Man goes to the bank with 15 containers full of small change collected over 45 years: it takes 5 hours to count it
Who does not remember the fable of the cicada and the ant? While the former enjoys singing, the latter spends the summer working hard to gather in some breadcrumbs, so as to ensure there will be food for the whole winter and not run the risk of starving. This is a metaphor about savings that has inspired many of us to get a piggy bank. When you have change in your pocket and you return from the shops, many of us pop them into a piggy bank and, over time, this can add up to being a small fortune.
One cent yesterday and one today - an American man consistently filled his piggy banks for 45 years, and finally, he decided to deposit them in his bank.
via USA Today
The subject of this story is a teacher, called Otha Anders, who lives in Louisiana, USA. The man began collecting change in the 1960s - not so much to save money, but more as a hobby. This is demonstrated by the fact that when the government launched a program to give out $ 125 for every $ 100 received in coins, Otha did not exchange his coins.
For Anders, cents are a sort of symbol: this man, in fact, considers pennies to be a kind of reminder that prompts him to stop and say a prayer, wherever he is. Whenever he sees one, he never fails to do this. “That's why they were so valuable to me,” he said.
The pact he made with himself, over four decades of collecting change, has been not to accept been given change as a gift: "I have never allowed anyone, not even my wife or children, to give me change without a valid reason. I wanted the inner satisfaction that God and I have acquired this collection. "
The value of his coin collection, therefore, would not be a financial one for him, but is spiritual instead: “I became convinced that identifying a lost or dropped cent was an additional God-given incentive that reminded me to always be grateful. There were days when I hadn't prayed and, more often than not, a lost or dropped cent would show up to remind me to do so. "
Otha's initial wish was to be able to fill five water jugs with his change, but, once he reached this goal, he decided to continue until he reached fifteen jugs. At that point, it was time to deposit the change, otherwise he would never stop.
So, he contacted his bank to let them know that he would be showing up with a large amount of small change. When Otha arrived at the back with his fifteen jugs full of cents, the staff were amazed.
“We appreciate his business, as do from all of our customers. And if we can help Anders with his hobby, we are happy to do so, ”said Jennie Cole, vice president of the bank. The containers were opened using an axe, and the counting began - a process that took five hours of work. The result? Otha's small change collection is worth thousands of dollars.
This is a story from which we can take the inspiration to do something worth while and, over time, our small efforts can result in becoming a small fortune.
