A lot of people thought Otha Anders, the superintendent of the Jackson school board, was the “coin master.” One afternoon, he made a major scene when he walked into his neighborhood bank with a dolly full of enormous water bottles.
He rolled the jugs across the floor, and the sound of coins hitting each other rang through the premises. Customers and employees who were interested turned to look, and many probably assumed he was making a deposit that was different from the others. They were right.
Most individuals can easily forget about a penny when they drop it. But for Anders, every coin he found throughout the years had a story behind it. It wasn’t only a weird way to save money or a cool way to get things. For him, it was a spiritual thing. Anders thought that “every cent” was a modest but overwhelming word from God to stop and be appreciative.
“I became convinced that finding a penny that had been lost or dropped was another sign from God to always be thankful,” he told USA Today. He would often find a dime on days when he didn’t pray or felt far away from God, and he didn’t think it was a coincidence. He thought it was a sign from God.
Anders worked hard for 45 years to get these coins. He kept them in a lot of big five-gallon water jugs, and the collection expanded until he couldn’t ignore how much space they were taking up. At one point, he estimated his collection may be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. His family helped him with his commitment by sometimes lugging the jugs or giving him a euro here and there, but it was evident that this was a personal journey based on faith and thankfulness.
Anders accompanied his family to the bank when it was finally time to cash in. The bank workers were startled and curious, so they started to work. It took some time. For five hours, workers gently opened the jars and poured years’ worth of clinking copper into money counters. The machine totaled up the years of work and came up with the final number: $5,136.14. That’s just $114.40 a year, which isn’t a lot of money for most people, but for Anders, it was worth more than anything.
The reason for the number was more essential than the number itself. People didn’t spend the money on items they didn’t need or want right away once it became debts. Anders utilized the money to pay off a dentist payment, which was a necessary and realistic cost that had been bothering him. He also spent some of the money on a family trip, which made his family happy. He also made sure to give part of it back to his church, which was in line with the principles that had prompted him to start collecting in the first place.
Anders didn’t think of collecting pennies as a job or a way to get rich. Every day, he practiced spirituality by finding meaning in small things and being thankful. He found comfort in the smallest coin, which is a sign because people often throw them away or don’t care about them. He found peace in this small cent in a world where people are always looking for more. His story is a gentle reminder that even the little things may be tremendously meaningful.