Autumn

Autumn

Friday, February 21, 2014

A Penny Here, A Penny There

And pretty darn soon you've a dollar in your pocket. Folks that know me, I mean really get down to the gut level of my soul know me, aren't surprised when I bend to retrieve a misplaced or lost penny from the ground or floor. The way I look at it I've just found, depending on the coin, four cents.

Here's the thing - not so much of late. The stray Lincolns are have gone into hiding. I've only found three in the last few weeks. (Here, talk amongst yourselves for a moment....gander on the possible reasons for this rare phenomenon. I need to jerk a cup of coffee.)

Ah, better. Bet that got your attention, didn't it. I goofed and posted this sucker before I was finished - hence the coffee.

Back to subject. So lost and dropped coins have become rare....why? Now this is only my humble opinion and like the old but tried and true statement, we all have one, I believe it's simple - people need every single penny they can possibly find. When flush, ah, what's a lousy one cent piece worth to them...chump change. A stray dime, forget about it. Let the bums have it.

Just outside the door to my local market, embedded in the asphalt of their parking lot, I know where a Mercury dime has sat for at least two years. Its two thirds covered. I'm still hard at work to figure out a way to free it with chisel and hammer. It bugs me. But, then again, I'm one of those poor poor victims of this government's ineptness.

Just my two cents.

Stephen 

17 comments:

  1. Whenever I shop, the change goes into a jar. Every now and then I go through it to see if by chance there is a coin worth anything. No luck so far. But a couple of years ago, I hauled it to the bank and found I had almost $100 worth of chump change. I probably have that much again. Yep, I pick up the stray penny, too!

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    1. You're a very intelligent lady, dear Vicki. I too throw my change into a jar on my dresser. It takes me about two years to fill it. Last time it held (I think) four hundred dollars. My granddaughter used it to purchase silver, .999 bouillon rounds and bars. She was seven and it took her almost an hour to choose from all the coins behind the counter. She's a hardcore hunter of loose change, now. Those one cent pieces minted prior to 1981 are 90 percent copper. Just an fyi....I no longer separate my finds. I just take the coins and convert them to useless federal reserve notes and exchange it for real value. Tangible assets. Thanks, my sweet friend.

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  2. I pick them up too. I was told you should look at the date on it as it is a message from someone in heaven.

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    1. God bless her soul, my mother told me the same. I've yet to understand the message but I look with great anticipation. Thank you, my dear friend.

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  3. I pick 'em up, too. Every once in awhile I find a $20, believe it or not, in random corners of my building. I'm guessing patients are putting money back into their wallets after leaving most of it behind at their doctor's office.

    I always sit on it for two weeks before it disappears into my own wallet, just in case someone comes by & asks if anyone found any cash in the hall. It gets claimed about 75% of the time. The other 25% is cash in my pocket.

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    1. Many, many years ago my wife found a folded bundle of cash just outside the front door to a day care center. Several hundred dollars. She stepped inside and a young couple stood before a lady vainly searching for their weekly or monthly daycare expense. My wife asked if she could help and was told they'd lost the money. Sweet Wife smiled and placed their lost cash on the desk. But she's like that....me, hum, ah, maybe.

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  4. Went broke in 91. When that character building episode was over the wife and I started putting our change in a 5 gallon glass bottle. It's about 70-80% full now. Often wonder how much $$$ is in it.

    -Moe

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    1. Ah, 'bout ten dollars. Listen, today and today only I'll give twelve bucks for it, plus shipping. Hurry, this offer ends soon.

      That's a lot of tangible assets if converted into food and supplies or precious metals.

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  5. If I want change all I gotta do is follow the wife around. She drops it everywhere.

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  6. You should see the trove I find on wash day ;) Been having a bit of writers block of late .. and to think you came up with a good one about chump change :) There's hope!

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    1. Mrs. Mac, listen sweet lady...walk into the kitchen. Dig around and find the most vintage pieces of your cookware, bowls, iron stuff, and utensils. Tell us about 'em. Give us a photo of your stocked pantry. Whip out your mother's old recipes and give us her story....true, the muse will die but only if we allow it. Thanks, my dear friend.

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  7. Early in our marriage, when we were just babies. We saved all our change & that's what we went on vacation with. Sometimes it was just a couple of nights away & other times more.

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    1. Ah, memories. Hey, in the grand scheme of things we're still babies.

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  8. Every penny counts, my dear friend. I tell my kid's that all the time. :-)

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  9. Stephen,

    I'm always picking up change off the ground. We have several jars of found change over the years. We will eventually cash it in, that is once we go through it all and check out dates.

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