Otha Anders, a long-time customer of Origin Bank had paid an unusual visit to the bank on a Tuesday. He showed up to deposit a very large collection of pennies. Anders had to rent a truck to transport his gallons of pennies to the bank premises. It was an unusual sight to find a man drag in container after container—all loaded with pennies. He sought help from five assistants to help lift each water container of pennies. The staff wondered how long it will take to count loads of pennies.
A tale of how the pennies came about
There were fifteen water containers in total, each with a capacity of five gallons. The bank staff were quite astonished and wondered how he had stored up so many pennies. Otha Anders had called the bank earlier to inform its staff that he was bringing in his fortune to deposit. The senior vice-president, Ryan Kilpatrick, when interviewed by ABC News, had said, “It was shocking for sure. He has been collecting the pennies for years.”
Fortune of Luck?
Ryan’s answer didn’t satisfy the media very much. They were still curious to learn more about the unusual collection. Otha Anders agreed to an interview with The News-Star media. The elderly gentleman in his interview shed more light on how his fortune came about. He had been inspired to start collecting pennies, 45 years back, after he found his first penny on the floor, many years back. Afterward, he started collecting more pennies.
The Worthy Find
His penny collection was more than a quest to him, it was significant for him. Anders also said that he often forgets to pray. So, each time he forgot to pray, a lost or dropped coin will show up to remind him to pray and be thankful to God. The little things do matter in the lives of so many people. Anders kept his pennies safe in his home, at Ruston until 2015. He later learned that the full value of the pennies could not be covered by his home insurance if there happened to be any incidence. He then decided to deposit his fortune in the bank.
How it all started: A penny for a penny
Otha Anders was once an employee of the Jackson School Council. His role was to oversee and care for naughty children who had been suspended from school. These students soon learned about his penny fascination. They will save up pennies to give to him. He will always ensure to duly compensate the children for each penny they brought his way. Anders never took a penny for free, not from his family member, friend or students. He mentioned that he would always give a dollar for a penny. He will add them to his collections afterwards.
Incredible partnership
Anders didn’t fail to acknowledge the role his friend Jack Brown (nicknamed ‘Domino Kid’ ) played in his penny collection quest. Jack saved nickels while he saved pennies. For every nickel that passed through Ander’s hands, he would save it for Jack. Jack did likewise with pennies for Anders. The exchange soon became a healthy competition with each person trying to outdo the other. Their collections; Jack’s nickels and Ander’s pennies began to multiply.
His commitment to the quest
Anders was committed to his penny collection mission. Each new penny he got increased his enthusiasm to build more, as it did his faith. If he found a penny while visiting a friend, he will pick it up and keep it. He will always tell the person that if it was a quarter, he would have returned it, but since it is a penny, he is keeping it.
Smart Spender
Anders soon stopped using pennies for payments. He added them to his growing collections instead. He will intentionally add up his bills in a way that would ensure he got pennies back as change. He also ignored the government-imposed incentives that encouraged people to donate their pennies for a bonus.
A truckload of pennies
Anders soon realized that it was time to part with his collections. Transporting his collection was a herculean task. The calculated weight of his truckload of pennies was s much as 1.4 tons! His collections weighed the same as a standard buffalo. After all fifteen bottles were brought into the bank, it was time to break the bottles.
Counting the pennies
Anders and his crew decided to get they were going to break the bottles with an axe. The bottles were opened, and the next task that lay ahead was to count the stacks of pennies. Fortunately, the bank had calculating machines to save time. They would have spent weeks counting the pennies by hand. Phew! They filled buckets with pennies and brought them to the machine to count.
Hours later
The process was a long one irrespective. It took five hours of counting before the last penny was counted. Anders was fascinated with the counting process. He watched the machines swallow large piles of pennies he had painstakingly collected over the years. The coin bags in the vending machine had to be replaced every twenty minutes, once it reached their maximum capacity, which was $50.
The Big Moment
The bank staff was a huge help in seeing to the task at hand. It was noted during the calculation process that Anders had amassed 513,614 pounds over 45 years. That would require an average daily fundraiser of 31 pounds. Anders was impressed with the turnout of things as it showed in the statement he made, “You see a penny, take it. Then you will be lucky all day long. ” Anders was indeed lucky.
Other revelations
Anders had also revealed that he had been denied coverage for his penny collection by home insurance. This was why he stopped accumulating pennies at home. His original intent was to fill five gallons of water jugs each. But, he soon got carried away after that and continued to stock up on his collections.
The amazing tales
The Ander’s case is one of many amazing happenings. He is one out of many other dedicated collectors scattered all over the world. There is a story of one Mr. Gan from Shenyang, China, who had allegedly acquired a new car with 20,000 notes and 660,000 coins. Each banknote and coin, which was worth one yuan, is about 16 US cents. Mr. Gan’s collection was worth 8,800 pounds.
More amazing tales
Ira Keys, an 81-year-old man, is another collector from the U.S, with a notable story. In 2015, he had taken his treasury of coins to Prosperity Bank in Slaton, Texas to deposit. Ira’s treasury of coins, which amounted to $ 816 was reported to have weighed 500 pounds. He shared the story of how his father had urged him to save money when he was young with KCBD and NBC. He started putting cash away in his savings in 1952. He had taken his father’s advice seriously and it soon paid off.
Back to Anders
Anders’ story has left a lot of people curious to find out what he will do with his penny profits. Was he going to get a new car, or was he going to spoil himself with a vacation? People were sure he was going to be living large henceforth. However, that was not the case, as he had a hefty dental bill to offset. His fortune came in handy in taking care of his bills.
The romantic miser
A Chinese gentleman called Liang had fallen deeply in love with a young girl. He was very eager to prove his love to her, so he promised to buy her an engagement ring someday.
Fulfilling his promise
Liang decided to save as much as he could, till he had enough to fulfill his promise. He kept as much change as he could for 20 years. Over the years, his money kept multiplying, and soon, it grew into a fortune. Life didn’t care to make exceptions, even after seeing the efforts of the young man. The young lovers got separated in the long run. But, Liang kept to his promise.
Jackpot
After a long time, at the age of 30, Liang had more than enough to fulfil his promise. He collected all the coins and bills he had gathered over the years. He sought a jeweler to make a ring. The jewelers were amazed at the fortune the young man was willing to give up for an exceptional ring. The workers sat to count the amount of money Liang had brought to them. It was a lot, and it took them half a day to finally finish, with the amount totaling $ 1,933. It was more than enough to purchase a diamond engagement ring.
The proposal
Liang finally had the perfect ring to give to the love of his life. He finally had the chance to prove his love. He found the love of his life and proposed to her. The jeweler that was contracted to make the diamond ring was touched by Liang’s romantic gesture. The jewelers chose to set up a personal museum where the fortune Liang had spent to prove his love.