How many?, the woman asked. What if you collected pennies as a hobby? The extra bonus of income came just in time for him to pay a medical bill. However, thats not true for all coins. For 45 years, up until Tuesday, he was the proud owner of a collection containing over half a million of them. I never allowed anyone, not even my wife nor children, to give me pennies without being compensated. And that he did, he paid them for the pennies they gave him. 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. "I would break a dollar before giving up a penny. For over 45 years, Anders had been collecting pennies, storing them in 5-gallon water jugs. This is a staggering number! "But I never allowed anyone, not even my wife nor children, to give me pennies without being compensated," he said. "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 if we can help Anders with his endeavors, we are happy to do so.". Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. "I would never spend a penny," he said. How many were in there? How would they be able to count all these pennies? Everyone was staring at him.She looked at him in disbelief. "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. RUSTON, La. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. It'll go toward a recent dental bill, the Ruston Daily Leader reported. He explained, I wanted the inner satisfaction that God and I acquired this collection., If I was at someones house and I found a penny, I would pick it up and I would keep it, I will always tell the person that if it was a quarter, I would give it back, but since it is a penny, Im keeping it. He started collecting pennies in the early 1970's. He would just find them and save them. But if we can help Anders with his endeavors, we are happy to do so.. Every penny he had, he kept. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. Otha Anders saved his first penny more than 45 years ago when he found it on the ground. Over a few years, a random collection of coins can amount to a fancy night out or give you the exact amount to buya beautiful outfit. Could you have the discipline to collect coins for almost 50 years? By this time, he had acquired over 15 5-gallon water jugs full of pennies, which were over half a million pennies in total! Our content is created to the best of our knowledge, yet it is of general nature and cannot in any way substitute an individual consultation by your doctor. "I would break a dollar before I would spend a penny," he said. If I would see a penny when Im gassing up, on the ground, or in a store, it would be a reminder to stop right there and say a prayer, he said. But what about Anders coins? However, Anders always made sure that every penny that came his way from others was compensated properly. It takes four quarters, 10 dimes, 50 nickels, or 100 pennies to equal a dollar. -- 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. The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". Otha Anders started collecting pennies because he became "convinced that spotting a lost or dropped penny was an . The machine bags had to be changed for every $50. For Anders, the process of collecting the coins meant more than the money he would make. Published: 10/28/2015 8:46:47 AM. Its unclear how much his collection weighed, but using the U.S. Mints estimate of 2.5 grams a coin, it might have been around 2,800 pounds. 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.". Although Anders didnt have time on his side, he did have volume. Anders had no idea how much money his collection would amount to. This 73-Year-Old Man Has Collected Pennies For 45 Years And Now He's Cashing Out For 45 years, Otha Anders saved his pennies. Market data provided by Factset. Otha Anders of Ruston, Louisiana, cashed in a quite a collection of pennies at his local bank earlier this week. But one Louisiana man gathered more than 500,000 pennies over the course of 45 years. Disclaimer: All content is provided for fun and entertainment purposes only. Where many people think of wishing on a penny, Otha Anders thinks of praying on a penny! The manager of Ed's. The coin reminded him to pray and give thanks. 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. It wasn't easy to transport these jugs to the bank, especially as the total weight was more than 2,800 pounds. The trolley wheels squeaked as he walked into the bank. Although Anders collection contains mostly modern pennies, its crazy to think that if he held onto those coins long enough, theyd soon bring him a fortune as big as a million dollars! That first penny, he told the Star, reminded him that life is a gift from God. Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. "I wanted the inner satisfaction that God and I acquired this collection.". "I would never spend a penny,"he said. Anders took his haul to the Ruston Origin Bank. But what was he going to do with his saved money? Anders said, I would never spend a penny, I would break a dollar before giving up a penny. When the children he looked after figured out how important pennies were to him, they wanted to contribute. That amount was deposited into his account Tuesday to go toward a recent dental bill. Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. How To Determine And Measure Your Ring Size Accurately, Teen Charged With Major Drug Trafficking Has Been Let Off. He would have continued to keep them and collect more if it wasnt for one problem that he encountered when he renewed his home affairs. Though he reached out to the bank to notify them about the pennies, the bank's senior vice president Ryan Kilpatrick told the outlet he was shocked at the actual number. 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.Im not sure exactly, Anders said. The man who collected coins for 45 years took it to the bank with a truck and counted how much money he managed to collect during this time. 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. If I hadnt turned them in yesterday, I was not going to stop.. "I became convinced that spotting a lost or dropped penny was an additional God-given incentive reminding me always to be thankful," Anders told the Star.From that moment on, Anders picked up every penny he spotted. Anders loved his pennies, they were his prized collection. The same with coins that hold an error. Their eyes popped as they took in the sight of the sheer amount of pennies. Then, one day, he decided to turn in the loose change. The woman stared at him in disbelief. And after acquiring over a half million of these coins, he finally cashed them in on Tuesday at Origin Bank. Since then, Anders had been piling up the pennies, refusing to spend them and always making sure that whenever he bought something, his change had three or four pennies in it. Anders' coin collecting habit started when he found a penny on the street decades ago. Otha Anders, a 73-year-old from Ruston, Louisiana, has been collecting pennies for more than 45 years, ABC News reported. Anders sheepishly laughed with her before pleading to her again. They seem somewhat worthless, save for the moments when we find pennies on the ground that promise us a day filled with luck. How many are there?, she asked. With all the pennies this guy had, he must've been very, very lucky. That was the goal, but I couldnt stop. 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. than 45 years ago when he found it on the ground. Ruston resident Otha Anders started saving his first penny more than 45 years ago when he found it on the ground. He was a man on a mission, and when his students at school found out about his strange fascination, they wanted to help.Theyd often come to his class with a handful of pennies to give to him but Anders had principles. But collecting pennies was more than a hobby for Anders. Anders and his friends hauled in the containers one by one. It would go towards his recent dental bill, he told theNews Star. (Fox 14) A Louisiana man who collected pennies for almost half a . Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. He was reluctant to give his years of work away, but Anders also said that he has not lost the joy that comes from collecting coins. He approached the questionable expression behind the desk and asked them to cash his pennies in. Seventy Five Gallons Asian-American Affairs Reporter, HuffPost. The final amount was certainly not small. To him, it was a small and simple quirky habit but over time, it didn't look so small anymore. Scientists Have Linked Selfies To Narcissism, Addiction And Mental Illness, Essential Oils And Brain Injuries: Heres What You Are Not Being Told, Rare Monkeypox Virus Has Started Reappearing, Heres What You Need To Know, Heart Surgeon Speaks Out About The True Cause Of Heart Disease, Kind FedEx Driver Shovels Snow Off Womans Porch When He Learns Her Husband Died, Man Builds A Tiny Blue House At Narrow Alley As Revenge To Stop Neighbors From Using It, I Dont Want To Live Anymore And I Want To Die. Read This First. 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. Thats what happened to the owner of a 1943-S Lincoln Wheat penny. The News Star reports that thehabit was first ignited when he found a penny lying on the ground. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Employees gathered to see the first five-gallon container being counted. The counting and processing of the coins took a total of about five hours, according to the News-Star. 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. The News-Star reports that employees at Ruston . And the kids seemed to love him too.Anders was a family man with a loving wife and children who supported his every move. Anders kept his pennies in five-gallon plastic jugs. Thats especially true when it comes to coins but only certain kinds of coins. As it was, the $5,136 worth of pennies took five hours for Origin Bank in Ruston, Louisiana, to count and process. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. His quirky hobby turned out to be a brilliant reminder of how much little things matter. "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. It escalated from there. Anders said he started collecting the coins in the late-1960s. Even though one particular hobby of his raised a few eyebrows. Any penny he receives as change or anything he finds in his walks, he puts inside the 5-gallon water jugs. Part of HuffPost News. It seems like Anders steady patience and consistent well-wishing has paid off for him. NEW YORK DAILY . Pennies are small both in size and worth, but as a popular Indiansaying goes, "Drops of water collected eventually become a flowing stream." In the end, Anders was always fair about how he came across his pretty pennies. After 45 years of saving, Anders was able to put the money to good use and spend it on a dental bill that had just been issued to him. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? Anders saved up an incredible $5,136.14 through collecting pennies for 45 years. I would never spend a penny, he told the News-Star. His quirky hobby turned out to be a brilliant reminder of how much little things matter. According to the . . "Our exchange became competitive by each trying to outdo the other and consequently our collections; his nickels, my pennies began to multiply," he said. Hed been saving pennies he found on the street for 45 long years. You have to find 100 of them to get a dollar it is a lot of work. Not many people think too much of a penny - it is just one cent. — -- Otha Anders is a true believer in the phrase a pretty penny. For 45 years, up until Tuesday, he was the proud owner of a collection containing over half a million of them. You know you see pennies all over. Who would have thought a penny a day could someday bring you $5k! He always made sure that his change had pennies in it. But the amount he eventually managed to collect was staggering. Subscribe here:https://www.youtube.com/factsverse?sub_confirmation=1. . "We value his business, as we do all of our customers," he said. The 73-year-old has some modest plans to spend his money. The woman gave Anders a long look before calling her manager. Copyright 2021 Obsev.com All Rights Reserved, Man Who Saved Pennies For 45 Years Cashes Out. "I would break a dollar before giving up a penny.". Not many people think too much of a penny it is just one cent. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. 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