Watch out, coin roll hunters!

halfdime · Apr 7, 2009

In July, I'll celebrate 5 years of metal detecting; in that time, I've managed to accumulate a significant number of dug wheat pennies. I've been thinking of something interesting to do with them; some of the holes in my boy's album have been filled, but there are at least a thousand common date wheat pennies that need a new home. I've thought about burying them in a plastic jar for a future detectorist to discover, but decided not to go that route. Recently, our community learned that our local park board had no money for two important items; in my mind, the most important was fireworks on July 4th. This event brings thousands into our little town and we have our own front row seat in the back yard. The day wouldn't be the same without fireworks. Citizens were enlisted to come up with ideas for fundraising; I suggested getting the word out and asking people to donate those jars of coins almost everyone has in their house. We created an organization to raise funds independently of borough and other official bodies, and my idea was received enthusiastically. Last week, the K-4 school up the street had a drive and raised over $1700 in coins! Once I opened my big mouth, I had to become part of the solution and it hit me: I have a stash of my own! Tomorrow, this pile of wheat pennies is going to the bank (managed, coincidentally, by another TNet member

), and whatever the total ends up being it'll go to the park. Now, I'll let you know tomorrow what the total ended up being, but why don't we make it interesting and see who can guess the amount before it's posted? Chances are these coins will start showing up in rolls all over the mid-Atlantic region

.