When Carl Barks first developed Scrooge McDuck, he made him one of the wealthiest 'persons' in the duck universe. This called for some kind of visual aid to enable us to comprehend just how rich he was. At first Barks tried different solutions of showing Scrooge's stored-up money; offices filled to the brink with money, overflowing vaults and even an open crib far out in the country. But it was when he first introduced us to the Money Bin that we had some tangible evidence of Scrooge's incomprehensible wealth.

In 1994 Barks answered the relevant question of the size of Scrooge's fortune and the contents of the Money Bin by stating: Uncle Scrooge's fortune stands at precisely ... Five billion quintiplitilion unptuplatillion multuplatillion impossibidillion fantasticatrillion dollars. This translates into three cubic acres of money housed in the McDuck Money Bin. Unfortunately this cannot be the whole truth, because Scrooge has filled all the banks in the country with his money and the remainder is stored in the Money Bin. Still, the number is beyond comprehension, and we are duly impressed...

THE APPEARANCE

Scrooge's Money Bin was first mentioned in FC0282 The Pixilated Parrot from 1950 and again in WDCS134 'The Anti-Beagle Cannon' from 1951, but it was first shown in the following month in WDCS135 'The Money Bin Freezes'. Although it is usually just a giant cube-structure it changes appearance from time to time.

U$15 Cube-shaped U$21 Oblong U$09 Extended WDCS171 Impervi-wax'ed U$38 Glazed DBP Round

THE LOCATION(S)

Barks was never especially precise when showing the Money Bin in its Duckburgian surroundings - sometimes it appear on a hill and sometimes on flat ground. We are told that the address is Killmotor Hill, and that it was built on the very site of old Fort Duckburg, which was a pioneer stronghold during the Indian wars. Here are some of the varying locations.

WDCS135 On a hill U$27 On flat ground U$15 On the move!

THE DETAILS

By looking at the Money Bin from the outside one might think that it is just a giant one-room concrete shell of a building. Nothing could be further from the truth! However, it is impossible to deduct exactly how it looks on the inside. Besides the giant money storage room it is probably filled with storeys containing halls, chambers, offices and staircases. Not to mention hordes of guards, secretaries, bookkeepers and clerks. It may even hold a residence for Scrooge as well. Barks never clarified this last point but it seems most likely that Scrooge could not part from his beloved money during nighttime. Below you are treated to a brief tour around the outside as well as the inside of the Money Bin.

THE EXTERIOR U$21 Rocks marking old Fort Duckburg WDCS135 Acid moat WDCS135 Cannon and minefield U$51 Lettuce garden U$42 Roof entrance FC1047 Roof vents THE INTERIOR WDCS187 Scrooge's office U$35 Cannon U$55 Money faucet U$46 Dime Number One WDCS138 Extra vault under the floor U$28 Worry room

THE SECRETS

Surely Scrooge has many secrets in his business life, but two of them stand out; one is the very hush-hush secret of gaining entry to his Money Bin. The other is a rather more well-known secret - his favourite pastime of bathing in his money.

THE COMBINATIONS U$09 Note in a locket U$60 Flute melody FC0282 Talking parrot DBP Tattooed on chest THE HOBBY Diving into them like a porpoise... ...burrowing through them like a gopher... ...and throwing them into the air

THE NON-COMIC WORK

After Barks retired officially from comic book work in 1966 he drew and painted the Money Bin numerous times - from both the outside and the inside. Here are a very few examples:

THE PASTELS From Go Slowly Sands of Time Money Just Follows Him Around Sir Christopher Wren, Who Was He? Plenty to Blow About I May Have to Spend Some of This Stuff Invasion of Privacy THE PAINTINGS 009 021 044 065 078 141