f you did anything for nearly half a century, you’d probably be pretty good at it. Well, if that hobby was collecting pennies, you might even be a millionaire. Maybe not, but who’s to say? Well…one man has done just that. Since all the way back in the early 1970’s, 73-year-old Otha Anders has collected every single penny that he encountered. Whether it was dropped on the ground, handed to him by a cashier, found abandoned by a panhandling beggar or otherwise, not a single penny escaped his clutches for years on end. And this project became an obsession for Otha Anders – and now he’s the one laughing.
After 45 years of collecting, Anders had a total of 15 water jugs filled to the brim with pennies. With the help of his friends and family, he was able to wheel the jugs into his local Ruston, Louisiana bank to finally cash in all that change, a huge relief after all these years.
You might wonder how that would feel to finally cash in all of your hard work? Plus, you might wonder how much he made? Scroll down and you’ll learn more about this interesting story…
When asked to describe the reason he started collecting, Anders is not shy about giving a direct answer. It all started with one single penny found face-up on the ground and it eventually led to his life’s work.
“I became convinced that spotting a lost or dropped penny was an additional God-given incentive reminding me to always be thankful,” Anders told Fox News. “There have been days where I failed to pray and more often than not, a lost or dropped penny would show up to remind me.”
Essentially, every penny Anders found on the ground was a sign of good luck from God. He wasn’t shy about his faith in the Lord and recognized the blessing – even if it only came in the form of a penny.
How many of us shun God’s small blessings because they don’t seem big enough to our human eyes? Maybe more of us should be more appreciative and recognize the abundance of blessings God bestows on us all every day…
15 five-gallon water jugs filled to the brim with pennies were brought into the bank, but Anders left with a much lighter load – an extra $5,136.14 deposited into his bank account.
The day when Anders brought in cartloads of water jugs filled with pennies, Bank Vice President Jennie Cole will never forget.
Although banks frown on having to work with pennies, since Anders was a long-time customer, they were happy to help the elderly man cash in his gifts from God.
“We value his business, as we do all of our customers,” Cole said. “But if we can help Anders with his endeavors, we are happy to do so.”
But after a lifetime of collecting, chances are his home feels pretty empty now without all that copper. Although he has cashed in on his life’s work, this man fails to lose hope in Jesus.
“Whenever I would see a penny, I would say a prayer of thanks. It was a reminder to me to always be thankful,” Anders told the News-Star.
“I would never spend a penny,” he said. “I would break a dollar before giving up a penny.”
“I never allowed anyone, not even my wife nor children, to give me pennies without being compensated,” he said. “I wanted the inner satisfaction that God and I acquired this collection.”
Share this story if this man’s great attitude has inspired you too!
