Found Money

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The_Augustinian

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Friends,

A month ago, during Holy Week, I was in a thrift store with a friend of mine, who was looking for clothes. By chance, I happened to slip my hand into a coat which was hanging on one of the racks. Inside the pocket, I found an envelope containing $55 in cash. There was no identifying marks on the envelope. I deliberated on what I should do, and then I ended up spending the money.

Now I wonder whether or not that was the right thing to do. Should I return the money? If so, then who should I return it to? Have I committed a sin?

Pax,

Augustinian
 
Return the money to the thrift store:
  1. They were the legal owners of the coat and the contents of the pocket.
  2. They may be able to contact the person who donated the coat and return the money.
  3. If not, they are a charity – they can put the $55 to good use.
 
You can’t actually return the money, because you spent it. You can replace it, but doing so has some potential subtle problems.

If you walked into the store and told an employee you wish to return $55 you found in a coat a month ago, you could cause a spectacle – or not. It totally depends on what person you happen to talk to.

If you really want to return it, you might consider going into the store and “finding” it again, as if (without actually lying) it just happened. Then maybe you would seem more “normal.” You might also just want to donate it in a way that is not related to having found the money. Just walk in and say you’d like to make a monetary contribution. To keep from getting any kind of credit for it, do not give your name and use a money order or cash. If you feel silly accepting thanks, you could say something like “this store has been a blessing to me, so I am just returning a small part of it.”

The chances they will find the original owner at this point is so miniscule I wouldn’t even let that be a factor.

As to whether you have sinned, perhaps that is best left up to your confessor. I don’t see a sin there with the details you’ve given, but if you do you might want to get a checkup.

Alan
 
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AlanFromWichita:
If you walked into the store and told an employee you wish to return $55 you found in a coat a month ago, you could cause a spectacle – or not. It totally depends on what person you happen to talk to.
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I’m starting to think that whole last post was pretty dumb.

I don’t see any problem with going in with an envelope and saying, “I found this is a coat pocket some weeks ago and after thinking about it I’d like to return/donate it.” Then hand them the money as if it was the original $55 in the first place. I no longer think it matters that it wasn’t the “actual” money you first found.

Alan
 
It doesn’t belong to you. Give it back! If you are trying to find validation why you should keep it, I don’t think you will find anyone here that says it is perfectly acceptable to keep it.
 
The Augustinian:
By chance, I happened to slip my hand into a coat which was hanging on one of the racks. Inside the pocket, I found an envelope containing $55 in cash. There was no identifying marks on the envelope. I deliberated on what I should do, and then I ended up spending the money.Augustinian
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Did you buy the coat that had the money in the pocket or just take the money from the coat? —KCT
 
It wasn’t your money, you knew it, you knew it was unlikely anyone didn’t want it, and you took it anyway. That is called larceny - even if the rightful owner didn’t know about it. You can’t change the wrongfulness of what you did by giving back $55.00. Confess, do penance, and don’t do it again. (Your conscience is biting you or you wouldn’t have posted.)
 
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OriginalJS:
It wasn’t your money, you knew it, you knew it was unlikely anyone didn’t want it, and you took it anyway. That is called larceny - even if the rightful owner didn’t know about it. You can’t change the wrongfulness of what you did by giving back $55.00. Confess, do penance, and don’t do it again. (Your conscience is biting you or you wouldn’t have posted.)
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Of course anybody would want it. It’s money.

It wasn’t the store’s either. The odds it could be returned to its original owner were astronomical. Who knows how it got there? Maybe it belonged to a drug dealer who didn’t get paid. Besides, haven’t you ever slipped a dime into a pay telephone or a quarter into a coin return slot just to “plant” a nice surprise for another person? I have. Gosh I didn’t know I was going around setting moral traps for people.

Alan
 
Thank you all for your good advice. I went to the thrift store this afternoon and returned the money. Although it’s highly unlikely that the original owner will get that money back, I hope that the money will be put to good use.

Pax vobiscum,

Augustinian
 
The Augustinian:
Thank you all for your good advice. I went to the thrift store this afternoon and returned the money. Although it’s highly unlikely that the original owner will get that money back, I hope that the money will be put to good use.
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If that’s where your conscience led you, then I rejoice because it shall no doubt bring you peace. Meanwhile, we all got a great conversation topic out of it! Thanks for sharing this life event with us.

Alan
 
This was an interesting post. I agreed that the money didn’t belong to the person who took it, and he/she did the right thing in returning it. A more interesting question is, what if the money was discovered only after you had purchased the coat and brought it home? In that case, I think maybe you would have been entitled to keep it.
 
Augisitnian,
Don’t forget confession. You’ll feel a whole lot better.

Listener,
Nope, even if he bought the coat, the money would not be his. How much would he pay for a coat in a thrift store? Certainly not $55.00. He would still have to bring the cash back.

This is black and white. All questions of right and wrong are.
 
What type of thrift store is it? Church, Goodwill, noname?
If it was from a church thrift store then the money could be traced, or if not put in as donation…

OTHER THAN THAT…

Its called FINDERS KEEPERS…IF you buy the coat. There is no way that cash is going back to the owner, and if you return it it will go into the manager’s pocket and be spent on cigs and drinks.
To change it around what if you were walking down the street and saw that cash on the ground? Do you leave it and hope that the owner will come looking for it? You pick it up FIRST, and if the owner doesnt come around in a fair time, they you keep it.

Matt13 said:
44 "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
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