THEMONEYSTORIES

The majority of Carl Barks' comic book stories revolve around money in some form or other. Of course, money is the driving force in most of the stories in which Scrooge McDuck participates, but this page will concentrate on the many different ways Donald Duck handles cash. Here are only ten examples taken from the WDCS series in chronological order. No doubt, you will be able to think of many more...

WDCS050

Synopsis:
Donald gives his nephews a rare coin from his coin collection by mistake. So he tries to get it back.

Comments:
Barks wrote several other stories in which a single coin was a primary object in the 10-pagers. In WDCS130 Donald accidentally pays Scrooge with an old and valuable dime. When he discovers that his uncle has more of the same sort he becomes greedy. And in WDCS265 Scrooge is exhibiting his Dime Number One at a bazaar. A trained raven helps Magica get it...

WDCS062

Synopsis:
Donald wants to win a water-skiing contest although he has never tried that sport before. But never mind, if one can only be friendly with the judge...

Comments:
The interesting part of this story - in reference to the topic of this page - is that the nephews start off with a lot of money that they have earned by collecting a reward. Two things are unique to the story: 1. Barks makes a clear and unprecedented reference to his previous 10-pager story (WDCS061) in which the nephews caught a criminal and received the reward, thus making it a sequel, and 2. the nephews actually are rich. Neither of these points were ever repeated by Barks.

WDCS063

Synopsis:
The nephews have found a ten-dollar bill and Donald teaches them that the rightful owner should be located. But how does one find the true owner of a simple greenback?

Comments:
Barks uses a single piece of folding money to show us the difference between Right and Wrong. And how people react with dishonesty and greed. A nice little tale with a moral.

WDCS095

Synopsis:
Donald and Gladstone are bragging about their imaginary wealth but when Daisy asks for a small contribution for her club they have a problem...

Comments:
Donald is having his usual problem - lack of money. What makes it even worse is that he has to scrape a few dollars together in competition with his lucky adversary, Gladstone. In this story Donald refrains from nothing to reach his goal; he even stoops to raid the nephews' piggy bank!

WDCS099

Synopsis:
Donald becomes a walking encyclopaedia in order to win a whole barrel of money in a radio contest.

Comments:
This was certainly not the first time Donald attempted to earn some easy money. Numerous times he has tried his luck in different competitions by performing various easy tasks in order to win elaborate prizes.

WDCS137

Synopsis:
Donald has written a song and he plays it constantly at the jukebox in a resort hotel. With catastrophic results!

Comments:
Donald is ecstatic, because he has earned a tidy sum from his song 'The Screaming Cowboy'. This is one of the rare occasions where Donald continues to be content (because of his windfall) despite the fact that the world is collapsing around him.

WDCS144

Synopsis:
Scrooge has more money than he can store and he hires Donald to spend some of it - with an unexpected result!

Comments:
Donald is handling more money in this story than he ever did - apart from his occasional money shuffling in Scrooge's Money Bin. Barks even adds a twist. He lets Donald spend until he drops...

WDCS149

Synopsis:
Donald decides to toss a coin to determine what to do whenever he has to make a choice. Flipism will lead the way...

Comments:
This is not the first story in which one single coin has a major role in Barks' stories. Just remember the examples mentioned in the first entry on this page. But this story is a bit different, because the coin does not represent any value in itself. It is merely a tool used to keep the story going.
In WDCS140 another coin of no special value was mentioned; it was the dime that Gladstone earned by performing the only regular job in his entire life.

WDCS155

Synopsis:
Scrooge decides to find an heir for his vast fortune. He can choose either Donald, the nephews, or Gladstone.

Comments:
The story starts with Donald getting a pot of money which is a twist in itself, because he usually has to work hard throughout the stories to 'earn' that kind of money.

WDCS211

Synopsis:
Donald reads a book about black wishing stones on a tropical island and the nephews make fun of him for believing the story. But soon after they are all on their way...

Comments:
This story represents one of the rare occasions in which Donald actually comes out a winner despite all odds. In fact, he winds up with a bundle of money. Barks also adds an extra twist, letting Donald refer to money in slang terms such as Bananas, Simoleons, Smackers, Coconuts, and others.