Money
Steel Checks
June 1932: The winners of an arc-welding essay contest, sponsored by the Lincoln Electric Company of Cleveland, received their prize checks written on steel plates. The plates were a foot high, an inch thick, and two feet long.The local bank accepted the checks and then used a gun to cancel them, putting bullet holes in them to spell the word 'PAID'. All the writing on the checks, including the endorsement, was done with a welding torch.
Steel check made out to H.H. Tracy. Note bullet holes.
image source: The Strangest Cases on Record, by J.A. Duncan
There's a community of people who collect unusual checks. So I imagine that these steel checks would be sought after as collectibles. But where are they now?
As of 1940, at least one of the checks was on display in the offices of the Lincoln Electric Company, which is still around. So the company may still have the checks. But after 85 years, who knows.
Los Angeles Daily News - June 14, 1932
Posted By: Alex - Wed Apr 16, 2025 -
Comments (2)
Category: Money, Collectors, 1930s
“Pay no income taxes without going to jail”
The title of Phillip Fry's 1975 book, Pay no income taxes without going to jail, was pretty much a direct challenge to the IRS, to which the IRS inevitably responded. It brought charges against him for aiding tax fraud, and in 1986 he was sentenced to five years in jail. And the tax agency's punishment of him didn't stop there:One of Fry's other books was titled Our Lady of Perpetual Deductions and was about how to avoid taxes by claiming to be running a church.
I couldn't find any free copies of his books available online. So if you're interested in benefiting from his advice you'll need to find used copies.
More info: upi.com
Moline Dispatch - Aug 16, 1986
Jackson Citizen Patriot - Jan 17, 1980
Posted By: Alex - Tue Apr 15, 2025 -
Comments (2)
Category: Crime, Government, Money
The $300 trillion court judgment
March 1922: Superior Judge J.R. Welch of San Jose, CA ruled that George Jones had to pay Henry B. Stuart a grand total of $304,840,332,912,684.16.The reason was that in 1897 Stuart had loaned Jones $100, and the two had signed a contract agreeing that the debt would grow by 10% a month, compounded, until paid back.
Jones had then left the state and forgotten about the debt. But Stuart hadn't forgotten, and when Jones returned a quarter century later, Stuart sued him. The judge agreed that the debt was still owed, and by the terms of the original agreement had grown to over $300 trillion.
Of course, Jones promptly declared bankruptcy. But I'm pretty sure the ruling remains the highest court judgment in history. Though because it was essentially a meaningless judgment, it's typically overlooked. For instance, Google AI says that the largest court judgment ever was the $206 billion Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement.
Jackson Citizen Patriot - Mar 27, 1922
San Francisco Examiner - Mar 2, 1922
Posted By: Alex - Wed Apr 09, 2025 -
Comments (3)
Category: Money, Outrageous Excess, World Records, Lawsuits, 1920s
How to transform silver into gold
The current value of silver is around $32 an ounce. The value of gold is around $2975 per ounce. Being able to turn silver into gold would generate a substantial return.As it turns out, back in the 1920s the French scientist (and alchemist) François Jollivet-Castelot claimed he could do exactly this, and he shared his method.
If you decide to try it, let us know how it works!
You can find more detailed instructions at FontanaEditore.com.
Kansas City Post - Apr 12, 1923
Jollivet-Castelot in his laboratory
Posted By: Alex - Wed Feb 26, 2025 -
Comments (5)
Category: Mad Scientists, Evil Geniuses, Insane Villains, Money, Science, Pseudoscience, 1920s
Queen of National Wallet Week
Cindy Heller, shown below, later became a well-known gossip columnist for the New York Post. She's better known by her married name, Cindy Adams. Her wikipedia page doesn't mention that she was Wallet Week Queen.
Macon News - Nov 9, 1949
Glasgow Evening Journal - Nov 7, 1949
Life - Nov 14, 1949
Posted By: Alex - Mon Jan 27, 2025 -
Comments (1)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Money, 1940s
Funny Money
Posted By: Paul - Tue Dec 31, 2024 -
Comments (2)
Category: Hoaxes and Imposters and Imitators, Money, Husbands, Wives, 1950s
Miss Credit Union
The earliest 'Miss Credit Union' contest I could find was in 1948. The latest was in 2011. Though I suspect some are still going on, but maybe not calling attention to themselves.
Ottawa Journal - Oct 22, 1957
Hartford Courant - Oct 26, 1960
Posted By: Alex - Fri Nov 15, 2024 -
Comments (5)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Money
The art collection of the British Rail Pension Fund
Fine art and British Rail may not seem like they have much in common, but for several decades British Rail, through its pension fund, was a major player in the world of fine art. From theNY Times (Apr 5, 1989):
The pension fund began selling its art in 1986, and sold the last of it in 2003.
The Wall Street Journal reported in 1996 that the pension fund made a return of 13.1% per year on its art. Which doesn't seem bad at all. However, its stock portfolio, during the same period, returned 22% a year.
If you're looking for a coffee-table curiosity, there are several books dedicated to the artwork owned by the British Rail pension fund.
More info: "When a railway fund started buying paintings"
Posted By: Alex - Fri Sep 20, 2024 -
Comments (0)
Category: Art, Money, Collectors
Money in the chicken coop
Sounds like Albert didn't want his sisters to know about the money in the chicken coop. Perhaps it was his intention for it all to burn after he died.
Atlanta Journal - Dec 15, 1968
Posted By: Alex - Thu Jul 18, 2024 -
Comments (2)
Category: Money, Inheritance and Wills, 1960s
Money Card
No need for a subliminal hook for future customers in this one--it's all explicit! Buy American Express Traveler's Cheques.The entry at Board Game Geek.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Jun 04, 2024 -
Comments (0)
Category: Business, Advertising, Games, Money, 1970s, Europe
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| Alex Boese Alex is the creator and curator of the Museum of Hoaxes. He's also the author of various weird, non-fiction, science-themed books such as Elephants on Acid and Psychedelic Apes. Paul Di Filippo Paul has been paid to put weird ideas into fictional form for over thirty years, in his career as a noted science fiction writer. He has recently begun blogging on many curious topics with three fellow writers at The Inferior 4+1. Contact Us |