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2¢ About The Penny Wall of Fame
(or Why We Frickin' LOVE Our Fellow Penny Finders)

Check Out Our Newest Inductees

Biggest.  Find.  EVER!

It's not every day that you find money on the ground (of course once you're addicted like we are it does happen a lot more often!).  

We find that even finding a penny is exciting (it is, after all, legal tender!).  Silver change gets the heart racing a little faster than normal.  But paper money?!  Oh...paper money is cause for a happy dance!!  Just ask any of the 29 Penny Project supporters that found paper money in the first five years of our little experiment.  It's a thrill!!

So imagine my excitement when I had the following text exchange with my dad:

Dad: "What's the biggest find in Penny Project history?"
Leslie: "Depends if you mean value or # of coins."
Dad: "Both."
Leslie: "Well, most coins found at one time is over 100 pennies.  There was a 13-quarter find once.  And then there was the time Illeny found $130."
Dad: "Paltry."
Leslie: "WHAT?!"

Turns out my dad had been sitting on a super-duper, ridiculously huge find for three weeks because he wanted to see if anyone was going to step forward and claim what he'd found.   But when three weeks passed & no one claimed the money, he finally got to tell me that he'd found 12 $20-bills & one $10-bill neatly paper-clipped together just sitting on the ground outside of the courthouse where he worked.  BAM!  $250...all at once!  Talk about a happy dance!!

Needless to say, this find skyrocketed my dad to the top of the penny finding ranks for the entirety of 2011, much to the chagrin of the biggest penny finding competitors who live the mantra, "Top 3's the place to be!"    So here it is, Dad...your long overdue 2nd entry into the Penny Wall of Fame!  Thanks for your eagle eye AND your willingness to hand over the found cash to The Penny Project...we salute you on both counts!!
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Yes, he's my dad. And yes, he's been on the Penny Wall of Fame before. But how can we deny that finding $250 in one shot is worth a post. That's 12 $20-bills & a $10...it's practically a car payment, folks!! So here it is...a picture of my dad, Jerry, with the Penny Project's biggest find to date. Way to go, Dad!!

Check out YOUR Penny Standing!!

Find out where you rank against your fellow penny finders & uber-generous donators this year or in years past:
Click here to see the current (2012) Tracking Sheet
 
Click here to see the 2011 Results

Click here to see the 2010 Results

Click here to see the 2009 Results

Click here to see the 2008 Results

Click here to see the ORIGINAL Crazy Spreadsheet (2007)

    Are YOU Ready to Join the Wall?
    Submit a penny story or picture & find out!

    Questions? Thoughts? Ideas? Stories? We love 'em all...so tell us what's on your mind.A penny for your thoughts?
Submit



Other Recent Penny Wall of Fame Additions:

Like Father, Like Son!!

ACTUALLY...in this case it's "Like son, like father" since Parker was the first of the pair to find & report a DOLLAR!!  But not too long after that I got a text with a picture of Dear ol' Dad finding a dollar too.  Don't you want to be part of this family?!

For not one but TWO dollar finds in less than a month, the Bullard Family once again lands on The Penny Wall of Fame!  And the best part is I'll be visiting live & in person to collect their massive penny/dollar stash in just a few weeks.  Who knows what they'll find between now & then!  

Keep up the good work, Bullards...you guys are rockin' the 2011 penny totals!!
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AHHHHH!! A dollar! How can you not love Allen's excited expression over his BIG find?!
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Parker's big find. How can you not love a face this cute AND the ability to find paper money?! You da man, Parker!!

One Man's Trash Is Another Woman's 9-cent Super-Find!!

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'I won't forget my pennies! I won't forget my pennies!'
Meet Myma.  Well...ok, Myma's hand!!  

I couldn't resist taking this picture after an encounter I had with Myma at the First Global Co-Active Summit, a gathering of coaches & leaders ready to bring change to the world.  And you know how much I love ¢hange...
On the 2nd day of the summit, I wore one of my newly minted Penny Project t-shirts.  Sometimes these shirts (or the business cards that match) spark conversations with folks about memorable penny finding experiences they've had.

It turns out that Myma had come to the summit straight from some vacation time in Florida.  As she was cleaning up the condo & getting ready to depart for the summit, she made one last run to the garbage area to throw away the last of the vacation trash.  

There, in plain sight, were 9 pennies that had clearly been abandoned & stepped over several times as others had dumped their trash in the garbage room that day. This in & of itself wasn't such a strange occurrence.  Nor was the fact that Myma had picked up the pennies.

What was odd & fun & a little synchronistic was that she'd stashed the pennies in her purse and was still carrying them around.  She said she didn't even know why!!  But since she still had them (and we were standing there talking about pennies) she said she'd bring them down from her room and give them to me the next time I saw her.

Turns out that when I ran into her again she'd forgotten the pennies...but she wasn't going to forget again, hence the reminder on her hand!  Just couldn't pass up that photo!!  And the reminder worked!!  Myma proudly handed off her 9-cent find that night at the dessert & dance party marking the last night of the summit.

These little moments are so much fun and always remind me of the magic that's out in the world.  Who knows why some people can't see the value in pennies while others so happily pick them up.  And in what world does a woman carry around 9 found pennies in a separate place from the rest of her money just before having a conversation with an obsessive-compulsive penny picker-upper?!  Only this world!  

And so here's THREE CHEERS FOR MYMA!!  Thanks for recognizing the value of those 9 pennies...even if they were in the garbage room!  You're forever on our spreadsheet with much love for donating your find!!


Over Hill, Over Dale...A Penny!!

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Look, a penny!! Jerry spotted it, Donna photographed it.
Out on a hike with a fellow penny picker-upper (good thing...because who else would hold the camera?!), Penny Finder Jerry Stein (also known as my dad!!) spotted a dusty little coin on their path.  It wasn't shiny or easy to spot...in fact, it blended right into the dirt.  But Jerry spotted it nonetheless!  Why, you may ask...well, it's because he adopted the Rainman-like phrase I repeat over & over again since I began penny finding, "PERFECT CIRCLES DON'T OCCUR IN NATURE!"  (Dorky, yes.  But also...TRUE!)  And so he spotted the tiny circle & BAM...a penny!

Nepotism is a surefire way to make the penny wall.  Good going, Dad!  


Snow Won't Stop Her Penny Finding!

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Ellie's snowy find, Jan 2011
Meet Ellie.  She's a double inductee!  First she sent word that she'd found a half dollar.  A HALF FREAKIN' DOLLAR!!!  That is the first one in 4+ years of penny finding.  Good eye, Ellie!!  Then, as if the half dollar wasn't magic enough, Ellie sent us this picture of the $7 she found on the snowy sidewalks of Boston.  Neither rain, nor sleet, nor snow will slow down this dedicated penny finder.  Thanks, Ellie!!


Penny Finding From Fancy to Freaky!

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Photo #1--Doc at KFC
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Photo #2--Tina on the Queen Mary
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Photo #3--A suspended dime...WEIRD!
Meet Doc & Tina, founders of Penny Finders & purveyors of good karma through found money!  They've found pennies (& other coins) for over 777 consecutive days!  Tina chronicles their penny finding adventures, from wild to weird, in their blog, Penny Tales.  

Below are Tina's descriptions of the photos on the left.  You know you've found a soulmate (or at least a "penny-mate") when you've got someone dedicated enough to penny find with!  Search on, Doc & Tina.  Search on!!

Photo #1--This photo is from Day #750 when we spotted a shut-down KFC.  Doc had a severe case of PENNY FEVER. It took chopsticks, a flashlight, pliers, keys and lots of patience. In 45 minutes we "unearthed" 24 pennies, 12 dimes, 6 quarters, and 1 nickel.

Photo #2--This is a penny find on the Queen Mary. Right next to the schmush penny machine.

Photo #3--This dime was actually suspended several inches off the ground - defying gravity. Only the Penny Angels could do that!

It's a "Small Change" World After All with The Kuhl-Bull Clan

The Kuhl-Bulls

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The Kuhl-Bull clan ready for a day of fun, adventure & PENNIES at Disneyland! (Kids-at heart: Terry, J, Karina, Jane. Actual kids: Parker &Tyler. Behind the camera: Our main texter--Allen)

 Pennies Galore...

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A picture text from the field: 'Alice in Wonderland!' So many pennies, so near yet so far...

 The Final Count

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The total stash of found coins during the 'Disneyland Penny Project Callenge!' 96 cents found & a quarter donated. Gotta love friends who share a love for penny finding!
Meet the Kuhl-Bull clan.  Long time friends, adventurers, penny enthusiasts...and generally awesome people!

One day I received the following text from Allen (not pictured...must be taking that first photo) that said, "Disneyland Penny Project Challenge - Allen 6 cents, Karina 1 penny & J zilch - full day ahead!!!!"

I was totally amused that they'd combine their time inside Disneyland with penny finding.  What a way to bond!  The rest of the day reports were flowing in...I probably had more fun getting those reports than if I'd been at Disneyland myself.  Priceless! 

Here are the texts recounted for your reading pleasure:
  • "Parker just zoomed ahead by finding a dime in his autotopia car"
  • "J just got a penny"
  • "I am now up to 7 cents"
  • "8"
  • "Parker just jumped to 16 cents with a nickel & penny found at The Big Thunder Mountain"
  • "Parker found another penny in the urinal...but we had to let that one go!
  • "Correction, Parker found a quarter"
  • Final count for the Disneyland challenge: Parker with 46, J with 23, Allen with 21, Karina with 3, Tyler with 2, Jane with 1.  And one quarter donated to your cause when we explained what we were doing.
What a day...and what friends!  Welcome to the Penny Hall of Fame, Kuhl-Bulls!  ;-)
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