Another Pair

Two more cents found outside of a charity store on East 12th Street.

UPDATE: I see dead people. I found the six cents while walking the dog. We found a nickel by a lamppost in Union Square and then another penny.

Total haul for the day = .09

TOTAL do date = $19.39 and we are creeping out of the depression years.

A Pair

I found two pennies today in Union Square. They are happy to be reunited after having spent some time apart.

Total haul for the day = .02

TOTAL to date = $19.31

Five for Nino

Today restored hope. After a string of too many zero days to count, I hit a mini jackpot under a munimeter (c'mon, parking meter sounds so much cooler than munimeter) where I found four pennies scattered about. Stick that with one more found near the post office on 11th Street and we're talking a nice solid number; five.

I would like to give a special shout-out to Nino, who is no longer anonymous and always welcome. Thanks for you support and comments. Nice to know you're in it for the duration.

Total haul for the day = .05 + one lifetime reader, Nino, our friend from up north

TOTAL to date = $19.29, $9 Obama bill, and Nino!

Brother, Can You Spare a Nine?

Nine dollar bill, that is, not a nine millimeter. I think he looks even better on the money.



Order yours for a buck here. Or you can order another kind for .30 here. There's no shortage of President Barack Obama funny money. I'll showcase more on days when I come up short of spare change.

This is the only money I've found so far today and I paid $1.00 for it at Ricky's.

U.S. Mint Steps to a Hep Beat

In its Statehood series of quarters, the U.S. Mint has finally honored an African American on U.S. Tender, which is worth a whole lot more than .25 cents. Duke Ellington is the first African American ever to appear on our money.

Meanwhile, I haven't found a coin in days! I'm freaking out!

UPDATE: I found a crusty old wheat penny in the mulch around a tree on Chrystie Street this morning. I see more when I walk the dog.

Total haul for the day = .01 and a Duke Ellington Celebration!

TOTAL to date = $19.24

Fine Art, Free Money

At the Met today I found a penny and then two more pennies and a dime coming off the 4 train at Union Square.

Total haul for the day = .13

TOTAL to date = $19.23

$200K Found on NYC Street!

A guy found just under $200K on a NYC street and cops seized it. Should the guy get it back? Should he get at least some of it?

Read about the story here.

I say finders, keepers - give the guy back his cash!

Thanks, Christopher, for the heads up.

Markets Down, Spare Change Limited!

I didn't find anything yesterday except for the 85 pennies between the tracks at Prince Street. I bet your could get $5 from the 14th Street tracks, not that I would want to. Two words; rat poop.

UPDATE: Trading is up! I found a penny at the 6 train 33rd Street station!

Yesterday = zip
So far today = close to zip

Total haul for the day = .01

TOTAL to date = $19.10

Elevenses

(Image from Just Desserts)

Let's not talk about yesterday. Today I wanted cake so my dog and I walked to News Cafe on University. They let me bring him in when I buy cake. And he usually gets a croissant, which he generally makes a big scene about and makes me not want to give it to him. One the way home I found a dime and a penny.

UPDATE: Dime found at Houston 1 Train subway station.

Total haul for the day = .21

TOTAL to date = $19.09

It Ain't Easy Being Green

Kermit was right. Being green means re-using other people's forgotten and abandoned money, which isn't always easy to find and is frequently dirty. I felt smug finding a penny and recycling it right here in front of Sustainable NYC, a business on Avenue A at Tompkins Square Park in NYC's East Village. And since Sustainable NYC has a round sign, I can also post the image on my Round Sign blog (I think round signs are a sign of economic surplus and will therefore go on the wane in coming years).

Total haul for the day = .01

TOTAL to date = .$18.78

Two for the Show

I'm glad there hasn't been another zero day this week but how about some paper? It's been months since I found some paper money.

Maybe I'll open a kissing booth. My dog would pay...

I found two pennies walking this idiot home from getting his Dog Wash in the West Village.

Total haul for the day = .02

TOTAL to date = $18.77

No Stimulus Package Yet

Yesterday was a total zero, nada, niente, zilch, zip, zatz.

Today wasn't much better. I found one cent under a bicycle locked to a No Parking sign.

Total haul for the day = .01

TOTAL to date = $18.75

Just The One

One cent found near Union Square Park renovation site. Those guys are working hard and making speedy progress.

Total haul today = .01

TOTAL to date = $18.74

One Less Car, One More Penny

(Image from the Cars Are Evil site.)

It pays to ride the rails. Found a penny in the turnstile at 57th and 7th this morning on my way to Oprah's office at 300 W 57th Street. Nice digs she's got there.

Total haul for the day = .01

TOTAL to date = $18.73

The Agony is Less Now

Which is worse? Seeing coins on the subway track or in a fountain? At the Met over the weekend I barely caught my daughter as she dove for the pool in the Temple of Dendur, which is littered with coins.

How about this? Which is worse, seeing coins that have been appropriated by hot tar in the street or - and I find this to be much worse - seeing a coin through a locked glass door! Yes, on the dog walk last night a well-lit and shiny new penny mocked me from the locked vestibule of Union Square Wines. I curse whoever locked the place up last night leaving such temptation in view. And I'm sad to know that I will not be there when they open today.

UPDATE: I was not there when they opened but I passed it on my way home from a morning meeting and the penny was still there. Now it's not because my pig ate it. I also found another penny on Rivington.

Total haul for the day = .02

TOTAL to date = $18.72

Tails

And tails it was. Found one tails up in Union Square near a bike rack.

In Brooklyn I found a penny in the cool new offices of Energy Hub - and they let me keep it.

Back in Manhattan I found a nickel while tying up the dog, two pennies under a bike rack on 14th, and a dime near the front door.

Total haul today = .19

TOTAL to date = $18.70

Got a Pair

It could be a good found money day. First dog walk yielded two cents and we have BIG plans to be outside much of the day to enjoy the warm weather.

This is a quick drawing of a penny that I will work on and improve and then I'll do the other side. More drawings here (I especially like drawing Scottish tugboats).

Total haul today = .02

TOTAL to date = $18.51

Early One

Late night dog walk yielded another fouled penny near a construction site on 4th Avenue just a few minutes past midnight. I'm off to the Met today. Last time I went there I found a ten dollar bill on the sidewalk on 83rd. Wish me luck.

Three pennies on the 14th Street subway platform right where we got on the train and another on the steps of the museum. The Met was awesome.


Total haul for the day = .04

TOTAL to date = $18.49

Back to the Tally

The kid brought home a nickel that she found on the subway and I found a penny in the 51st Street downtown subway station.

Total haul for the day = .06

TOTAL to date = $18.45

CNN Mention by Richard Roth

See the Humphreys of Staten Island and a little bit of me and Mishka in this CNN clip. Richard Roth is a big fan of dogs, by the way.



Read more about the economy here.

Dirty Baker's Dozen

One cent found at turnstile coming out of 23rd Street subway station. Another found waiting for bus at 23rd Street. And then the pay day - a dirty dime by a chain link fence circling the construction at Union Square Park. Phew, I needed some silver.



UPDATE: I found another penny - I love this - at the bank. Yup, on the floor by my foot at the teller window at Citibank.

I was thinking about changing the title of today's post from "Dirty Dozen" to "Dirty Baker's Dozen" when I saw a shiny dime under a bicycle locked up to a street sign; I decided to leave the second dime out of the title but it is included in the total.

Total haul today, a dozen cents = .23

TOTAL to date = $18.39

Geat White Pay

Broadway coughed up two cents for me this morning. One was in a puddle next to a cigarette butt so I nosed it to dry land with my toe before picking it up.

UPDATE: Geez - enough with the pennies already. Sure, I found another one in the Green Market at Union Sq. and that's great, but how about something in a silver metal?

Total haul for the day = .03

TOTAL to date = $18.16

It Ain't Much But It'll Do

(Image from Gamespot.com)
At least we'll be spared another zero day today. Found a penny on 4th Ave near the goth costume stores. And it wasn't even pierced!

The Prince pays again. I plucked another penny from the Prince Street MTA station. Seems like there's always money on the ground near the card dispenser.

UPDATE: The kid spotted a third penny on the floor at City Bakery during the Hot Chocolate Festival.

Total haul for the day = .03

TOTAL to date = $18.13

Union Square with CNN

Back in action today when I found one penny during the morning dog walk. There were Parks employees using a leaf blower to gather all the salt leftover from the snow and ice of the last few weeks. Maybe next time they shouldn't dump so much. I think the blowing uncovered the penny.

UPDATE: Richard Roth and his crew from CNN - the talented and dog-loving Mr. Shine and the lovely Carla (good luck with the internship!) - came with me and Mishka on a walk today to see if I could scare up some spare change. After coming up empty on 4th Ave and 13th and 14th Streets I felt like the North-west side of Union Square park could be good. 13 cents good! I found one very corroded dime, a corroded penny and, then another very shiny penny right next to someone's foot (she didn't seem to mind that I picked it up, but maybe the camera intimidated her from saying anything).

Then Richard started bragging about how he was going to find a quarter so we kept walking and I found another penny on 13th Street. Richard didn't find anything but a fun story, I hope. Thanks, Roth & Crew, Mishka and I had a great time.

When the story gets posted online I'll put a link here. Should be sometime between the 5th and 13th of February.

SECOND UPDATE: More pennies found on street and one on the bus.

Total haul today = .18

TOTAL to date = $18.10

...!!!

I won't lie. I'm scared. I covered a lot of ground today - and bus floors, and movie theater floors - and I didn't see anything but bottle caps and old gum. I think today might be a zero. It all depends on the third dog walk that happens at the end of the day but I have to get out there and find something before midnight for it to count.

No such luck. Today was a big bunch of nothing.