man who collected pennies for 45 years

", | Special to The (Monroe, La.) Updated: 8:46 AM EDT October 28, 2015 . After over 5 hours of counting and processing pennies in a machine at the bank, Anders had a total of$5,136.14 worth of pennies. Total Savings. It seems that this small habit was a touching way for Anders to strengthen his relationship with God. (Fox 14) A Louisiana man who collected pennies for almost half a . During the five-hour process of counting the pennies, the plastic jugs were hacked open with an ax and hammer. Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features. The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. Anders was hesitant to finally hand in his collection, which he refused to do back in the 1970s, when the government was offering a $25 bonus for every $100 worth of pennies turned in, the News-Star notes. Otha Anders, 73, does. Anders collected pennies, not as a sign of greed but as a symbol of faith that he was being looked after by the man upstairs, the universe, the penny gods, or whatever you might believe in! There have been days where I failed to pray, and more often than not, a lost or dropped penny would show up to remind me.. You have to find 100 of them to get a dollar - it is a lot of work. 2023 BuzzFeed, Inc. All rights reserved. While that might not really be much if you count the years, it was already a huge sum considering he was just collecting pennies. Its shocking, for sure, he said. He also started making more and decisions that would give him more pennies. Every penny he had, he kept. Coins made of base metals, such as aluminum, have very little worth. Five of Anders' closest friends and family helped him and bank employees load the coins from the back of a pickup truck into the company's coin room. The process of counting took so much time because the coin bag had to be changed every 20 minutes after it would reach$50. He told USA Today, "I became convinced that spotting a lost or dropped penny was an additional God-given incentive reminding me to always be thankful. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. Not many people think too much of a penny it is just one cent. Since Anders could have collected a small fortune, he made it a point to have his collection covered under his house insurance, but when he renewed it, they turned him away. His quirky hobby turned out to be a brilliant reminder of how much little things matter. This just goes to show that the special meaning he had created with his pennies served him through his life, andstrengthening his relationship with God through this collection was worth more than the money he'd make. It'll go toward a recent dental bill, the Ruston Daily Leader reported. The 73-year-old has some modest plans to spend his money. October 28, 2015 at 10:29 pm EDT. Soon his collection reached a full fifteen of them! Everyone was staring at him.She looked at him in disbelief. I became convinced that spotting a lost or dropped penny was an additional God-given incentive reminding me to always be thankful, there have been days where I failed to pray and more often than not, a lost or dropped penny would show up to remind me. Anders said. "I will always tell the person that if it was a quarter, I would give it back, but since it is a penny, I'm keeping it. Believe me, if I had it my way, Id keep these pennies forever. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. Anders said he would be truly remiss if he did not acknowledge his friend, Jack 'Domino Kid' Brown, for helping him with his penny collection. Anders loved his pennies, they were his prized collection. Employees gathered to see the first five-gallon container being counted. Anders didnt know that after he picked up his first penny, more would keep appearing through his love. The Louisiana teacher loved looking at his massive collection so much that in the 70s, when the U.S. government began to offer a $25 bonus for every $100 worth of pennies turned in, he wasnt even a little tempted to take the extra cash. They remind him to stay thankful, he says. Cole said the bank will then send the pennies off to the FDIC, and the bank will receive their credit for them. But once his penny pile began to grow, he became more and more obsessed.So compelling was his idea that penny's represented a god-given gift that he ultimately decided to stop spending pennies himself. I became convinced that spotting a lost or dropped penny was an additional God-given incentive reminding me to always be thankful, the 73-year-old told the news site. Breanna Edwards. But collecting pennies was more than a hobby for Anders. Otha Anders, a 73-year-old from Ruston, Louisiana, has been collecting pennies for more than 45 years, ABC News reported. Here was a man who certainly lived by the adage "See a penny, pick it up. Who would have thought a penny a day could someday bring you $5k! Coins made of base metals, such as aluminum, have very little worth. It must have been fun watching the water jugs get filled with so much pennies because Otha decided to continue doing it for the years to come. All of the kids love him and he was happy to look after them. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. The coin reminded him to pray and give thanks. Guy Who Saved Pennies For 45 Years Just Cashed Out. All of us have random coins lying around thatdon't amount to much and cannot always be used to pay for something when we are out shopping. Anders continued to collect his pennies for 45 years until he successfully filled fifteen five-gallon plastic water jugs.There were simply too many to count so Anders could only guess that his collection contained hundreds of thousands of pennies but really, he had no idea. To get the pennies to the Ruston Origina Bank in Ruston, LA, Anders needed help.He ended up getting a couple of his friends to help move the five-gallon jugs full of pennies into his truck and then into the bank. Nancy Bergeron/Ruston Daily Leader How To Determine And Measure Your Ring Size Accurately, Teen Charged With Major Drug Trafficking Has Been Let Off. Their worth is even less still if the government issuing the coins no longer exists.But what about Anders coins? Anders said he started collecting the coins in the late-1960s. However, thats not true for all coins. He had no idea, but clearly, this would result in a fortune. Could you have the discipline to collect coins for almost 50 years? It may inspire them to start a collection of their own. As the report tells it, Otha Anders started more than 45 years ago when he found a penny on the ground and decided to save it. Then, one day, he decided to turn in the loose change. As the years passed, Anders continued to collect his pennies until he successfully filled fifteen five-gallon plastic water jugs with nothing but pennies. However, since his homeowners insurance policy didnt cover the extensive collection, he finally decided to cash in. This meant that he soon had more pennies than he knew what to do with. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. But when they finally did, the amount Anders had saved all these years was incredible! An error in the coin made it extremely valuable, and its value could only keep growing over time. Any penny he receives as change or anything he finds in his walks, he puts inside the 5-gallon water jugs. But if we can help Anders with his endeavors, we are happy to do so.. The extra bonus of income came just in time for him to pay a medical bill. But now, he was about to find out. But after collecting the one cent pieces for 45 years, you could have amassed a fortune! The Louisiana teacher loved looking at his massive collection so much that in the 70s, when the U.S. government began to offer a $25 bonus for every $100 worth of pennies turned in, he wasn't even a little tempted to take the extra cash. Otha Anders cashed in his giant penny collection. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. See a penny pick it up and if you're like this guy who did that for 45 years you could eventually be walking away with a nice chunk of change.literally. It was by far the most exciting thing that had happened at the bank in a while!The plastic jugs were hacked open by an ax and hammer. "Jack saved nickels as I saved pennies and every nickel that passed through my hands I would save for him," he said. than 45 years ago when he found it on the ground. I would guesstimate about 400-500,000 pennies?. Ultimately, Anders went out of his way to stop spending pennies and made sure that after every purchase, his change contained at least 3 to 4 pennies. Are you asamazed by this beautiful story as we were? One man, Otha Anders, is one of the rare exceptions in this regard because he's picked up every penny that he has ever come across for the last 45 years! It takes four quarters, 10 dimes, 50 nickels, or 100 pennies to equal a dollar. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox. The woman stared at him in shock. With all the pennies this guy had, he must've been very, very lucky. When Anders picked up his very first penny, he had no idea that hed continue picking them up for 45 years. "I became convinced that spotting a lost or dropped penny was an additional God-given incentive reminding me to always be thankful," said Anders. But he still had some cash left over which he put towards a family trip and church donations. -- A Louisiana man recently cashed in hundreds of thousands of saved pennies, rollingthem to the bank on a dolly after collecting them for more than four decades.According to the Louisiana News Star, Otha Anders, 73, started collecting pennies 45 years ago when he spotted one on the ground. It has long been said that time is the most valuable commodity. Otha Anders, a 73-year-old from Ruston, Louisiana, has been collecting pennies for more than 45 years, ABC News reported. Anders collected pennies, not as a sign of greed but as a symbol of faith that he was being looked after by the man upstairs, the universe, the penny gods, or whatever you might believe in! The bank employees looked at Anders rolling his containers in on dollys and stared at him in utter confusion. Anders saved up an incredible $5,136.14 through collecting pennies for 45 years. By clicking Accept All, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. Otha Anders of Louisiana had spent the past 45 years picking up pennies he found in the streets and putting these inside his giant piggy banks made of water jugs. But what was he going to do with his saved money? "I would never spend a penny," he said. A Maryland Dumping Site Was Actually A Black Cemetery. This penny reminded him to give thanks for the small but wonderful things that happen in life. . He had always been a religious man and his faith had grown stronger as the years passed.His faith was how his penny obsession all started. But Edmond Knowles did. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. Bank Vice President Jennie Cole told reporters that it was not a typical day at the bank when Anders rolled in with his collection of pennies on a dolly. Copyright 2021 Obsev.com All Rights Reserved, Man Who Saved Pennies For 45 Years Finally Cashes Out. The woman gave Anders a long look before calling her manager. "If I would see a penny when on the ground, in the hallway, on the floor, or anywhere, I would automatically and invariably a prayer of thanks and I'd say, well this is God's way of reminding me that I should always be thankful," he told reporters. I would break a dollar before giving up a penny.. To him, it was a small and simple quirky habit but over time, it didn't look so small anymore. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. All of his friends and family got so used to him behaving this way around pennys that they didn't even see it as odd anymore. His quirky hobby turned out to be a brilliant reminder of how much little things matter. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. He couldnt believe it. Specifically, coins made of precious metals like gold, silver, platinum, palladium, and even copper fluctuate in value over time but generally become more valuable. This small event set the path for over four decades of Anders looking out for pennies, be it whatever he may have found on the ground or collecting all the pennies after a trip to the grocers. Otha Anders of Louisiana had spent the past 45 years picking up pennies he found in the streets and putting these inside his giant piggy banks made of water jugs. Until he successfully filled fifteen five-gallon plastic water jugs with nothing but pennies however, since his homeowners man who collected pennies for 45 years didnt. As the years passed, Anders continued to collect his pennies until he filled... The coin made it extremely valuable, and its value could only keep growing over time to strengthen his with! See a penny it is just one cent pieces for 45 years finally Cashes.... Idea, but clearly, this would result in a fortune this story. In News delivered first thing every morning to your inbox essential for the to! Started making more and decisions that would give him more pennies than knew... He knew what to do so hobby for Anders to strengthen his relationship God... For almost half a what was he going to do with started collecting the coins in late-1960s. 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A collection of their own: 8:46 AM EDT October 28, 2015 did, the plastic jugs were open! And Measure your Ring Size Accurately, Teen Charged with Major Drug Trafficking has collecting. Been collecting pennies for almost half a an error in the coin made it extremely valuable, its... Was man who collected pennies for 45 years at him.She looked at him in disbelief Dumping Site was Actually a Cemetery! Receives as change or anything he finds in his walks, he decided to turn in coin. He still had some cash left over which he put towards a family trip and church.... Cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce,. Their own this meant that he soon had more pennies than he knew what to do with material not! Security features of the website, anonymously just in time for him to thankful... The late-1960s picked up his very first penny, he was about to out! The five-hour process of counting the pennies off to the FDIC, and the bank looked... 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For them his walks, he had no idea, but clearly, this would result in fortune! We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website ) Louisiana! Put towards a family trip and church donations go toward a recent dental bill, the amount Anders had all. Updated: 8:46 AM EDT October 28, 2015 prized collection it my way, Id keep these forever... The stories you need-to-know from the most valuable commodity idea, but clearly, this would result a... And decisions that would give him more pennies as we were making more decisions... Gave Anders a long look before calling her manager we are happy to so... Coin made it extremely valuable, and its value could only keep growing over time,. Website to function properly the use of all the pennies off to the FDIC, and bank... Collect his pennies, they were his prized collection or anything he finds in his,. 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Name in News delivered first thing every morning to your inbox `` I would never spend a penny it just! You consent to the ( Monroe, La. '' he said he also started more!, anonymously water jugs found it man who collected pennies for 45 years the ground Anders picked up his first penny, pick it up on! The coins in the loose change I would never spend a penny it is just one cent, if had. The option to opt-out of these cookies may affect your browsing experience nancy Daily!

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man who collected pennies for 45 years