Prop Money

cjones636

cjones636

I'm going to be making different kinds of prop money of my own designs (i.e colony of mars, fantasy, Syfi) and using real currency, but modifying the colors, serial numbers etc... and starting a thread on this site and giving them away incase people needs them and don't need to be bothered doing it themselves. Eventually, i'll take orders for unique designs and printing bulk orders but i'm not sure of the legality of this.

Here is a real 1917 bill

Front:
19171dollarfront.png


Back:
19171dollarback.png


I Removed the serial and added my own, and signatures and adjusted the color. If you look at the serial P181516, and that stands for

P
18 = R (18th letter in the alphabet)
15 = O (15th letter in the alphabet)
16 = P (16th letter in the alphabet)

This is the type of things i will do to all bils ranging from 1800's to newer... Will this be allowed?

This is the original bill

origib.png
 
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I'm not a lawyer, and not a citizen of the US, so I can't advise you much on the legality - but I'd suggest that taking out the area which says 'this note is a legal tender for one dollar' will probably help.
 
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To avoid a criminal charge for possessing counterfeit money, the bills/coins must be different enough from any legal tender (foreign or domestic) so as to not be confused as genuine by an ordinary (read: stupid) person. If it looks even remotely like it could maybe possibly be real, or confused with real, it's against the law. If you attempt to present any non-genuine currency or notes/securities for payment of any debt, you will have committed the crime of counterfeiting/forgery in most states as well as federally.

When considering doing anything might be considered illegal/unlawful/improper, always consult a qualified attorney in the legal jurisdiction where the activity is to take place.
 
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These look great - please PM when you are done, it is really hard to get good looking stacks of bills.
I have tried everything - it takes you out of the film so quickly to see fake currency.

I have had most luck with thin paper stacks and then a real bill on the top of each stack, this only works if you have stacked money.
I've used real money, hundreds, that have come out of the budget, and then been returned, but this is a stressful way of doing it.

The paper you print on is important, too.

Don't make them too good, the secret service will come knocking - along with looking after the president, counterfeit money is their jurisdiction.

Good luck,

Pit.
 
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You can buy "movie money" from some prop houses, and even on eBay. The stuff I've seen looks a lot like a genuine bill, but says MOVIE MONEY on it, and also states: This is NOT legal tender for any debt public or private. Not sure if that is legally required, but it's on there.
 
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I blended elements of US and older Canadian currency (A nod to my homeland); jumbled up the words on the US bill and added lots of obvious markers that say "Prop Money". I also included the name of my film to make the props unique to my project.
ABP_MoneyEG.jpg
 
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I like your prop money a lot, Rok. Really like the idea of having the name of the film on it. I will be making some of my own prop money, which needs to look like US currency from the 1940s, for the next phase of our production, and believe I will add that touch myself. Will make good cheap screen-used souvenirs from the film.
 
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In a similar vein, another of our prop requirements is newspapers with several different front-page headlines. I've decided to have a local web press (web as in the type of roll-fed press newspapers are printed on, not the internet) print me a small run of about an 8 page mock newspaper which will contain of all the different headlines we need but will also feature production notes and behind-the-scenes stories, and serve as a promotional souvenir from the film as well.
 
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While we're on the subject of prop money, I once heard (or maybe read) somewhere that it was illegal to use real money in a film. I find that a bit hard to believe, but none the less it was put out there as fact by someone at some point. Any truth at all to it?
 
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Fiveacre Films said:
While we're on the subject of prop money, I once heard (or maybe read) somewhere that it was illegal to use real money in a film. I find that a bit hard to believe, but none the less it was put out there as fact by someone at some point. Any truth at all to it?
Click to expand...

No not illegal just a liability and to expensive by amount. It is illegal to make scans or copies of real currency for films unless they are one sided and or significantly smaller or larger than real currency which would look fake. Even then the treasury orders any scanned copies of real currency used in a film to be one sided and destroyed after production. Easier and less expensive to just buy Motion Picture Money online or from a renters house.
 
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