We'll Split It

The bills looked almost new. They were crisp $50s and $100s that had never been folded, some stamped by banks in Cleveland, Peoria and Florida.

There were also bills most people have never seen: seven $500 notes with President McKinley's face, and one $1,000 note bearing Grover Cleveland's. To collectors, old bills like these could be worth far more than their face value.

The house belonged to Amanda Reece, a mortgage loan officer who had bought it in 1996. Kitts knew her. They had been classmates years before.

He picked up the phone. "We found something," he told her. "It's really important that you come home."

When she saw the money, Kitts recalls, she said: "Oh, this is great! We'll split it!"