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See A Penny, Pick It Up (Superstition / Luck Related To Money Found)

Exaculotely: if you look after the pennies the pounds will look after themselves*.

*Edit: or not, given the current economic climate.
 
The kids seemed to have learned to stop throwing coins on the floor on our street, I've only found about 40p's worth in the past week. I'm putting it down to them not getting as much money from their parents not long after Christmas.
 
'Silver' 2p sells for £1,350 - 67,500 times face value

A rare "silver" two pence coin struck in error by the Royal Mint has sold for £1,350 - 67,500 times its face value.
The coin was nearly thrown away as a fake after it was discovered in a Poppy Appeal tin last year.
But after Royal British Legion volunteers in Wiltshire took it to a bank, it was sent to the mint which confirmed it was made in error.
The coins are normally made of copper-plated steel, but this one was set in nickel-plated steel, used for 10ps.

Charles Vernon, treasurer of the legion in Malmesbury, which has enjoyed the proceeds of the sale, said he and his wife spotted the "odd" coin when the collection was being counted.
"When we tried to put it in the 10p pile it didn't fit - it was an anomaly and stood out," he said.
Mr Vernon thought the 2p was a fake so took it to his local bank to be destroyed, but bank staff suggested it may be rare and worth a lot of money and had it sent to the mint.

X-ray fluorescence spectrometry was used to confirm an error in production "whereby a nickel-plated steel blank, which would normally be used in the production of 10p pieces appears to have been struck between 2p dies", the mint confirmed.
It will now be handed over to its new owner, The Westminster Collection, a company which specialises in collectable coins and stamps.

A similar "silver" 2p coin was sold for £1,357 at auction in 2014 and another made £802 in an online auction last year.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-36530514
 
Ermintrude said:
In so doing, you would be meeting one of the employment styles required to be demonstrated by all employees working at Disney theme parks....any rubbish/trash/money spotted by staff (viz "cast members") must be scooped-up, immediately, with a sweeping flourish. No bending, or paused picky-pickups.
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On idle weekdays, one of my favourite pastimes is to sit in a town centre pub near a window which overlooks the busy pavement just where it narrows along the main street. Having superglued a pound coin to the pavement, it brings great hilarity to watch people approaching clock the coin, then try to casually swipe it without causing a pile-up of people who will inevitably be close behind. Maybe it's the combination of lunchtime drinking and the fact that I'm not one of the drones shuffling backwards and forwards to town/work (well, not that day, anyway) which makes it so pant-wettingly hilarious, but I can assure you, it has me falling off my chair laughing, literally.

I mean, there's slick sorts who try to confidently swoop down and take the coin without stopping - the confusion on their face as they move through and realise they haven't actually bagged the sitting duck. Will they come back for another try?
Then there's the sort who see the coin, then realise "their phone is ringing", so stop dead on the pavement and slyly nudge the coin to the edge of the walkway for retrieval (or not, as the case may be. Once again, seeing the confusion as to why the coin hasn't moved is hilarious.) How many little casual kicks will they give the coin whilst they "take their call", with other pedestrians weaving round them, before they go full retard and resort to openly hoofing it with their heel? Or will they simply walk off after the first failure, only to turn around and come back the other way...and then do another lap, and another after that, getting increasingly frustrated at the way this coin will not deliver itself into their custody?

Sometimes they will then notice some purple-faced idiots rolling about in hysterics inside the pub, realise they've been wound up, and walk off. But then there's the ones who simply don't give a shit about appearing casual and effortless as they swipe the cash, they WILL be having that coin, and will openly kick, or scrabble, or use something to lever it off the pavement, come what may. They don't care who sees them, who they will be holding up behind them, all they care about is pocketing that coin.
Once they have it, bang on the window, cheer them on, see if they show any embarrassment, and then go out and glue another coin.

Try it, my friends, the determination of some people is incredible, for a coin which will really buy you very little. Maybe it's the colour - GOOOOOLD!!! Maybe it's just that people have much less spare cash these days. Maybe it's your mate who can spot a coin retrieval specialist coming half a mile away making you laugh. I don't know, but for belly laughs, this IS comedy gold. (I suppose a variation is the old "bank note on a fishing line" which is yanked out of the way just as someone's fingers close on it)
 
You can also place a trilby hat over a brick for people to kick, or, as I remember reading on a message board somewhere, try building a snowman over a solid bollard. CHAOS.
 
LordRsmacker said:
On idle weekdays, one of my favourite pastimes is to sit in a town centre pub near a window which overlooks the busy pavement just where it narrows along the main street. Having superglued a pound coin to the pavement, it brings great hilarity to watch people approaching clock the coin, then try to casually swipe it without causing a pile-up of people who will inevitably be close behind. Maybe it's the combination of lunchtime drinking and the fact that I'm not one of the drones shuffling backwards and forwards to town/work (well, not that day, anyway) which makes it so pant-wettingly hilarious, but I can assure you, it has me falling off my chair laughing, literally.

I mean, there's slick sorts who try to confidently swoop down and take the coin without stopping - the confusion on their face as they move through and realise they haven't actually bagged the sitting duck. Will they come back for another try?
Then there's the sort who see the coin, then realise "their phone is ringing", so stop dead on the pavement and slyly nudge the coin to the edge of the walkway for retrieval (or not, as the case may be. Once again, seeing the confusion as to why the coin hasn't moved is hilarious.) How many little casual kicks will they give the coin whilst they "take their call", with other pedestrians weaving round them, before they go full retard and resort to openly hoofing it with their heel? Or will they simply walk off after the first failure, only to turn around and come back the other way...and then do another lap, and another after that, getting increasingly frustrated at the way this coin will not deliver itself into their custody?

Sometimes they will then notice some purple-faced idiots rolling about in hysterics inside the pub, realise they've been wound up, and walk off. But then there's the ones who simply don't give a shit about appearing casual and effortless as they swipe the cash, they WILL be having that coin, and will openly kick, or scrabble, or use something to lever it off the pavement, come what may. They don't care who sees them, who they will be holding up behind them, all they care about is pocketing that coin.
Once they have it, bang on the window, cheer them on, see if they show any embarrassment, and then go out and glue another coin.

Try it, my friends, the determination of some people is incredible, for a coin which will really buy you very little. Maybe it's the colour - GOOOOOLD!!! Maybe it's just that people have much less spare cash these days. Maybe it's your mate who can spot a coin retrieval specialist coming half a mile away making you laugh. I don't know, but for belly laughs, this IS comedy gold. (I suppose a variation is the old "bank note on a fishing line" which is yanked out of the way just as someone's fingers close on it)
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I understand that little trouble accrues from taking confectionery from children.
 
Weird ... this one probably could also be posted in the coincidences thread ..

I've found a 5p coin in my left work shoe twice today .... this lunch time I thought I had a stone in my shoe, shook it out to find a 5p coin. About 15 minutes ago, I had the exact same sensation, told the Mrs about my earlier not exactly exciting 5p experience, shook out my shoe and either a different (or perhaps the same coin she's postulated) fell out ... I haven't got a hole in my left pocket although it does have some small change in it at the moment.
 
GNC said:
See what happens when you roll around on a bed of petty cash giggling "Mine, all mine!"?
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It gets a little bit weirder .. I also found a 5p coin the same night and did my usual "heads or tails?" question to my boss .. he said heads, it was tails but I felt I should probably stick it in the charity box as per his usual request when I genuinely loose the toss of the coin because of the other coincidences, I didn't want to push my luck ... superstition reasons ...

.. then when I went for my before bedtime cigarette back home, I found another one on our door mat at our back door.

I was given two pound coins this morning for something too long winded to go into but by the time I got home ? .. one of them has disappeared. I know I didn't spend it, I've probably somehow dropped it I suppose ..
 
Swifty said:
I was given two pound coins this morning for something too long winded to go into but by the time I got home ? .. one of them has disappeared. I know I didn't spend it, I've probably somehow dropped it I suppose ..
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They do say the Pound has fallen.
It must be that one.
 
Other than two pennies rusted beyond recognition, I found ANOTHER 5p coin this morning :cool: .. is this some sort of scavenger inflation thing going on I wonder ?
 
Swifty said:
Other than two pennies rusted beyond recognition, I found ANOTHER 5p coin this morning :cool: .. is this some sort of scavenger inflation thing going on I wonder ?
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It may just be that people hate 5p pieces and throw them away at every opportunity.
 
GNC said:
5 pence is the new half pence.
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Either way, I found yet another one outside the Kings Head today .. even though they're worth more, I still prefer finding pennies instead .. that probably explains why I'm not rich ..
 
Swifty said:
Either way, I found yet another one outside the Kings Head today .. even though they're worth more, I still prefer finding pennies instead .. that probably explains why I'm not rich ..
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I've made some fine perch lures out of 5p pieces.
 
Swifty said:
How do you tie them up ? .. or do you drill a hole in them ? ..
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I put them on a hard metal surface and hit them with the round end of a ballpein hammer until they are beaten into a bowl shape about 10% larger diameter than the original 5p. I drill a 1mm hole near the rim on one side and use a fly-fishing clip (metal) to attached a red long-shank hook. Simples. 5 cent (US) coins are nicer though.
 
Coal said:
I put them on a hard metal surface and hit them with the round end of a ballpein hammer until they are beaten into a bowl shape about 10% larger diameter than the original 5p. I drill a 1mm hole near the rim on one side and use a fly-fishing clip (metal) to attached a red long-shank hook. Simples. 5 cent (US) coins are nicer though.
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Strictly speaking, you're not supposed to do that to your own country's currency.
But I suppose it matters not a lot, because it's such a low denomination.
 
Talking of finding money. I remember once in Gibraltar, I was with my husband and being closer to the ground, I found a 20 euros note. I bought a leather bag with it. Once, at home, at the train station, I found 20pounds note. Naive, I asked around if it was theirs and someone took it. I also find about once a year fivers, just by walking down the road. I have an eagle eye, which is very good for finding books lost in the library where I work.
Once I left my wallet at a paid phone (early 90's, it was) and I was really lucky, as it was picked up by someone honest who took the pain to find inside my home number and rang to my sister. I came back after my sibbling went to pick it up for me. She once find the equivalent of a 50 pounds note in the street and gave a tenner to a homeless person.
 
Further to the discussion about kids throwing their shrapnel away I witnessed the following exchange between a boy of about 10 and (I assume) his Dad:

Boy: 'Ooh, money!' *picks up object from pavement*

Dad (looking horrified): Ugh, that's not money. Put it down...PUT IT DOWN!

No idea what the thing was. Therefore pointless anecdote. Oh well!
 
I'll always stoop down to pick up a penny even if oneday I somehow become a millionaire .. I'm not proud ..
 
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