Man Cashes in 45-Year Penny Collection Worth $5,000

There's been a push in recent years to eliminate the penny. I can't say I disagree with the movement. After all, it costs far more than one cent to make the penny and these days it's hard to think of a circumstance in which I'd need one. Almost everything is paid for with plastic.

That said, if you work hard enough there's still value to be had. Take the story of Otha Anders. He recently wheeled in 15 water jugs full of pennies to the bank. The final count was 513,614 pennies, which comes to a little over $5,136:

Anders said he started collecting the coins in the late-1960s. It eventually became so much of a hobby that he would deliberately avoid ever spending pennies.

"I would break a dollar before I would spend a penny," he said...It reportedly took five hours for machines to count all the change. Anders says he plans to use the cash to help pay a dental bill.

Anders says he's been collecting for fifty years. Just think of how much more exciting this would be for if it were dimes instead of pennies.