Hobbies And Interests
Function
Play money can be used for several purposes. One of the most popular is as a scoring device for board games such as Monopoly or the game of Life. It can also be used for poker payments when folks don't want to ante up the real thing. Play money also serves an educational purpose, used by kids in classrooms or at home to help teach denominations, counting and money value. One more way to use play money is as a form of reward for good grades or a job well done.
Types
Play bills will range in color from bright green to black and white. Multicolored rainbow hues, deep gold, bright red and all colors on the spectrum are other options. They can be small like business cards or as large as a bumper sticker. Play coins are usually made of plastic, although wood or thin metal are also available. They, too, have a wide range of sizes and styles. Different types of play money can be purchased in sets or in bulk at many game and hobby shops, educational stores or online (see Resources below).
Identification
Play money will never look identical to the real thing unless, of course, the person printing the play money wants to get arrested for fraud. Some traits that mark play money as fake include vibrant or strange colors not found on real bills, a thinner and different feel of paper, coins made of plastic or cardboard, unusual sizes and cartoonish markings. Play money may also come in strange denominations not ordinarily found in real money, such as a $3 bill or a 99-cent coin.
Considerations
Play money can also be custom-ordered from several different companies and used as a gag gift, marketing coupons for other businesses or framed to mark a celebration such as the opening of a new business. These companies offer a variety of styles and denominations from the Monopoly-style money to a more realistic million-dollar bill with customized words, logos and even photos imprinted on them.
Features
Some play money is available in a wide array of different themes. These include play money touting the U.S. military branches, with photos of soldiers front and center; the Second Amendment's right to bear arms, with a gun illustration front and center; police money; firefighter money; or money with a different animal featured on each like dogs on "K-nine" dollars or cats on the center of a $9 bill because they have nine lives. These specialized forms of play money can be found at custom printing shops or online (see Resources below).