Factual error: Directors extended cut. Train leaving New York with Deborah for Hollywood you see the sign "voie 13." French for platform 13. The scene was shot at Gare du Nord, Paris, France. (02:55:23)
Factual error: Noodles visits the mausoleum containing the caskets of his friends who were killed in 1933. He finds a key hanging on the wall from a plaque that says Noodles built it in 1967. Earlier, he tells Fat Moe he had not been in town for 35 years, since 1933, so the action was taking place in 1968. The key is to a locker at a bus terminal. Inside the locker is a suitcase full of money, stacks of twenties. The bills have the signature of Secretary of the Treasury William Blumenthal, but he was appointed by President Carter in 1977.
Factual error: The Kate Smith recording of God Bless America was made in 1938. It is playing in the background during the opening scene but the opening scene takes place in 1933: 5 years before the song was recorded.
Answer: It couldn't have been left there for that long. That's movie fiction. It would have been removed after a few days, maybe a week, then likely placed in "Lost and Found" for a period of time before being discarded or sold off.
raywest ★