After seeing some cash destroyed in a fire in a popular Netflix TV series, I wondered what would happen if someone's cash was destroyed in a fire.
Assuming you had some way to prove that the money was utterly destroyed, would the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing replace it?
Hypothetically, yes!
From the U.S. BEP's guidelines on Damaged Currency:
Under regulations issued by the Department of the Treasury, mutilated United States currency may be exchanged at face value if:
- More than 50% of a note identifiable as United States currency is present; or,
- 50% or less of a note identifiable as United States currency is present, and the method of mutilation and supporting evidence demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Treasury that the missing portions have been totally destroyed.
"50% or less" includes "0%".
However, it is probably going to be very difficult to prove that the currency existed, had a specific face value, and was completely destroyed (instead of being replaced with a decoy at the last minute.)