Can you beat this hoarding record?
Estimates of spare change lying around in UK homes stands at a staggering £400 million pounds, but the world record is held by a US resident. Edmond Knowles, today broke the world’s record for the largest ever personal penny collection with a cash-in of 1,308,459 pennies (or $13,084.59) at Escambia County Bank’s Coinstar machine in Flomaton, Alabama.
The pennies, which Knowles stored in four 55-gallon and three 20-gallon oil barrels in his garage, weighed more than 4.5 tons. The collection set a new world record the previous record was 1,048,013 pennies (or $10,480.13) set in November 2004 in Barberton, Ohio.
Knowles started his collection because he appreciated the value of a penny. “It takes pennies to make money. They’re worth something or they wouldn’t make them,” he said. But after 38 years, he’s tired of Lincoln heads. “No, I don’t ever want to see another penny… perhaps I’ll collect a few dimes.”
Sixty-two-year-old Edmond Knowles began collecting pennies in 1967, shortly after he got married and began a family. Initially, he started adding pennies to a small jug from his wages as an employee at Flomaton’s local gas station. After he bought the station in 1986, he stepped up his effort by buying the pennies generated by the store’s business each day. Pennies from Ed’s Service Station and life-long contributions from family/friends turned a glass jug into a five-gallon can, then into several 55-gallon drums. Now, after 38 years, he views his penny collection as a retirement fund to supplement his social security.
Knowles plans to use the new found wealth for retirement, home repairs and emergency medical expenses.
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