History Main / AMacguffinFullOfMoney

A popular subtrope of the {{MacGuffin}} concept. Rather than make the [=MacGuffin=] be a piece of obscure technology, or the ChosenOne brought back to life, it is quite simply a giant pile of cash. Because money has intrinsic and universal value, the viewer can instantly understand why it is that the characters are so determined to retrieve it.

* [[MacGuffinTitle The eponymous treasure of Gold Roger]] in ''Franchise/OnePiece'' is very much a MacGuffin. Of course, while everyone ''assumes'' it's a vast fortune, the exact nature of it is arguably the greatest mystery in the series. It's merely the prestige of having been the only one since Roger to make it to the end of the world that will make whoever finds it the pirate king. In all likelihood, the actual ''treasure'' (as in silver and gold and all) aspect of the One Piece is probably rather not much. Speculations on what it could be range from a single piece of eight (It is ONE piece, after all) to a one piece bathing suit that Roger was fond of.

* The first arc of ''Anime/HeavyMetalLGaim'' revolve around a cash card containing a few million of the local currency. Characters steal it, try to bribe military officials with it, and even try to deliver it to its rightful owner. [[spoiler: The bank that issued it [[RealityEnsues froze the card]] when they found out about the shenanigans, but it eventually gets to the arms dealer it was meant for.]]

[[folder:Live Action TV]]
* ''Series/{{Leverage}}'': "The Homecoming Job" ends up being a shipping container full of stolen cash from Iraq. In this case the money isn't really what's important - the two bad guys, a congressman and CEO for some PrivateMilitaryContractors, have plenty - it's the fact that it's cash, which makes it a giant, untraceable slush fund.

* ''Series/AltaMar'': [[AMacGuffinFullOfMoney Macguffin full of Nazi gold ingots]] drives the plot for much of the first two seasons.

* ''Series/AltaMar'': A [[MacGuffinFullOfMoney Macguffin full of Nazi gold ingots drives the plot for much of the first two seasons.

* An old ComicBook/DisneyDucksComicUniverse comic involves Donald knocking loose a concrete egg and discovering that the thing's actually filled with money. After cracking it open with a wrecking ball, he finds out it belongs to Uncle Scrooge, and he kept it around in case of emergency. Yes, it was his [[JustForPun nest egg]].

The problem with this trope is that it can't be generally used to power stories that involve things like the villain seeking world domination. As such, it tends to show up most often in mundane fiction, although a [=MacGuffin=] full of money can make characters who would otherwise be normal act kind of insane -- compare GoldFever.

* In ''Film/TheCriminal'', Johnny buries the [[BriefcaseFullOfMoney suitcase full of cash]] he and his gang stole from the racetrack in an empty field. Various {{London Gangster}]s decide that they want that cash and are willing to go to any length to get, including busting Johnny out of prison.

* Subverted (kinda) in the ''Literature/{{Mistborn}}'' Trilogy. The atium cache is initially desired for its monetary value, but when they finally find it near the end of the last book, [[spoiler:money of any sort is kind of worthless...]]
** In the end, it's still valuable, but because [[spoiler: it's actually the "body" (read: power) of a god in metallic form, and the BigBad (the god it was essentially scooped out of) wants to re-ingest it to get himself back to full strength]]. And because it's a powerful allomantic metal with great military value.

* Film/TheMalteseFalcon looks like an ordinary statue, but only a few people know that it holds gems under its skin.

* The Philosopher's Legacy in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3'' is a microfilm with details of bank accounts containing a ''colossal'' amount of money (described as "one hundred billion dollars" or "[...] enough to fight the war five times over". Enough, in fact, that despite the usual trapping of this trope, [[spoiler:the group that gets their hands on it does take over the world]].

* In the third case of ''VisualNovel/DanganRonpa'', [[KillerGameMaster Monokuma]] offers ten billion yen to the first student to murder a classmate and escape [[ClosedCircle the school]]. As it turns out, [[spoiler:the killer in that case never cared about the money and just really wanted out.]]

* ''Series/MacGyver1980'': In "Three for the Road", the MacGuffin is a satchel full of CounterfeitCash that the crooks are attempting to retrieve. Any kind of valuable contraband could have served the same purpose.

* ''Series/MacGyver'': In "Three for the Road", the MacGuffin is a satchel full of CounterfeitCash that the crooks are attempting to retrieve. Any kind of valuable contraband could have served the same purpose.

* The Diamond in ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAveAttorneyTrialsAndTribulations''. It's worth 2 million dolars and serves as motivation for Mellisa Foster's start of darkness. That's all that is important about it.

[[folder: Anime]]

[[folder: Comic Books ]]

[[folder: Film ]]

* ''Film/ASimplePlan'' is about a group of characters who find a wrecked plane full of cash (which turns out to be [[spoiler: the ransom from a kidnapping]]).

** In ''Lebowski'''s case [[spoiler: the briefcase was actually full of phone books from the beginning, and the money had already been embezzled.]]

[[folder: Literature ]]

[[folder: Theater]]

* Harpagon's cash-box with a ten thousand crowns in ''Theatre/TheMiser''.

[[folder: Video Games ]]

* In the third case of ''VisualNovel/DanganRonpa'', [[KillerGameMaster Monokuma]] offers ten billion yen to the first student to murder a classmate and escape [[ClosedCircle the school]]. As it turns out, [[spoiler: the killer in that case never cared about the money and just really wanted out.]]
* ''VideoGame/FallOut2'' features a treasure that's stuck down in a well - a load of cash! After buttering up the ghoul that buried it for its location and hiring a treasure hunter to help find it, the Chosen One gets their hands on [[spoiler:10,000 bottlecaps - which was an incredibly valuable treasure about 80 years ago while bottlecaps were legal tender, but became worthless when enough technology was restored to make new caps - forcing the NCR to re-open a number of [[GoldSilverCopperStandard gold mines]]. Hope the Chosen One held onto them, as the Brotherhood of Steel blew those mines up just a few years later, forcing people back to bottle caps again.]]

[[folder: Manga and Anime ]]

* The titular PirateBooty treasure in ''Manga/OnePiece'' is ''probably'' this trope, given the genre trappings, but as yet no one really knows for sure.

[[/folder]]

* ''Series/{{Leverage}}'': "The Homecoming Job" ends up being a shipping container full of stolen cash from Iraq. In this case the money isn't really what's important, the two bad guys, a congressman and CEO for some PrivateMilitaryContractors, have plenty, it's the fact that it's cash, which makes it a giant, untraceable slush fund.

* This was the [=MacGuffin=] used to drive the action in ''Film/NoCountryForOldMen''. At a few points, characters end up needing to spend some of it after getting themselves in a tight spot.

* This is the basis of several [[Creator/TheCoenBrothers Coen Brothers]] films including ''Film/NoCountryForOldMen'', ''Film/{{Fargo}}'', ''Film/TheBigLebowski'' and ''Film/BloodSimple''. Although in ''Lebowski'''s case [[spoiler: the briefcase was actually full of phone books from the beginning, and the money had already been embezzled.]]

->''Fifteen million dollars is not money. It's a motive with a universal adaptor on it.''

->'''Kasper:''' Mr. Spade, have you any conception of how much money can be got for that black bird?
->'''Sam''': No.
->'''Kasper:''' Well, Sir, if I told you, if I told you ''half'', you'd call me a liar.
-->-- ''Film/TheMalteseFalcon''

* An old ComicBook/DisneyDucksComicUniverse comic involves Donald knocking loose a concrete egg and discovering that the thing's actually filled with money. After cracking it open with a wrecking ball, he finds out it belongs to Uncle Scrooge, and he kept it around in case of emergency. Yes, it was his nest egg.

* A minor example in ''Literature/TheWayOfKings''. Each battle of the Shattered Plains (though not the war as a whole) is driven by the appearance of chasmfiend pupae, each of which contain an enormous gemstone. A "gemheart" represents a staggering amount of money, enough to fund an army for months, and also provides the gems that are used to magic up food for said armies.