Jul 2, 2018. Otha Anders has collected over half a million pennies during the last 45 years. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Youtube / Kray K News. While that might not really be much if you count the years, it was already a huge sum considering he was just collecting pennies. And they werent the only establishment to do so. I know its a crazy amount but this is a dear collection of mine that I need to cash out. It'll go toward a recent dental bill, the Ruston Daily Leader reported. The extra bonus of income came just in time for him to pay a medical bill. The 73-year-old had a family of his own. As it turns out, he knew Anders quite well Anders was a longtime, loyal customer who never gave them any problems so immediately knew the manager wanted to help him. But when they finally did, the actual amount Anders had saved all these years was incredible!When the manager walked out to see who was causing all the ruckus, his face lit up at the sight of Anders. Their worth is even less still if the government issuing the coins no longer exists.But what about Anders coins? Guess how many pennies were in his 15 5-gallon jugs. In the early 70s, Ota Anders took up an unusual hobby: he began to collect coins in denominations of only 1 penny. And with hundreds of thousands of coins, perhaps one had a valuable error. Shop sales in every category.Uh-oh, overstock: Wayfair put their surplus on sale for up to 50% off. Bank Vice President Jennie Cole said that Anders is a longtime customer whom the bank was happy to help, even though the magnitude of the pennies didnt make for a typical day at work. It was a problem that left him devastated. Who would have thought a penny a day could someday bring you $5k! 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. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". In the 1970s, when the government was offeringa $25 bonus for every $100 worth of pennies turned in, he still refused to cash in his collection, as per USA Today. The coin reminded him to pray and give thanks. "He did likewise with pennies for me." Copyright 2012-2023 Social Sweethearts GmbH. 73-year-old Otha Anders worked as a supervisor on the Jackson School Board. Although Anders didnt have time on his side, he did have volume. Cool, isnt it? We value his business, as we do all of our customers, Cole said. It eventually became so much of a hobby that he would deliberately avoid ever spending pennies. He had no idea, but clearly, this would result in a fortune. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. It reportedly took five hours for machines to count all the change. 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. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads. It takes four quarters, 10 dimes, 50 nickels, or 100 pennies to equal a dollar. . Most of us eventually find a way to incorporate our nickels and quarters into our shopping sprees but pennies? 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! However, thats not true for all coins. Anders' coin collecting habit started when he found a penny on the street decades ago. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. Who would have thought a penny a day could someday bring you $5k! 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. The hobby turned into an obsession that would consume a lot more of his free time than what his wife like. By Christie. That was the goal, but I couldnt stop. But what about Anders coins? Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. But Anders says that he would never accept a penny from anyone, even his family, without giving them something in return. You have to find 100 of them to get a dollar - it is a lot of work. I would say hes done a lot of collecting over the years.. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. And with hundreds of thousands of coins, perhaps one had a valuable error. You have to find 100 of them to get a dollar it is a lot of work. "But if we can help Anders with his endeavors, we are happy to do so.". How many are there?, she asked. Im not sure exactly, Anders said. Ruston resident Otha Anders started saving his first penny more than 45 years ago when he found it on the ground. He watched over in-school suspended children and absolutely loved his job. However, with the help of friends and family,Anders made it to the bank with his tremendous collection. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. He started collecting pennies in the early 1970s. A Louisiana man who collected pennies for more than 45 years has now cashed in 513,614 of them. Anders had put all the pennies he found into water jugs. He approached the questionable expression behind the desk and asked them to cash his pennies in. At the end of the labor intensive counting, the bank informed Otha he had saved a total of $5,136.14 all those 45 years! La. "We value his business, as we do all of our customers," he said. Believe me, if I had it my way, Id keep these pennies forever.The woman gave Anders a long look before calling her manager. Anders collected pennies for 45 years until he had filled up . He took it as a sign to pray and give thanks. Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet. "I wanted the inner satisfaction that God and I acquired this collection.". Author: Frededreia Willis. The manager of Ed's. While he only deposited them when he found. Then he took his jugs to a bank in Ruston, Louisiana to cash them in. Coins made of base metals, such as aluminum, have very little worth. Where many people think of wishing on a penny, Otha Anders thinks of praying on a penny! "He did likewise with pennies for me.". The same with coins that hold an error. 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. The trolley wheels squeaked as he walked into the bank. For Anders, the process of collecting the coins meant more than the money he would make. 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. Thats what happened to the owner of a 1943-S Lincoln Wheat penny. Anders sheepishly laughed with her before pleading to her again. Anders said he has truly enjoyed looking at his penny collection to the extent that in the 1970s, when the U.S. government offered a $25 bonus for every $100 worth of pennies turned in, he refused to cash in his collection. Otha Anders of Ruston, Louisiana, cashed in a quite a collection of pennies at his local bank earlier this week. Specifically, coins made of precious metals like gold, silver, platinum, palladium, and even copper fluctuate in value over time but generally become more valuable. The News Star reports that thehabit was first ignited when he found a penny lying on the ground. "Whenever I would see a penny, I would always say a prayer of thanks. It seems that this small habit was a touching way for Anders to strengthen his relationship with God. 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. Anders is a beautiful example of how all of us can learn to be thankful for the small things. The extra bonus of income came just in time for him to pay a medical bill.It is said that the world works in mysterious ways, and for Otha Anders and the result of his penny collection, that motto is certainly true! Copyright 2021 Obsev.com All Rights Reserved, Man Who Saved Pennies For 45 Years Finally Cashes Out. It seems like Anders' steady patience and consistent well-wishing has paid off for him. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, It does not store any personal data. Even though one particular hobby of his raised a few eyebrows. An error in the coin made it extremely valuable, and its value could only keep growing over time. Thats why they had so much value to me., If his homeowners insurance policy hadnt stopped covering the pennies, Anders says there wouldve been no turning back. He probably would have kept his obsession up if he hadnt figured out some when he had to renew his home affairs. A Maryland Dumping Site Was Actually A Black Cemetery. Fifteen five-gallon plastic water jugs and half a million pennies later, Anders on Tuesday deposited $5,136.14 into his account to go toward a recent dental bill. But as he speculated, he remembered reading about a coin collection that resulted in a fortune for the owner. But what was he going to do with his saved money? In all, Anders had collected enough pennies to earn him over $5,000! 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 know its a crazy amount but this is a dear collection of mine that I need to cash out. Photo credit: United News International / YouTube. 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. He cashed in the coins to the Ruston Origin Bank, in Ruston, La. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. But after collecting the one cent pieces for 45 years, you could have amassed a . He watched suspended kids and loved his job. Senior vice president of the Origin Bank in Ruston, Louisiana, Ryan Kilpatrick said that they were not prepared for such a huge amount to come rolling through their bank. Pennies are small both in size and worth, but as a popular Indiansaying goes, "Drops of water collected eventually become a flowing stream." We could only imagine how many weeks they would have spent on Othas collection if there was no machine to help them count. I would break a dollar before giving up a penny.. I wanted to fill five five-gallon water jugs. The counting and processing of the coins took a total of about five hours, according to the News-Star. Little did he know, just how many gifts he was going to receive. Otha Anders started more than 45 years ago when he found a penny on the ground and decided to save it. As a supervisor for in-school suspended children for the Jackson School Board, Anders said his students learned about his penny fascination and would save them up to sell to him. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". It was by far the most exciting thing that had happened at the bank in a while! He always made sure that his change had pennies in it. It has long been said that time is the most valuable commodity. Their eyes popped as they took in the sight of the sheer amount of pennies. Not many people think too much of a penny it is just one cent. The News-Star reports that employees at Ruston . If I hadnt turned them in yesterday, I was not going to stop.. A lot of us dont really mind the coins in our pocket, especially the ones with the smallest values but there are those who have proven that even the smallest coins can bring in a lot of cash; although youve got to spend decades to collect a lot to actually give you that much money! And they werent the only establishment to do so. "I would break a dollar before giving up a penny.". Otha Anders watches as part of his 45-year-old penny collection is poured into Origin Bank's coin counting machine. "I would break a dollar before giving up a penny.". By. For anyone who's trying to work it out, that's $114.14 a year, Anders was able to collect by picking up dirty old pennies left forgotten on the side of a street. 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