my stupid story

[doglips57]

I decided to share a stupid thing story that happened to me a few years ago. I started collecting varieties about 1986. I worked overnights at a grocery store and used to buy rolls of coins to check each day. I saved all the coins prior to 1982 plus all 1984 p, 1983 p, and separated the 1960s and 70s. I put the pennies in one gallon plastic apple juice bottles. At one point I must have had ten or more bottles, I just didn’t want to check the same coins twice. In 1998 we moved to Elk River, Minn. And I took my bottles with me. I stored them in my garage. One night I was getting ready to go to work, but I needed something from behind the bottles of pennies, so I placed several bottles on the bumper of my jeep. Being a bit tired and in a hurry I left for work. At the first corner something hit the front of my jeep, I thought a kid had thrown a dirt ball or something. It wasn’t till I took my second turn at about twenty mph and saw a burst of pennies and then another that I realized I had left the bottles on the bumper. I pulled over and removed the remaining two bottles. Drove back to the first turn got out of my car and grabbed handfuls of pennies from the road. By the way, I was doing this at ten at night in front of my headlights. I did this at both corners for about a half an hour, decide to go to work and return in the morning. The next morning I returned to the spot where the coins landed. The coins were scattered across about a hundred feet of road, there was about three gallons of pennies out there. For about an hour I dodged traffic collecting handfuls while running from one side to the other. Finally I had enough. I thought someone would call the police about the nut running back and forth across the road. There were still a lot of coins lying scattered across the road. I was afraid a child would see them and run out and get hit by a car so I called the police anonymously and reported the coins in the road. I watched as the squad car pulled up and the officer got out blocked traffic and swept up the rest of the coins. I later figured there to be about seventy dollars worth of pennies per bottle and three bottles fell at two different corners about a half mile apart of which I recovered about a hundred and twenty dollars worth. I know this was a long story but maybe this will give you a little insight to what my world is like.

Steve (doglips57)

[Bob P]

Steve,
That is quite a story. Only a collector would have stopped to try and recover as a many as you did. I can't say I can top that one!

[Dick]

Steve (doglips), It only proves you are human. You think that was a "dumb stunt"? Check this: When I moved from AZ to CA, I left several fruit jars full of Mexican , crown sized coins, in the second mobile home that I used as a shop, etc, and had made several loads with the pickup, full of boxes. Then I made the last trip with a BIG van, and loaded everything I could, (remembering that there was only a small shed for storage, and I knew I couldn't take everything), I loaded everything I could, and then took the little Palmaranian over to a friends house, to live. There was no fence, etc, and in a new park, one doesn't know if pets are allowed,or no. This was about 10:30PM, and I had 320 miles to drive.
Several months later, after going thru every box at least twice, and not finding the large coins, I had located the smaller ones, finally. My brother told me he had been in the old trailer, and was removing the shelves, etc, that I had put in there, and said he ran into a bunch of Mexican coins in fruit jars! I almost dirtied my pants! I asked him what did he do with them, and he said that he knew that they had devalued the Peso, and figured that I knew this, and didn't think they were worth anything, and just left them! I get sick to my stomach, to this day, just talking about it! There were several thousand dollars worth in those coins.
I know how you felt, scattering coins all over the country!
P,S. I guess it was poetic justice, as I sold the two trailers, for the same money, that I had paid for them 14 years, earlier!
Dick

[carlb]

Steve all I can say is OUCH. I am amazed you didn't think of finding a broom yourself from somewhere.