One day, a man walked into a bank, followed by a dolly full of jugs. The sound of jingling coins caught everyone’s attention. This man was Otha Anders, known as the “Coin Master.”
Otha Anders worked as a supervisor for the Jackson School Board, where suspended children were sent to him. They grew to love him. His family was always by his side, supporting his unusual hobby – collecting pennies.
What started as a fun project for Anders turned into a passion, almost like an obsession. Anders believed that finding a penny was a sign from God, reminding him to be thankful.
“I came to believe that finding a misplaced or dropped penny served as an extra divine prompt to always express gratitude,” Anders told USA Today. On days he forgot to pray, he almost always found a penny, which he took as a reminder from God.
Anders was deeply religious, and instead of wishing on pennies, he prayed over them.
He stored the pennies in five-gallon plastic water jugs for forty-five years, thinking he might have saved a lot of money.
When he finally decided to cash in his collection, bank staff were excited to help. They used an ax and hammer to break open the jugs and spent five hours counting the pennies with a coin counter.
The final count? Anders had saved $5,136.14 in pennies! That’s about $114.40 per year over forty-five years.
Who would have thought that collecting pennies could add up to the cost of a used car?
Anders used the money to pay off a recent dental bill. He was happy to use his savings for something important. He also used some of the money for a family vacation and donated to his church.
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