The story of the pennies…lesson learned

The story of the pennies…lesson learned

A few weeks ago, we were helping out our friend’s son. Our friend who passed in July…

We went out to see if we could find some important papers..  The son lives in another state.. we live 25 miles from our friend’s house..  So easier for us to do it..

While there we came across where he was collected coins..  We left the silver coins for the son to get…  but there was pennies.. and they were black. And disgusting.. So I figured.. what the heck, I will take them home and wash them up for him..  I brought them home, spread them across the outside table.. THEY WERE ALL BLACK.. barely could tell they were pennies.. So got some vinegar and salt and swished it around in a 5 gallon pail with the pennies…  I know it worked for my mother’s Revere cooper bottom pans.. This stuff did not phase it…  So went on google to find out how to wash and clean pennies..    Nothing that looked good to me.. there was some commercial type cleaner.. but these are pennies.. don’t want to spend …  So decided to go with Mom’s second choice..  cooper cleaner. 

Oh what a mess..  globbed the cream and smeared it all over the coins. As doing  it by toothbrush was not going to be fun.. and more labor than I wanted to invest in.. Besides the couple I did try.. hardly did anything.. I left it over night and swished back and forth.. filled up the sink with warm water to rinse it off..  Not much difference.. So figured.. ok.. I will just spread them on a towel and let them dry.  Some of them came out .. ok.. kind of.. the rest are not all dry with dry cooper cleaner on them..  I took a brush to them under the water..  Not much better at all..  So I dried them all.. Took a day and half.. in the sun..  to get them all dried..WITH DRY COOPER CLEANER ON THEM..making them now dark cooper and green. Again did the brush.. Loosing patiences that I don’t have in the first place.

I had spread them all over a large towel on the dining room table… and found out there was 972 pennies..  All of this for $9.72.. I am DONE..  LOL.

So I took them to the bank and asked if they had one of those machines that counts coins..  They did not ..but their main bank did in town.. so off to town to give it to them..  I explain the whole thing to them.. they open the container and said.. weeeell….. you see these are pretty dirty and they may clog up the machine..  so they need to be wrapped and then we can take them.. They sent me on my way… with wrappers for the coins… I looked at it … when I got home.. 20 wrappers.. a container full of dirty pennies.. 

And the saying … what  is the story… no good deed goes unpunished.. came to mind.

I loaded the pennies in a plastic container.. put a note on it.. to explain what happen.. and put them in my box I have for Goodwill… (when it is full, I drop it off)… let them get someone with more patience than me..

That was two weeks ago..  and every time I walked by.. that container nagged at me.. Was kind of upset with myself.. for giving up.

That was two weeks ago..  Saturday, I looked at them.. and thought .. I have the whole day with nothing to do but read… … how hard can this be?   So I took the plastic container out…  open it up..  .God that is a lot of pennies..

I put it on the table.. took out the wrappers..   and thought .. 18 wrappers ? 19 of them…. To fill..   I tried one.. and it did not go well..  I was ready to fold.   But I thought DAMN IT CIS… you surely aren’t going to fold on this..  what else do you have to do today.. at least start..  Then I went on line to see if there was an easier way to do this..  not really ..  there was some funnel thingies..  There was a guy who just put the pennies in.. looking like it was easy, but I already knew it wasn’t..   So went back to the table.. and looked at all those pennies..   Then came up with a plan  Just stack the pennies 10 to a pile..  a line of 5.. that is 50 .. and if you put the wrapper over the top and try to slide the wrapper over the pennies..   Nice plan.. it worked for the first 4…pennies, that is. Then I made sure the ten were lined up really well.. put the wrapper over and tapped VERY gently.. and they went in..  YAHOO.. whoa.. not so fast, there is 4 more piles to go..So slowly and gently.. I repeated it .. got it to do it in 6 minutes..  Ok, 6 minutes with 19 of them.. how long can that be.. I did not want to know.. So I started.. 

Every time I looked at that container I swore those pennies were breeding in there.. it didn’t seem like they were going down..   But then I remembered President Eisenhower’s saying..  DON’T LOOK AT HOW MUCH YOU HAVE TO GO…  LOOK AT HOW MANY YOU HAVE DONE…  So stop looking at the container..  (well, not very often) .. and keep going..  I was getting piles of the coins stacking up in wrappers..   One time when I look at the container.. I could swear it was not getting less… but then looked at the pile and there was $6 worth there.. 12 rolls.. YAHOO…. But still there was a lot left.. But started up again.. counting out 50 pennies in stacks of 10’s.. And two hours from when I started.. I WAS DONE…  I GOT THEM ALL.. 19 ROLLS.. $9.50.. YAHOO.. I WON.. I WON.. I said to myself.. 

Like life, if you just keep going.. your project/chore is done.. 

So what am I going to do with them?/  take them to the Bank on Monday am.. and get green backs with 2 quarters.. and send it to the son… See .. never give up.. And it was a great feeling when I got done..