When There Are No Pennies
The kind of guy who picked up pennies. That’s always been me.
Most people wouldn’t spend the effort to kick a penny, much less bend over for it. But it hurt my soul to leave money just lying there. So, I picked ‘em up.
On my dresser were two piggy banks that served as my loose change ‘jars.’ One for pennies, the other for ‘silver’ coins. Had these things for decades, literally.
When the bank with silver coins got full, I could just about count on it having around $100 in it. A full penny piggy would typically yield about 10 bucks.
Over the years, however, my relationship with money has changed.
I don’t like it. I don’t like physical money.
I rarely have a single dollar bill on me, and I don’t want to mess with change.
Moreover, you get no airline points spending physical money, and I want them points! So, my credit card does all the work.
Therefore, I’ve pretty much stopped feeding the piggies.
All of this brings us to today’s situation.
Leaving a local store, I noticed a dime and a penny on the ground. If it was just a penny, I’d ignore it. But dimes cannot be ignored. And if I’m picking up the dime...
But wait, there’s more!
A few seconds later, I’m at my truck, and right there beside my ride… two more pennies.
OK, look. I gotta pick them up. The money gods are obviously smiling at me. I’m up to 13¢. Who knows how much more might be coming my way?!
But it also occurs to me, with the recent decision to stop minting pennies, I might actually be picking up investments. Treasures. Future antiquities.
One hundred years from now, people will be going to coin shops or antique stores or the world wide web and paying good money for coins no longer in circulation.
I’ll be the guy that recognized their future value ‘years ago.‘ Being a genius is no accident!
All I’ll need to do is live a hundred more years. Or have an heir to leave my pennies to.
Alas, no children = no grandchildren = no heirs. I got nothing.
Anybody need a 13¢ loan?
Apparently, the money gods thought that was enough for one day.