Man who kept collecting pennies for 45 years finally cashed them in for an incredible amount

"Every penny counts," is what Otha Anders from Louisianna believed in when he started collecting change. According to local news outlets the News Star, Anders started collecting pennies after he found one lying on the ground. He shared that the coin reminded him that life is a "gift from God" and that day he decided that he would never spend a penny and save them instead. After collecting the coins for 45 years, in 2015, he cashed them for an astonishing amount.

Here's what 500,000 pennies look like

"I became convinced that spotting a lost or dropped penny was an additional God-given incentive reminding me always to be thankful," Anders told the Star. From that moment on, not only did he pick up every penny on the road, but he stopped spending the coins altogether. 

He shared that he would break a dollar before giving up a penny as he had made it a habit of collecting them in empty water jugs. "If I would see a penny when I’m gassing up, on the ground, or in a store, it would be a reminder to stop right there and say a prayer,” he said. In 2015, Anders, 73-year-old then, had collected 15 five-gallon plastic containers full of pennies.

The Louisiana teacher expressed that he loved looking at his massive collection every day. Back in the 70s, when the U.S. government offered a $25 incentive for every $100 worth of pennies turned in, Anders said he chose to keep his pennies instead of making extra money.  He said that the pennies represented more than a nice payday.

However, Anders was forced to give up his impressive collection of copper after his homeowner’s insurance policy stopped covering the pennies. Anders, who said his goal was to never stop, finally deposited the coins at Origin Bank in Ruston. After five hours of counting and processing, the bank credited Anders a total of $5,136, which went toward a dental bill. This meant Anders had collected over 500,000 pennies.

The bank's Vice President, Jennie Cole, told the News Star that it wasn't a typical day at the bank after Anders arrived with his massive coin collection on a dolly. However, the staff were more than happy to help their long-time customer. “We value his business, as we do all of our customers,” she said. 

Anders said that he would continue to save and collect pennies but this time he would deposit them more often, as they are not insured.  Anders who works for the Jackson School Board said that his students had learned about his collection through the news and they were planning to save their coins and sell them to him.

In a similar case in 2017, a man rolled in with a wheelbarrow full of coins into the DMV to pay a $3,000 tax bill. However, in this case, the man wasn't fascinated with the 300,000 coins but was staging a protest against the DMV. 

Nick Stafford from Cedar Bluff, Virginia, told the BBC that he made his protest after the government department failed to respond to his queries in time. As per the report, it took the staff over seven hours to count the coins, and they had to work late.