Business cards made from dollar bills, cut with a laser...

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By Phillip Torrone
Posted 2008/02/11 @ 6:00 am
Category Art & Design

I was wondering what the gang from GRL (Graffiti Research Lab, also F.A.T) might do with the laser cutter they just won, it might be to make more dollar bill laser cut business cards – Link.

[Editor's note: Site has some provocative language/images. Flame on (pun intended) in the comments! Be Nice! - pt]

BY Phillip Torrone

Editor at large - Make magazine. Creative director - Adafruit Industries, contributing editor - Popular Science. Previously: Founded - Hack-a-Day, how-to editor - Engadget, Director of product development - Fallon Worldwide, Technology Director - Braincraft.

In the Maker Shed

Calculator Kit from Spikenzie Labs

Arduino Uno Rev 3 (Make SMD Version)

Ultimaker 3D Printer

Brooklyn Aerodrome Flying Wing Kit

12 Responses to Business cards made from dollar bills, cut with a laser…

iceCool on February 11th, 2008 at 6:38 am said:

Given the value of the USD it’s a perfect project.

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Ryan Rife on February 11th, 2008 at 6:49 am said:

Um, isn’t destroying or modifying currency illegal?

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Dirkus on February 11th, 2008 at 6:55 am said:

@Ryan: only if you’re doing it for fraudulent purposes. That’s the same way they get away with those souvenir smoosh-a-penny machines – it’s not being done fraudulently.

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Latente on February 11th, 2008 at 7:10 am said:

mhh in Italy is quite illegal do it.

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Scott M on February 11th, 2008 at 9:58 am said:

They could use it to burn away ‘In God We Trust’ so we could have some secular money for a change

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Aud1073cH on February 11th, 2008 at 11:07 am said:

I believe Dirkus is correct…
As long as you aren’t trying to defraud the government or other people.

Plus, a bill or “note” used to* represent a physical value stored in the treasury. The note is only a document representing a value. Coins on the other hand actually held** their value in the metal they were made from, so it may have been illegal to destroy or mutilate them (not sure). ‘old school’ fraudsters would shave the edges off of gold and silver coins, removing value from them, and turn the shavings into more money. – this is why many coins have ridged edges – to show evidence of tampering.

*US paper money used to be backed by silver held in the treasury.
**Coins today may be worth more, or worth less than the metal they are made from.

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ventifact on February 11th, 2008 at 7:07 pm said:

It would really make a statement if you used $20.

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Kendall Press on February 12th, 2008 at 1:31 pm said:

I think they look really cool, but I agree with some of the other comments about it being illegal. Burning a USD is illegal so I couldn’t see how this is legal.

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Kendall Press on February 12th, 2008 at 1:32 pm said:

I think they look really cool, but I agree with some of the other comments about it being illegal. Burning a USD is illegal so I couldn’t see how this is legal.

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Hans on March 19th, 2008 at 11:54 am said:

The people claiming that it is legal are wrong. Read this:

Title 18 United States Code, Section 333

Mutilation of national bank obligations

Whoever mutilates, cuts, defaces, disfigures, or perforates, or 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, or Federal Reserve bank, or the Federal Reserve System, with intent to render such bank bill, draft, note, or other evidence of debt unfit to be reissued, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than six months, or both.

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Karen Marie on May 12th, 2008 at 7:58 pm said:

Let the first attorney come forward to
prosecute. I’ll bring popcorn.

The law may exist, but you would be hard
pressed to find a lawyer willing to embarrass
himself pushing such a case over a couple
dudes having fun with a laser.

You don’t see the feds closing down Disney
World, do you?

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me on November 12th, 2008 at 6:09 pm said:

Actually, rendering a bill unusable (as above) is illegal. But it’s unlikely to get anybody in trouble unless, as mentioned above, it is used for fraudulent purposes, because it’s not that big of a deal. Money will be destroyed eventually, and more will be made. There are better things to worry about than someone destroying their own money, not to mention it’s difficult to catch anyone at it.

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