When is it not okay to keep lost money?

[Shiny Star]

So we’ve all had situations where we may have found a coin on the floor and pocketed it. Or even better, some notes in a self-scan. When is it okay to pocket the money and when should it be handed in? This could either be the value or the scenario. 

I think any coins on the floor is completely okay. If you find it in a self-scan or a larger amount money then that’s the slippery slope. I remember once I found £30 or something but there was no way that it would be returned to the owner. I guess there was a slim chance that the person would realise and ask the staff if they’d seen it. I had the choice to hand it in to a supermarket or pocket it. I think I ended up keeping some of it and donating the rest of it to one of the charities they were advertising because I felt a bit guilty. I’ve lost money in public before (the worst was £20) and just took the loss so I saw it more as a what comes around goes around situation.

[slooroo]

This just happened to me recently. I was in a thrift store and found $100. Even ignoring the fact it is an actual crime to keep the money (it is considered theft) I still decided to have a cashier hold on to it in case the owner comes looking for it. If it would've been a penny or something I would've shrugged and kept it but higher amounts would feel wrong.

[Bryn]

If I found £500 in an envelope discarded somewhere, I'd do the right thing and hand it to the police. Could be drug money for all you know...

[Kyng]

Interesting question ! And there's not really an 'obvious' answer:

• I think most of us would agree that taking 1p off the floor is OK (or, if it's wrong, then it's only 'wrong' in a trivial technical sense, that basically nobody would care about in reality);
  
• On the other hand, I think most of us would agree that taking £1,000 off the floor is not OK. The rightful owner of that money would want it back;
  
• This suggests that there's some point between 1p and £1,000 where it stops being OK. But, any point we pick is arbitrary. If we decide that £5 is the cut-off, then why is it OK to pick £4.99 off the floor, but not OK to pick up £5.01? It's not really any different!
  

I suppose, in principle, the 'right' thing to do is always to try and reunite the money with the person who dropped it. However, for very small amounts (such as 1p), that's just a waste of everybody's time in practice. So, if the amount of money is so small that I'd feel stupid about handing it in, then I'd have no problems with someone picking it up and keeping it.

[Bryn]

I think most of us would agree that taking 1p off the floor is OK

Might be wrong, but I think picking up a penny is a sign of good luck... although I believe in that too much whenever I find one

[Shiny Star]

I think most of us would agree that taking 1p off the floor is OK

Might be wrong, but I think picking up a penny is a sign of good luck... although I believe in that too much whenever I find one

I believe that too. Yesterday I saw a £1 coin on the floor but I didn’t pick it up - made me think of this thread. Someone else can be blessed.

[Moonshroom]

I always pick money off the floor.

I'm not ready to properly rob someone, but I'm also not above preying on someone else's mistakes.