Green’s Dictionary of Slang

(orig. US) paper money.

1940		J.H. O’Hara Pal Joey 91: A handsome wallet stuffed with a liberal supply of folding [...] Any time the socialites go out they leave their folding money at home.
1951		(con. 1920) S. Longstreet Pedlocks (1971) 280: Stinky went back to school with a hamper of food and some folding money.
1953		R. Chandler Long Good-Bye 91: He has written twelve [...] historical novels and every damn one of them has been on the best-sellers lists. He must have made plenty of the folding.
1953		F. Brown Madball (2019) 44: People gave you hard money in change out of folding money.
1953		Kramer & Karr Teen-Age Gangs 154: And to have fun you need the folding stuff.
1956		‘Ed Lacy’ Men from the Boys (1967) 27: She knew what she had, and her only aim in life was to make it pay off in folding dough.
1956		‘Raymond Thorp’ Viper 154: Show a man some folding money and he’s just got to stop and think again.
1961		T.I. Rubin In the Life 70: Just boobies, Doc, and thank God for ’em. They keep me in folding money.
1963–74		B. Humphries Barry McKenzie [comic strip] in Complete Barry McKenzie (1988) 36: It might mean lots of the folding stuff.
1966		P. Boyle At Night All Cats Are Grey 66: It takes the folding dough to put manners on a publican.
1967		J. Wynnum I’m a Jack, All Right 19: I reckon it ud take a bit of folding persuasion to get him to make any alterations.
1985		B. Humphries Traveller’s Tool 36: You’ll certainly require a ton of the folding stuff.
1995		J. Cameron Vinnie Got Blown Away 4: So far there was no folding stuff but he could smell it out somewhere. [Ibid.] 22: Make plenty of folding then I could give up all this wickedness?
2000		C. Cook Robbers (2001) 328: Probably walked off from folding money, too, when he was already short, only a tenspot.
2002		J. Cameron Hell on Hoe Street 52: Got the folding in our private cash so the screws went up the supermarkets.
2012		(con. 1943) G.S. Manson Irish Fandango [ebook] ‘[Y]ou’ll have a bit of spare folding’.
2013		T. Black Ringer [ebook] n.p.: With all that folding material in my possession and with the rep those French lassies have. I’ll not be sticking to the one hole.