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Money From Out Of The Blue (Cash Found Or Unexpectedly Received)

Merry Christmas, you've won the Premium Bonds – 124 times
A memorable Christmas for an 80-year-old who discovered a decade of unclaimed Premium Bonds prizes worth thousands
By Telegraph reporters
9:18AM GMT 24 Dec 2013

A pensioner has been given a Christmas to remember after discovering he had won on the Premium Bonds – 124 times. :shock:
Gerald Sargent, 80, of Swadlincote, Derbyshire, had not any winnings for a decade when he phoned National Savings and Investments. It apologised for the 10-year delay in delivering his winnings of thousands of pounds and gave him an additional £2,000 to cover lost interest.

His prizes were among 960,000 unclaimed since the first Premium Bond draw in 1957. These winnings are worth £45m.
Savers are able to claim their winnings at any time – and are encouraged to do so by NS&I, the Government savings arm, which launched a nationwide advertising campaign earlier this year to hunt for winners.
The body has also introduced practices to reduce the chances of prizes lying unclaimed. For instance, holders can manage their bonds online and opt to have any prizes paid directly into their bank accounts, with notification by email.

Mr Sargent said the discovery of so many winnings waiting at NS&I should be a call to others to act.
He told the Burton Mail: “After having my leg pulled by my family about not winning for so long, I rang NS&I and asked if they had lost me in the system and if so, had I won anything.
"They checked and initially found I had won 10 times this year but I hadn’t received any winnings.
Two hours later I got a call from the manager saying I had won more than 120 times. I cannot get back the last 10 years of my life. I am now 80 and have had to shut down most of my hobbies.
“I just want to urge people to check with these people and see if they have won as it could be a nice Christmas.”

Premium Bonds elicit fascination and frustration in equal measure among savers. Prizes are picked each month at random, and while the average return on your investments is around 1.3pc a year, there are tales of people who have invested the maximum £30,000 only to experience awful luck.

Yet the winner of September's monthly £1m Premium Bond prize draw held just £2,000-worth of bonds – only the 23rd occasion a sum this small had won the maximum.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/pers ... times.html
 
On New Years Eve morning I was moving files around in the archive where I work. I put pile of files on a table and then saw something out of the corner of my eye - on top of one of my archive boxes was a folded up £20 note!! I have no idea where it would have come from - unless some silly person put it into a file & forgot about it and it slipped out as I moved them. It couldn't have been there long as I would have seen it before, and no one else was in the archive that morning.
You'll be glad to hear that it was spent very wisely on NYE drinks that night :D

I've found a few £20 notes over the years, let's hope it keeps happening!!
 
I was in MickeyD's for breakfast yesterday (I know, I know, I'm a sad lonely old scrote) I paid in more or less the right money, got 11p change, put it in the charity box.

Collected my stuff, sat down, and while eating found a 50p and a 1p on the tray, on top of the advertising sheet. Since I saw the server get a clean tray out and then put a fresh sheet on I have no idea whatsoever how they came to be there. It wasn't busy, I didn't brush against anyone or anything. I can't even see how it could be someone else's change because they take the money and give change before they start assembling your order.
 
Ah, finally I have something for this thread! Normally, I'm not one to find money, despite always being on the lookout for it (chronic brokeness will do that to you. :p ) Recently, however, this has changed.

The backstory is this - it's been a particularly confusing time, lots of decisions to make and no way to know how things would turn out. I was desperate enough to ask the mysterious Powers-That-Be (whatever you want to call 'em) for certain signs that my choices were leading in the right direction or not. One of the "positive" signs I chose was money that was out of place. I chose this because, again, it was something I rarely ever found and would definitely notice if it was there. Also, because the aim was to receive a sign and not for financial gain, I included things like foreign money and monopoly money...just as long as it was a representation of money and it was distinctly out of place.

Shortly after this, I found a $20.00 bill on the lawn, washed up among wet leaves after a storm. Then there was a pile of coins that kept turning up behind the shed. After that there was $10.00 in monopoly money lying in the street (where I was walking, worrying over those decisions again) and two days later, another $20.00 bill in front of the house - and since this is out in the country where there just aren't many people to go out dropping cash, this was highly unusual.

The latest two incidents may have been the strangest of all - last week there was a British pound coin lying on the bathroom floor (no one in the house can even begin to explain this one!) and the next night, there was a Mexican peso underneath my pillow. :shock:

It sounds almost as if someone is playing a joke, but I assure you I haven't told a single soul about asking for this "sign", or that found money would have a special significance at all. Well, until now, when I've told the entire internet :lol:

It's been very intriguing experience so far.
 
bunnymousekitt said:
It's been very intriguing experience so far.

Does your house have some persistent ghosts?

In my family there was a dead uncle who supposedly liked to put coins standing vertical on the floor behind a sofa in the living room in the house he once lived. They never understood where the coins came from.

At least they thought it was him. A relative who likes to think she's a medium, did a seance to send him to heaven where he should be. Haven't heard any more about this afterwards. ;)
 
yes, intriguing is always good, in my book. :D

SameOldVardoger said:
Does your house have some persistent ghosts?

In my family there was a dead uncle who supposedly liked to put coins standing vertical on the floor behind a sofa in the living room in the house he once lived. They never understood where the coins came from.

At least they thought it was him. A relative who likes to think she's a medium, did a seance to send him to heaven where he should be. Haven't heard any more about this afterwards. ;)

Nope, no ghosts in the house (that I know of,.. and now I have something else to fret about. :lol: )

It's too bad about your uncle though. Sounds like he was just having fun pitching pennies behind the couch, and they had to go and exorcize him. ;)
 
bunnymousekitt said:
One of the "positive" signs I chose was money that was out of place.

Not a bad haul - $40 plus assorted coins and foreign currency - I'd say you got your confirmation!
 
Just a little thing.

I especially despise the rudeness some people appear to think it is their right, as a matter of course, to visit upon certain types of worker (cleaners, bar workers, takeaway staff, for example).

Last night my local had a particular band on who always fill the pub to bursting - as bad as anything at Christmas or New Year. As usual the bar gets rammed, the staff is run ragged, and consequently it takes longer to get served – but some people can’t help acting like twats.

So this horrible woman barges up to the bar and within a very few minutes is giving really quite unreasonable grief to one of the staff – (the poor girl had only started the day before). I’m at the point where I’m about to tell the horrible wizened bundle of sticks to wind her scrawny turkey wattled neck in when I notice something flutter out of her purse and onto the floor – so I keep my counsel.

When she’s gone I pick up what turned out to be a twenty pound note, and when I have the opportunity hand it over to the staff member in question and tell her to put it in her pocket. It was nothing to me (as I've mentioned somewhere before I appear to have invented a superstition for myself whereby found money is bad luck unless it's passed on) - but I thought the poor bartender was going to burst into tears.

I believe that justice was served.
 
Sounds awfully like karma biting that woman on the bum.
 
I should point out that I told the girl exactly where it had come from, so it wasn't as if it had come out of my own pocket. Although, I suppose I could have put it there if I'd wanted.
 
I work in a supermarket and I can tell you how bloody rude some people can be. Sometimes its the way some people look down their nose at staff and 'order' them to do something.

I really want to ask them what do they in life that is so earth shatteringly important that makes them feel superior?

Whether they are the Queen or someone who is homeless, I try to treat everyone with respect. I know their rudeness reflects their own insecurities, but damn it can be hard to bite your lip.

One example was a woman who nearly rammed me with her trolley, I only avoided it because I jumped out of the way. She demanded my presence because I had apparently glared at her. She said "if you don't like getting hit by trolleys you shouldn't be working here".
 
My daughter works at a supermarket and some of the customers are just incredibly rude or insane. One male the other day told her to have a nice day and she said " and the same to you" whereupon he started yelling that she was rude and should have repeated what he said.
He even went to the service desk to complain.
 
I was once waiting in line at a market to be served when an elderly lady leaned her shopping bag against my leg. When the trader said 'Who's next?' instead of shouting 'Two pounds of plums, please!' I turned to the old lady to ask her to pick up her bag, as it'd fall over if I moved.

She said 'Well if you don't want your turn, I'll have it!' and demanded to be served.

The trader turned to me with a :shock: look and I said loudly 'Better serve the old bag because she'll be dead soon!' and laughed all the way through the transaction.

What?

I never claimed to be nice. :roll:
 
BunnymouseKitt - well that is fascinating. I enjoyed reading that! I hope you continue to find 'money signs'.

@Spookdaddy - I give you a thumbs-up for that, too.

I try and be extra, extra polite to people who have to 'serve' the public in any way, hoping it'll make up for those who are obnoxious. I've worked in call centres, and it was always a relief to talk to people who were polite.

I've only once found paper money lying around, and it was on a path with no-one around, but will find ten pence pieces and sometimes more quite often when me and the OH are walking the dog. We say 'Thank-you, money-angel', and it goes in to the next collection tin we see.

My (deceased) stepfather said that one night in the 80's (before he met my mother) he'd been out with some friends for a drink. He's been out of work after redundancy for some time, and was broke, but though his friends had bought him drinks knowing his situation, he was too proud to ask for any change to get the last bus home, so he walked. He was depressed, really on his uppers, and a bit teary, so he asked his long-dead father if he could have a bit of help.

It was a dark night, and quite windy, and as he was walking something blew under his foot; he stepped on it, and because it was substantial (and stuck to his foot) he pulled it off. It was £500 in one of those plastic money bags, rolled up tight in a rubber band. He was pretty lucky like that; he was always finding money, or would put a little bit in a fruit machine and win loads - but he would just keep it, not put it back.
 
This must be the ultimate in 'found money' stories:

Saddle Ridge Hoard: Buried gold coin stash 'worth $10m
[video: 'The coins were in uncirculated, mint condition, adding to their worth to collectors]

A California couple found a stash of gold coins buried on their property last year valued at as much as $10m (£6m), rare coin dealers have said.

The 1,427 coins, which date from 1847-1894, were never circulated and are in mint condition, numismatist David Hall told the Associated Press.

The unnamed couple found them buried in rusting metal cans under a tree while on a walk last April.

It is seen as the largest haul of buried treasure in US history.

"We've seen shipwrecks in the past where thousands of gold coins were found in very high grade, but a buried treasure of this sort is unheard of," David McCarthy of currency firm Kagin's, who is advising the couple, told Reuters news agency.
"I've never seen this face value in North America and you never see coins in the condition we have here."

The couple live in a rural area of California known as Gold Country for the swarms of prospectors who descended on the region during the 19th Century gold rush.
They found the coins in an area of their land they called Saddle Ridge, and the coin dealers who have seen the haul have taken to calling it the Saddle Ridge Hoard.
It is a mystery who buried the coins - and why.

Mr Hall of Professional Coin Grading Service of Santa Ana, California, which recently authenticated the coins, told the Associated Press the coins' face value adds up to about $27,000. But some of the coins are so rare they could sell for $1m each :shock:

The couple plan to sell the coins on Amazon.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-26349136
 
I had a strange occurrence in bed this morning. I woke up lying stretched out on my front with my left hand under the pillow - not an unusual position for me. As I started to get out of bed, I moved my hand and felt something cold and hard under the pillow. I was a bit :shock: at this development and when I lifted the pillow I found an Icelandic 1 Krona coin. Now I've been to Iceland once a few years ago but I'm sure I don't have any Icelandic money in the house, let alone any Krona coins. The thing was freezing cold like it hadn't been under the pillow long and I'm about to turn 30 so I'm a bit old for a visit from the tooth fairy. I'm at work just now but I put the coin on my bedside table before I left. I'm half expecting it to be gone when I get home tonight....
 
Ronnor said:
I had a strange occurrence in bed this morning. I woke up lying stretched out on my front with my left hand under the pillow - not an unusual position for me. As I started to get out of bed, I moved my hand and felt something cold and hard under the pillow. I was a bit :shock: at this development and when I lifted the pillow I found an Icelandic 1 Krona coin. Now I've been to Iceland once a few years ago but I'm sure I don't have any Icelandic money in the house, let alone any Krona coins. The thing was freezing cold like it hadn't been under the pillow long and I'm about to turn 30 so I'm a bit old for a visit from the tooth fairy. I'm at work just now but I put the coin on my bedside table before I left. I'm half expecting it to be gone when I get home tonight....

Perhaps the Icelandic fairies felt sorry for you...and teleported a coin directly from the cold wastelands of Iceland? :)
 
Well I've just got in from work and the mystery coin is still there on my bedside table, a bit disappointing really!
 
Ronnor said:
Well I've just got in from work and the mystery coin is still there on my bedside table, a bit disappointing really!

Only disappointing until a new one appears.
 
money

I have a reputation amongst my friends for picking up coins in pubs when we're having a night out. They find it embarrassing - not that I care.

In the last two years I've twice found a £10 note when out walking in the evening. Both were very close to each other. The first time it happened felt strange. I was walking down a quiet road when I saw a £10 note just lying flat on the grass verge by the side of the road. It looked as if someone had deliberately put it there, as it wasn't folded up. I actually looked around to see if anyone was watching, as it felt so fake. Nobody was, so I picked it up and took it home. I decided to invest the money on ten lucky dips on the national lottery and donate any profit to charity. Sadly, I didn't win anything.

About two months I was walking along the same road. About 200 metres away from the first location, I spotted another £10 in the road. This one was folded up though. I could imagine it falling out of someone's pocket. It's still on the kitchen table at the moment as I don't want to spend it as it's not mine.
 
Hong Kong crash sparks money grab
[Video: People left their cars to scramble for cash on a busy road in Hong Kong]

Hong Kong police have appealed to the public to return millions of dollars taken after a van transporting HK$525m ($68m; £44m) crashed on a major road.
About HK$35m ($4.5m; £3m) worth of banknotes were left strewn across the tarmac after the road accident.
Witnesses said dozens of people rushed to pocket the cash before armed police arrived to secure the area.
Some HK$20m was retrieved and police warned that failure to return the rest would be "a very serious crime".

The incident happened at lunchtime on one of Hong Kong's busiest roads in the Wan Chai district on Hong Kong Island, causing major disruption as people abandoned their cars to collect the notes.

_79928448_wwanchai1(1).png

Photographs showed banknotes littered across the road in Wan Chai district

_79928199_cashspill1.png

Armed police secured the area after the incident and recovered HK$20m

_79928195_cashspill2.png

Police officers were seen counting notes recovered from the scene of the crash

Individual notes were seen spread across the carriageway but witnesses also reported seeing bundles of HK$500 notes wrapped in plastic.
One witness told the South China Morning Post that she saw a "regular looking Hong Kong lady" take at least 10 bundles before leaving the scene.
"She had an armful of bricks of cash - it was as much as she could carry. She just disappeared into the depths of Wan Chai," the witness said.

Speaking shortly afterwards, police superintendent Wan Siu-hong called on those who had picked up any money to hand it over to police as soon as possible.
"If he or she keeps the money for [their] own use, [they] may commit an offence of theft which is a very serious crime under ordinance," he told reporters.
He said police had launched an inquiry into the cause of the accident, adding that they "cannot rule out any possibilities at this moment".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-30598832
 
I was walking through a town late one night with an old girlfriend and I said to her 'it's a good night to find money' being as it was a Friday or Saturday night in the center of Bournemouth, and as soon as the words left my mouth I saw a five pound note on the floor :D I used to find money quite often though when I was homeless addict in my youth. On another occasion I spotted 20 quid in a hedge, it was was raining and the note was completely soaked so I proceeded to take it to a public toilet and dry it with the hand dryer ;)
 
Yeah I don't see money lying around liked I used to. I wonder if it's because of the rise of electronic transactions?
 
Yeah I don't see money lying around liked I used to. I wonder if it's because of the rise of electronic transactions?
Could be. My bank sent me a new Debit card yesterday. Unlike the old one, it has Contactless Payment technology. So I can just wave it at an appropriate card reader to make payments of up to £20 without entering my PIN!

Sounds good at first, but what if I lose it? To the finder it's like a reusable £20 note, until I realise I've lost it and cancel it at my bank. It might be safer never to activate it!
 
I thought we had more recent threads on this topic, but I couldn't find one. Never mind, I'll drop this story in here, and if someone finds a similar thread the Mods can probably do a merge:

7 March 2015 Last updated at 14:44
Rayleigh parking machine 'cascades' money to driver

A driver who was trying to pay to park got a surprise £32 "windfall" when the ticket machine "cascaded" coins at her like a fruit machine jackpot payout.
Stephanie Corder, from Rayleigh, Essex, was in the town's Castle Road, where it costs £5 to park a car for a whole day.
"I had to scoop the money up to stop it falling on the floor," Ms Corder said.

She took the cash to the police and Rochford District Council has rewarded her with a day's free parking as a "little thank you" for her honesty.
Parking in the Castle Road car park ranges in price from 50p for half-an-hour to £5 for a whole day, according to the council's website.

etc...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-31780074


(BTW, Mods, I searched on Money, and found this result...

Chinese Money Conjuror Liberates Hundreds of Renminbi
A truly classic Fortean news story, from China. There's more at the link. :)
Post by: Pietro_Mercurios, Oct 18, 2010 in forum: Fortean News stories

...listed 5 times in succession! :confused: )
 
I've always had an odd kind of luck with money. I never get richer and never get poorer.

At least there are a good number of notable occassions when I have won exactly what I need to cover an expense or had an unexpected expense to take away a windfall.

One extraordinary example is when I came into possession of a sum (I can't recall how or exactly how much, but let's say £120) on the very same day I accidentally cut the outside telephone line while gardening and was charged exactly that amount by the telephone company, thus instantly depriving me of the benefit.

Another time shock that a train fare to london had cost me £75 was immediately alleviated when 3x £25 premium bond cheques came through the door.

I of course can't and wouldn't rely on this kind of thing, but my finances seem to be in permanent equilibrium.
 
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