History Main / QuickChange

[[JustForFun/IThoughtItMeant Not to be confused with the theatrical term for a very fast costume change.]] Nor the [[Film/QuickChange 1990 Bill Murray film.]]

* ''{{Series/Cheers}}'': [[ConMan Harry the Hat]] uses this as a ShortCon on Coach. Asking Coach to break a $20 into 20 $1 bills, Harry casually mentions other numbers while Coach is counting out the change so he gets much more than $20 back.
** Harry also short changes Cliff in a similar manner.

* In the novel ''Literature/AmericanGods'', Mr. Wednesday casually pulls a variant of this, involving a credit card as well as cash, on a gas-station attendant. The exact details aren't mentioned, however: Creator/NeilGaiman once stated in an interview that he'd deliberately tried to obfuscate the details of the cons used in the book, to prevent anybody from trying to replicate them in real life. (Didn't actually work, though. One of the bigger cons in the book was successfully replicated by a Canadian fan, who walked away with more than $6,000...)

** Website/NotAlwaysRight has a number of variants, the biggest example being probably [[http://notalwaysright.com/handling-change-well/27972 this]]
* An unintentional variant is known to happen when English merchants deal with the unusual, but extant Scottish one-pound note; they habitually think it's the smallest denomination that exists in English, five pounds, and give change accordingly.

[[IThoughtItMeant Not to be confused with the theatrical term for a very fast costume change.]] Nor the [[Film/QuickChange 1990 Bill Murray film.]]

* The film ''Film/TheGrifters'' has an example of the third type of con. The protagonist holds up a $20 bill but actually pays with a $10 bill.

* An old ''{{Abbott and Costello}}'' routine does a variation relying on Abbott's fast talk and Costello's stupidity. "Could you give me two 10s for a five?"

* In the novel ''Literature/AmericanGods'', Mr. Wednesday casually pulls a variant of this, involving a credit card as well as cash, on a gas-station attendant. The exact details aren't mentioned, however: NeilGaiman once stated in an interview that he'd deliberately tried to obfuscate the details of the cons used in the book, to prevent anybody from trying to replicate them in real life. (Didn't actually work, though. One of the bigger cons in the book was successfully replicated by a Canadian fan, who walked away with more than $6,000...)

* The film ''TheGrifters'' has an example of the third type of con. The protagonist holds up a $20 bill but actually pays with a $10 bill.

* Demonstrated in great detail in the film ''MercyStreets''. Particularly strange because ''Mercy Streets'' basically exists to be mild Christian propaganda; one would think the filmmakers would have been a little more concerned about showing easily-imitable criminal acts.

* Juan does this trick at the beginning of ''NineQueens''. After succeeding, he tries again at the same shop with a different cashier, only minutes later. Naturally, he is recognized and exposed.

* HannaBarbera's ''Hokey Wolf''. The title character pulled this trick on a chuck wagon cook who has just baked some pies. After Hokey dresses up as an American Indian:

* The 2nd edition ''DungeonsAndDragons'' sourcebook ''The Complete Thief's Handbook''. The end of Chapter 6 had a story that illustrated the second type of con, which they called the "short-change swindle".

** The ten for a five variant is especially popular in Canada, due to how similar the current iterations of the bills look.

* Done in ''PaperMoon''.

* ''MatchstickMen'' uses the change con during a sequence where Roy is teaching his [[LongLostRelative newly met daughter]] Angela how to con people.

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* The Trickster does a variant near the start of Franchise/TheDCU's CrisisCrossover ''UnderworldUnleashed'', with rueful narration about how a charter member of Franchise/TheFlash's RoguesGallery is now reduced to conning pizza boys.

* The Trickster does a variant near the start of TheDCU's CrisisCrossover ''UnderworldUnleashed'', with rueful narration about how a charter member of The {{Flash}}'s RoguesGallery is now reduced to conning pizza boys.

* An episode of the Finnish [[TabletopRPG RPG]]-themed comic ''Peluri'' combined this with poking fun at [[DungeonsAndDragons D&D]]'s complicated monetary system. After some back-and-forth involving copper, silver, gold, platinum and electrum pieces, the guard the conman was paying toll to ends up having to sell his weapon and armour to him.

* Done with a twist in ''{{CSI}}''- [[spoiler: Hypnosis is used, and the teller ends up making change for a $20 -- using $50s]].
* Done every which way in ''{{Hustle}}''; whenever they pay for their drinks the barman is going to be left with less money than he started with. And he knows this, and ''still'' can't work out how it happens.
** ''TheRealHustle'' demonstrates how to make it work in real life, usually on store cashiers, and how ''not'' to fall for it.
* Inadvertantly Inverted on ''Late Night with DavidLetterman'' where Larry "Bud" Melman is sent out in a silly costume to get two fives for a ten and, getting himself confused, goes around offering two tens for a five.

* Art Sansom's ''The Born Loser'' had the title character, Brutus Thornapple, confronted by a man who asked if he had change for a seven dollar bill. Brutus gives him two ones and a five. Only after the quick change artist has left does Brutus realize what happened.

"Quick change" is a form of the ShortCon in which the {{Hustler}} confuses a cashier into giving more change than they should. The most lucrative quick change technique is the "progressive", in which smaller denomination bills are thrust back at the cashier for consolidation into a higher denomination. "Here, give me a five for these ones." (then, while holding the five and the ones...) "Oh, wait. Go ahead and give me a 10. Let me see... one, two, three, four and five is .. yeah, a 10. Thanks."

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** As a variant, Abbott gets a few dollars off of Costello by counting 10 dollars in a non-standard fashion.

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* ''{{Series/Cheers}}'': [[ConMan Harry the Hat]] uses this as a ShortCon on Coach. Asking Coach to break a $20 into 20 $1 bills, Harry casually mentions other numbers while Coach is counting out the change so he gets much more than $20 back.

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-->Hokey: Hows about us make 'um trade?
-->Cook: What kind of trade, Injun?
-->Hokey: Well, take your delicious home made pie for instance.
-->Cook: [snip] What about my delicious homemade pie?
-->Hokey: [Takes the pie] Wouldn't you say it's worth a can of your home made beans? [pulls a can of beans out of the cook's cupboard]
-->Cook: Sure it is!
-->Hokey: Fine, sir, fine! [Hands him the can of beans and grabs another can of beans out of the cupboard] Isn't two cans of beans worth a sack of your flour?
-->Cook: I guess so.
-->Hokey: [Hands him the 2nd can of beans and grabs a sack of flour out of the cupboard] Then I'll trade you this entire sack of flour for two measly pies.
-->Cook: You mean I gets my flour and my beans for only two of my measly delicious home made pies?
-->Hokey: Right sir, exactly. Ooh, you certainly drive a hard bargain sir!
-->Cook: [Laughs while running away] I sure got the best of that Injun! I have my beans and my flour back, and it only cost me [slams to a stop, outraged] TWO OF MY OWN PIES!

** NotAlwaysRight has a number of variants, the biggest example being probably [[http://notalwaysright.com/handling-change-well/27972 this]]

* Harry the Hat pulls this on Coach on ''{{Cheers}}'', while talking to [[TheClavin Cliff]].