Apparently, if you send a ripped bill to the treasury, they'll send you a check

Clumsy people rejoice.
 By 
Petrana Radulovic
 on 

If you've ever accidentally ripped a bill, you probably thought your money was gone for good. That seems not to be true.

Daily Show writer, Dan Amira, found a perfectly good $10 bill that was ripped in half. Instead of lamenting the loss of his money, however, he wrote a brief letter to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing under the Department of Treasury, explaining his predicament.

"I don't know how it ripped in half," wrote Amira. "I think it was just old."

A few months after sending the broken $10 bill, Amira received a check from the United States Treasury for that same $10.

If you're surprised that the treasury even cared about the bill, you'll be pleased to know that there is a whole division of the treasury dedicated to restoring mutilated currency, appropriately called the Mutilated Currency Division.

According to their website, the Mutilated Currency Division will redeem your broken money if you send in 50 percent or more of the note. If you have less than 50 percent of it, then you must provide evidence that the missing portions have been "totally destroyed."

While there were a few naysayers in the replies, some shared their own stories of the Mutilated Currency Division coming to the rescue.

Thank you, Mutilated Currency Division for giving our broken money a new life. If you find yourself with a ripped bill, check out the process for reimbursement -- it may take up to 36 months, though, and if it's just a dollar, you might wanna try taping it instead.

Topics Comics

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Petrana Radulovic

Petrana Radulovic was a web culture fellow here at Mashable. She enjoys exploring the growing intersection of story-telling and digital spaces, hanging out in book shops and art museums, and the tasteful meme. Follow her on Twitter at @pet_rana for #relatable content.

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