let the pictures demonstrate.
Sold in packs of 50:
Fair amount of detail, pretty close to the real thing, if it weren't so SO green:
Bill straps come in minimum orders of 1 gross (1,000 pcs.)
Straps use a pressure adhesion method, no licking required!
Ready for play or display:
Hmmm... CT Dollars anyone?
1:1 size ratio against real currency:
If you must have those cash bundles on the table, you could do much worse than these bills. I personally am getting more used to the green tinge, especially given the fact that the U.S. is finally starting to incorporate more colors into the bill designs. Compared to the prices and products offered by the prop makers and other flea bayers, they are a relative bargain; if your players are color blind, so much the better.
Pricing:
$100 bills: $2.19 per pack of 50 ($100k for about $42)
EDIT: To save dough, you may want to buy 10 100 packs of $10 or $20 (they're cheaper) and 1 pack of 50 $100 bills - then sandwich the lower denoms between the $100's. This reduces the cost of $100k to about $33. http://www.banksupplies.com/catalog/...oducts_id/2369
$10k Bill Straps: $4.39 for 1000 pcs.
http://www.banksupplies.com/catalog/...oducts_id/1473
Try to order everything at once to help minimize shipping - I hate when shipping matches or exceeds the cost of the goods!
PROS:
- Inexpensive
- Realistic in size and appearance
- Clean die-cut bills - no jaggies
- Printed on both sides
CONS:
- It's not easy being so green
- What to do with all these extra straps.....WTT anyone? I think they'll make lovely napkin holders.......
Linear Mode
