$12.55, by any other name ...

Jun 16 01:28 UTC 1994

I recently had my check rejected at the supermarket (at least, they made
me rewrite it.)  The check was for $12.55, and I wrote "12.55" in the box
after the "$" on the check.  On the next line I wrote:
   "twelve and eleven twentieths"
Now, what's wrong with that?  Might the bank reject such a check?

response 2 of 16:

Jun 16 05:26 UTC 1994

You used to be able to write a check on anything...not so sure any
more.  If they have to give it special processing, they'll likely
just reject it.  I don't blame the grocery store for rejecting that
particular check.  What would probably happen is that the bank would
pay the lower of the two amounts as they interpret them in their haste.
which is to say, the bank would pay 12.11 to the store and they'd lose
44 cents.  They don't have to take a check from you *at all* and I'm
sure they lose a fair amount to bad check artists.  It pays them to be
careful about the form of the checks they receive.  If they are at all
suspicious (don't think you match that ugly driver's license photo
or don't like the way you look away when they compare the two) they
should think twice about accepting anything other than cash.
  Stick with the 100ths format...

response 6 of 16:

Jun 16 12:16 UTC 1994

Re 5:  Well, that's a good reason to write the entries in two very
different ways.  That allows more error recovery.  If my 5s look funny,
then ".55" and "55/100" will both look funny, and might be mistake for
something else.  But "eleven twentieths" can't be mistaken for something
else without something other than a 5 being funny.

response 8 of 16:

Jun 16 17:15 UTC 1994

If, according to a hamburger chain, many people think a 1/4 pounder is
bigger than a 1/3 pounder (4 > 3), we'd better stick with the "standard"
way of writing checks to keep confusion, not to mention mistakes, down to
a minimum.

response 10 of 16:

Mar 20 02:18 UTC 1998

When I was traveling out west, in small towns, the stores would have blank
checks from the local bank which they let anyone use to write a check.  I told
this to somebody I was having lunch with, and a stranger nearby said he did
not believe it and as a challenge offered to write me a blank check for $40
and he would sell it to me for $20.  I said, if he could verify where he had
a bank account, and write his check on a paper bar napkin (with the funny
jokes on them), and sign to match his driver's licence, I would buy it.  He
even offered to write his checking account number on it.  I bought it from
him, went to his bank, tried to cash it, had to talk to the manager, he asked
me what the number was on the check, I said 'he wrote his phone number on
there because he would be out of town', and he cancelled and cashed the napkin
(and I presume sent the cancelled napking to the guy).  (He had tried to trick
me by putting down the wrong account number.  They didn't care what the number
was, apparently.)  There is also a classic story of someone objecting to
paying his taxes, who wrote the check out on a cow, and the party had to
accept it.  (French story, I think).  SO you need the bank name and signature.
I made $20.  ANd had the satisfaction of imagining him opening up his next
checking account statement.

response 12 of 16:

Mar 20 21:24 UTC 1998

I am not sure I would try that again, 25 years later.

response 14 of 16:

Jan 27 02:34 UTC 2004

As a former proof-operator, I recommend against using anything but hundredths.
Even when done by hand, there isn't time to convert fractions to decimals.

response 16 of 16:

Jan 27 12:07 UTC 2004

True, but not necessary: the cent is well-named. ;)

I'd not recommend writing a check for "2 dollars, 2 bits", either.