Kalman was a coupon collector. When the weekly store brochures arrived, he would clip the coupons of any product he occasionally bought. Over time, he amassed a large collection of coupons.
Kalman’s roommate, Dov, was just the opposite. He didn’t think the few dollars saved was worth the time it took to clip the coupons.
They half-jokingly argued about their difference. “Watch out,” Dov warned Kalman. “One day I’m going to throw your whole coupon collection down the incinerator!”
“That’s not funny,” said Kalman. “That would be serious damage!”
One day the two were going to a wedding of a very close friend. Dov wanted to leave early, but Kalman was going through the store brochures.
“C’mon, Kalman,” Dov cajoled him. “You’re making us late!”
“What’s the rush?” Kalman replied. “There are great coupons here! We have time.”
Finally, Kalman was ready and the two headed out. As they got on the highway, they heard the traffic news: “Serious accident at exit 26! Police have just closed all lanes for the coming hour.”
“Our rotten luck,” Dov seethed. “Had we left fifteen minutes earlier we would have avoided the accident. Now we’re going to miss the chupah entirely. It’s all because of your coupons!”
When the two returned late that night, Dov took the coupon collection and threw it down the incinerator.
In the morning, Kalman asked Dov about the coupons. “I was furious last night; I threw them down the incinerator,” Dov acknowledged. “I know it was wrong; I have to control my anger.”
“I had over three hundred dollars in coupons!” said Kalman. “You caused me tremendous loss!”
“But many of them were sitting unused,” replied Dov. “Their cash value is miniscule, one-one hundredth of a cent each.”
“That’s just for legal purposes,” argued Kalman. “The face value is what counts!”
The two decided to consult Rabbi Dayan.
“How much does Dov owe for the destroyed coupons?” Kalman asked.
“When evaluating damage,” replied Rabbi Dayan, “we evaluate the item’s current worth on the market.” (C.M. 387:1)
“A related discussion exists in the poskim regarding one who destroyed a loan document,” explained Rabbi Dayan. “Let’s say someone destroyed a thousand-dollar bond due in a year. People would not be willing to pay a thousand dollars for this document, since it is due only in a year, can get lost, the borrower might go bankrupt, etc. Beis din has to get an actuarial estimation of its current value.” (C.M. 66:32; Shach 386:14)
“But the document is just a piece of paper,” said Dov. “Isn’t destroying it grama, indirect damage? It just prevents the owner from collecting his money.”
“The Gemara [B.K. 98b; Kesubos 86a] raises this possibility, but concludes that one who burns another person’s loan document is legally liable,” answered Rabbi Dayan. “According to many Rishonim it falls into the more severe category of garmi – directly or immediately caused damage.” (C.M 386:1-2)
“How does this relate to the coupons?” asked Kalman.
“The coupon is clearly worth more than the cash value printed,” replied Rabbi Dayan. “People would be willing to pay part of the face value to take advantage of the discount. On the other hand, the coupon is not worth the full face value, since it can get lost, is usable only on that particular product, etc. Beis din should establish a value that people would be willing to pay depending on the desirability of the product, the value of the coupon relative to the price of the product, the availability of the coupon, etc. Furthermore, when destroying a large group of coupons we should value them as a group sold to one person.” (C.M. 362:12; Pischei Choshen, Geneivah 5:17 [49])
“It’s illegal to sell coupons, though,” pointed out Dov. “Does that change anything?”
“That is an interesting point,” replied Rabbi Dayan. “It needs to be addressed separately.”