The $1,600 worth of uncut currency would cost $15,636, counting the display books.

In an earlier call to the company, the reporter said he was writing an article about the offering. The woman who answered referred him to customer service.

Is World Reserve a government agency, like the Federal Reserve? "No," said Renee of customer service. "We're a privately owned company. We buy our money from the U.S. Mint, though."

Indeed, the ad identifies the company as "the world's premier private numismatic exchange," referring to itself more than once as a private company.

Asked her full name, Renee said, "We don't give out last names." She promised a prompt return call from somebody else in the company, but it did not come.

"The Bureau of Engraving and Printing, which prints U.S. currency, basically sells uncut sheets of currency," said Paul Morley, spokesman with the Federal Reserve Bank branch in Salt Lake City.

The bureau's Web site, moneyfactory.gov, offers a variety of uncut currency. The $1 bills are available in sheets of four, eight, 16 and 32, each at a sizable premium above face value.

It is perfectly legal for private companies or individuals to buy uncut sheets and resell them. Collectors, Morley pointed out, "buy and sell them all the time."

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E-mail: bau@desnews.com