Pre-War money (Fallout 3)

Pre-War money is a miscellaneous item in Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas.

Background
United States dollars (USD) were the pre-War currency of the United States of America. The inflation presumably caused by the Resource Wars was severe, leaving banknotes as the primary medium of exchange. Although the Great War eliminated the United States and its economy, reducing stacks of green bills to little more than collector's items and scrap parchment, certain pre-War devices continue to recognize them as valid currency. These are typically limited to areas like the Sierra Madre casino or the Nuka-World amusement park.

Characteristics
Pre-War money appears as a stack of indistinguishable bills. The item is valued at 10 caps per stack and is affected by the player's Barter skill. Pre-War money is somewhat plentiful. It can be found nearly anywhere money might be found in real life, such as cash registers, safes, suitcases and desks. As it has lost almost all value to the inhabitants of the Wasteland, it can also be found in garbage cans.

Uses
In the three games, the primary usefulness of pre-War money is as a trade item, owing to its weightlessness and relatively high value.

In Fallout 3, pre-War money can be used as ammunition for the Rock-It Launcher. It is the only weightless item besides alien crystals which can be loaded into the Rock-It Launcher.

In the first add-on for Fallout: New Vegas, Dead Money, pre-War money can be exchanged for (or from) Sierra Madre chips while inside the Sierra Madre casino. The exchange rate is 1:1 – one chip for one stack of pre-War money – making it a potentially profitable source of income given the availability of the Sierra Madre chips.

Locations
Pre-War money is found throughout the Capital Wasteland, The Pitt, Point Lookout, Adams Air Force Base, Mojave Wasteland, Sierra Madre, and Zion National Park. In the Capital Wasteland, pre-War money is often found in cash registers. Within the Mojave Wasteland, there is a lot in Searchlight Airport, the REPCONN headquarters, suitcases in Black Mountain and the bank within the Atomic Wrangler casino.

Fallout 3

 * 17 can be found in the main area of L.O.B. Enterprises.
 * 15 can be found on a pool table in Dukov's Place.
 * 10 can be found scattered about the lower offices of the Chryslus Building.
 * 12 are located on top of a safe in the basement of the Trapper's shack, in a cell with a swamplurk queen.
 * 24 can be found in room 1G of the Homestead Motel, 11 spread throughout the room and 13 located in a suitcase.
 * 39 can be found inside the sea cave. 25 can be found inside and around a chest next to a mattress. The other 14 are in a half-sunken boat with a skeleton.

Fallout: New Vegas

 * 39 bundles spread throughout the Lucky 38.
 * 17 in the Atomic Wrangler casino.
 * 17 in the train station.
 * 20 in the Nevada State Highway Patrol Station.
 * 60 spread over three suitcases in the Lake Mead Cave.
 * 200 on the third floor of the REPCONN headquarters in Piers Isley's briefcase.
 * 17 in the Sierra Madre vault.
 * Hologram vendors carry large quantities of pre-War money, which one can use to barter with them.

Behind the scenes
The blue colored cash strap is the American Bank Association standard color for a strap containing a quantity of 100 $1 bills.