Holiday Update

One penny, one nickel, and one dime found over the last few days. Forgive the brevity of this post.


Total haul for Dec. 24-30 = .16

TOTAL to date = $16.41

Two Already, Like Chanukah Lights

Is it not crazy that I find pennies on the same corner at least twice a week? Am I the only one surprised by this?

I found one penny on 13th Street between 3rd and 4th Avenues and another by the wine store on the corner of 4th and 13th.

Total haul today = .02

TOTAL to date = $16.25

Three Wise Men, All Named Lincoln

I hit the trifecta again. This time near a bank on 5th Avenue and 14th Street. They were three pennies all near a scrappy little tree trying to do its best in a square patch of dirt.

It was so cold today the pennies sounded tinny jangling around in my pocket on the way home. I think it may have hit 17 F today as a high.

Total haul today = .03

TOTAL to date = $16.23

A Slushy One (and a two, and a three, and a four)

I found a single penny in Union Square Park on one of the paving stones that wasn't completely covered in slush.

Update: Walking the dog near the Strand I found three pennies near the door of a parked car.


TOTAL to date = $16.20

Less Than Worthless

I didn't find this on the streets of New York, nor on a subway platform, nor in an elevator. I found it in my tin of coins and I thought it would be more interesting than posting, "I didn't find any money today."

These images are the two sides of a Zimbabwe penny from the 90s. The people of Zimbabwe are suffering through many unfathomable and horrendous problems at the moment including a raging cholera epidemic, famine, and inflation that is in the neighborhood of 230,000%. When I visited in 1998 some of the nation's infrastructure was still in place (like the sewage system, for example) and inflation had not yet run off with the value of the Zimbabwe dollar.

I'm guessing that this penny is now worth about .000000028 of a Zimbabwe dollar but that might be a generous estimate. This just in, Zimbabwe has released a new $500 million bill, which is worth about $50 US or 33 UK Pounds.


I love the $2 coin depicted below because it may be the only coin ever to feature a Pangolin.



Best wishes to the people of Zimbabwe. May they survive the horrors of Robert Mugabe and then see him held accountable for his crimes against them.

Platform Pay-out

Good thing I took the subway today because I wouldn't have been able to find a roll of quarters on the sidewalk what with all the slush out there today. What a mess. Luckily I found a penny on the uptown platform of the R/W train's Prince Street station. That was around noon.


TOTAL to date = $16.16

Treble

I found three pennies today. One in Union Square, one stuck between some cobble stones on Rivington Street crossing Chrystie, and a third on Spring Street.

Total haul for the day = .03

TOTAL to date = $16.15

Deuce

Take the A train and you might find a penny in the middle of the car like I did. And then another penny on 14th Street at 5th Avenue near TD Bank, formerly known as Commerce Bank (they picked up the phone quicker when it was Commerce Bank).


Total haul for the day = .02

TOTAL to date = $16.12

Wet Penny

FOUND: One wet penny between sidewalk cracks next to Blimpie's at the corner of 4th Avenue and 13th Street.

The day is still young.

UPDATE - Another penny found on Bleecker Street at Bond.

Total haul for the day = $.02

TOTAL to date = $16.10

Sweet Sixteen!

People have had it with pennies and they're dumping them like shares of GM stock. I found two in Union Square Park while walking the dog this morning. Then I found one on the platform of the NRWQ trains at Herald Square. And then all hell broke loose. On the way home from the wine store the sidewalk looked polka dotted - and I hadn't had any wine yet! There were eight pennies in one square of the sidewalk.


Total haul for the day = .11

TOTAL to date = $16.08

December 13, 2008

A nickel next to the planter right by my front door. Someone out there must like me. I swear someone drops change outside my door just to watch me light up. There was a penny a few feet away.

Total haul for the day = .06

TOTAL to date = $15.97

It (Almost) Never Fails!

Just when I thought it would be a zero day (and trust me, it sure felt like a zero day at times) I walk outside at 11:00 p.m. and there's a penny right outside the door on the sidewalk. Take note, use caution when picking up a penny near a revolving door.

I am still amazed at how much money can be found on the streets of New York and that it's a rare day that I don't find *any*. But I wouldn't mind finding even more.


TOTAL to date = $15.91

You Say Bob, I Say Buck

But we both say penny and cent. Here are images of the UK penny I found in the East Village today. He was hanging out with his local guides, a dime and a penny (both US tender) and they were all drenched in the rain on the sidewalk where, I think, a pile of bagged garbage was sitting yesterday. No longer cleverly hidden, all three coins got a free ride home with me and will now enjoy the hospitality of my penny banks.





I think my large penny bank must have about 10 bob in it by now.

Total haul for the day = .11 plus foreign

TOTAL to date = $15.90

December 10, 2008

RUSH HOUR FREEBIE

Entering the subway turnstile at Herald Square at rush hour, I saw a penny next to the base of the turnstile. I took the time to bend over and get it while a bunch of impatient commuters waited for the whole two seconds it took to pick it up. I made it home on time one cent richer.


TOTAL to date = $15.79

Stella's Cent

I found a penny out on west 14th Street not far from the Stella McCartney store. Somehow, I don't think she'll miss it. Probably wouldn't want it any way since it was in the street and all beat up.


TOTAL to date = $15.78

Barely Legal

I was in a conference room today where I saw a dime on the floor. I waited for the room to clear out before I claimed it. If that was someone's office, instead of a common area, would that have been stealing?

Total haul for the day = .10

TOTAL to date = $15.77

December 7, 2008

I found *another* quarter. This one was on the ground near the Union Square Holiday Market. I wish people would start dropping singles, fives, tens, and twenties.

TOTAL to date = $15.67

Filthy Lucre

Dirtiest penny ever found in Union Square Park in the gravel path of the little park on the southeast corner.

TOTAL to date = $15.43

December 5, 2008

On 13th Street near University I found one very dirty penny and then two pennies hanging out near a box of fresh fish out behind the back of Whole Foods. And then, under a locked bike, a quarter. I love it when that happens.

Total haul for the day = .28

TOTAL to date = $15.42

Nickelback

What's with all the damn nickels lately. I found *another* one today. This one was on the 12th floor of the dreaded 601 W 26th Street building, just lying around out in the polished cement hallway. It was facedown, nickelback up.

Total haul today = .05

TOTAL to date = $15.14

1+1+Mystery Coin

In central Park, near the Diana Ross Playground at 81st Street, I found a small copper coin that looked to be a penny but came up too small. It's a Euro cent. I thought the US was criticized for keeping pennies around (I'd hate to imagine what my life would be like if they cancelled them) so why would they be introduced with a new tender such as the Euro? Are there so many things one can purchase on the streets of Madrid, Rome, and Paris that cost three cents? 

Well, I guess they come in handy for tipping European style.




Then I found two pennies on the welcome mat at 100 W 33rd Street. The security guys at reception didn't share my enthusiasm. Or they were disappointed that I saw them first.

Total haul for the day = .02 US

TOTAL to date = US $15.09

Just One

Union Square continues to pay out regardless of recession news. I found a shiny penny in the metal grate around one of the old Elm trees. It ain't much but it's more than zero.


TOTAL to date: $15.07