Recall campaign uses cold, hard cash

• Dollar bills bear recall stamp

The campaign to recall Governor Scott Walker apparently includes dollar bills, such as several received as change in River Falls that bear the red-stamped words “recall Walker,” as well as a stick-figure image holding a donkey sign. Debbie Griffin photo

Talk about it

The campaign to recall Governor Scott Walker apparently includes dollar bills, such as several received as change in River Falls that bear the red-stamped words “recall Walker,” as well as a stick-figure image holding a donkey sign. Several people who saw the bills say they have not seen the stamp before. A few wondered aloud if the stamp was illegal. Curious, the Journal called the vice president of the local Associated Bank, Scott Morrissette, who is also a City Council member. He had not seen or heard of the ‘recall mark’ before but explained that laws enacted to prevent counterfeiting make it a felony to “deface U.S. currency.” Morrissette said rarely would the cases be pursued because the origin of the marks is nearly impossible to determine. The banker said any type of stray mark on a bill -- like the familiar “where’s George?” mark -- have the potential to make security scanners register a real bill as a fake. He said people who mark bills typically use ones of low denomination.

Tags: wisconsin, government, politics, money, news