Mismade bills are expensive if you buy them one at a time. I've seen people suggest buying whole sheets of uncut bills and just cutting them yourself. I think it works out to a bit under $3 each if you do that.

Here's my issue: How do you cut these perfectly? Would I need one of those giant paper cutters? (I have very little hardware in my small apartment!)

Yes, you can buy a large cutter or you can take them to a print an copy shop and have then cut with their cutters. Some picture frame stores have large cutters. Expect to pay about $2 or more per cut. But sometimes they do not hold to that price.

So the saving is dwindling now isn't it, as a cutter is expensive, and to have it done professionally, will also take from your saving.

I would not do it by hand as one mistake and a number of bills will be spoiled. Although you can buy a wheel cutter and a cutting matt, along with large metal ruler and do it, just don't make any mistakes. Practice by taking some large paper and cutting it.

Of course much depends on the size sheet you purchased, as they sell them in 4,8,16,& 32 bills per sheet.

Thanks for the reply Bill. That's discouraging though.

Does anyone know where to purchase these at a good price? I think the best I found was $8 each.

Actually mismadebill.com has 10 for $50. Not too bad.

R2D2,
I'm just curious.
Why do you need so many mismade bills?

The wholesaler seems to undercover, as in hard to find. If you can find the place or person who is making and selling the Mis-made bills, I am sure you could get a good price, or a jobber price, if you can buy a gross.

Mis-Made bills seem to come and go on he market. Penguin Magic is not even carrying any currently. They currently are on line from $9.99 to $15.00 a piece, depending on where you find them.

I can't speak for R2D2, but I know some magicians like to leave their mismade bills with the spectator as a souvenir (maybe after signing it or adding website/contact info). If you borrow a bill and change it to a mismade one, you could offer to change it back, or let them keep the mismade one.

Is less than a dollar cheap enough?

I realize that this won't be a good solution for all situations, but you could print your own (see other posts for methods and paper to use). With the right paper, these can be very convincing (just don't forget to include a disclaimer on the bill, and don't try to spend it)

Now, many would say that that would spoil the effect!
Well it might, but Sankey came up with a way to make this work - print mis-made Monopoly money. In this case, you are unlikely to be able to borrow the non-mis-made Monopoly bill (unless you're performing for Donald Duck), but I see some work-arounds.

1) introduce the monopoly money earlier for some reason (basically what Sankey does)

2) Do a series of transformations: real/borrowed $100 to monopoly $100, and then try to make it right, but now its a mis-made monoply, then eventually get back to the original bill (and promise that you won't do that trick again).

True, these are more light-hearted effects, and may not be suitable for all venues, but it is much cheaper and allows handing it out as a souvenir.

John

John Long, great idea! I was never excited about Mis-made Monopoly, but you give a very entertaining presentation idea. Thanks a lot!

Thanks.

You can find some related ideas on the multiple transformation idea in SWITCH. One in particular that I remember is Wilson's Foreign Affair. In this effect the bill is changed into a total of 4 or 5 different currencies (i.e.; as in currencies of different countries). In this case printing the bill yourself would make more sense than what was proposed in the book.

There is one big caveat with printing your own bills (other than legal ones), most paper will not last too long with all the folding and unfolding. Some have suggested printing onto a TyVec (sp) type material, but I don't know how well the ink will adhere to that type of surface, and the bill would feel very slippery (which would make it seem fake to the spectator, and may make it hard for you to manipulate). As more currencies switch to plastic, that "feel" issue may not be as important.

Again, check for earlier threads for suggestions on the type of paper to use. I've used an off-white "linen", or "Classic Laid" 24 lb resume style paper. This paper has built in ridges, which avoids a super smooth feel that you would get from regular printer paper. My attempts, which I used as promotional items and stage bills, were very realistic looking, except for the backs. I didn't get a good color match to that green.

John