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Santa Dollars and Bunny Bucks

Written by nickel - 10 Comments

The other day I was at the grocery store when a small sign advertising ‘Santa Dollars’ caught my eye. What, you might ask, are Santa Dollars? According to their web site, Santa Dollars are one dollar bills with a removable Santa seal placed over George Washington’s face. And they sell for — get this — $2.50 each! Or you can purchase them online for $3.50. But fear not… They come with a holiday card, and the proceeds go to charity. The store where I saw these was raising money for the Children’s Miracle Network, whereas online sales benefit Toys for Tots. Apparently these things have been around since 1985, and have generated over ~~$15~~ ~~$18~~ $20 million in charitable contributions (the amount varies widely depending on which of their pages you’re looking at). I wonder how much the company behind these things has pocketed along the way? Oh, and if Santa Dollars aren’t you’re cup of tea, Bunny Bucks are just around the corner.

Published on December 7th, 2005 - 10 Comments
Filed under: Charity
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Comments (scroll down to add your own):

I find the bunny bucks strangely terrifying. I wonder why.
Comment by Blaine Moore — Dec 7th 2005 @ 7:14 am
You gotta love selling a dollar for $2.50 to $3.50!!!!
Comment by FMF — Dec 7th 2005 @ 9:53 am
Bunnies creep me out too. I’ve never been able to figure it out either.
Comment by SMB — Dec 7th 2005 @ 10:08 am
Nickel,
Off the subject, but did you see your blog was mentioned in Newsweek this week? You’re a celebrity. Hope the bandwidth holds out…
Comment by Daytonscott — Dec 7th 2005 @ 1:50 pm
Great story. I wonder if I could pay send my energy company $2.50 bunny bucks to cover my energy bill?
Comment by muckdog — Dec 7th 2005 @ 6:57 pm
Man, that’s a pretty expensive sticker. Might have to try and find me some of those…
Comment by SavingAdvice — Dec 8th 2005 @ 2:25 am
I see nothing snobbish at all about being irritated by the way Americans write and spell our language. One of the most egregious errors, and one that is committed by millions of Americans, is the spelling of a lot as one word (alot).
Comment by Richard Tomlinson — Dec 8th 2005 @ 3:42 am
Wouldn’t this qualify as defacing a dollar? I’m not sure because it is removable and for a good cause…but I wonder what the U.S. Treasury thinks.

Here’s what I found regarding Defacement of currency:
Defacement of currency is a violation of Title 18, Section 333 of the United States Code. Under this provision, currency defacement is generally defined as follows: Whoever mutilates, cuts, disfigures, perforates, unites or cements together, or does any other thing to any bank bill, draft, note, or other evidence of debt issued by any national banking association, Federal Reserve Bank, or Federal Reserve System, with intent to render such item(s) unfit to be reissued, shall be fined not more than $100 or imprisoned not more than six months, or both.
Comment by Financial Fruition — Dec 14th 2005 @ 10:02 am
It does not damage the bill to the point where it can not be reissued, so no, it would not fall under the defacement law.
Comment by Blaine Moore — Dec 15th 2005 @ 8:08 am
From what knowledge I have, it is the retailers that have donated to charities. The company that produced the Santa Dollar was owned by two ladies who made BIG bucks and then ended up in court fighting over money. Apparently one lady remodeled in house with company money….anyway greed got to her. Her marriage ended as well.
Comment by Mary Rita — Jun 4th 2006 @ 10:22 pm